I  B RARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 


.  -37 


\i\\W  HRTWIM1  SHRYtt 


(Hliiil  LBIMwIWl  IPf  IT 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


AND 


REMINISCENT  HISTORY 


OF 


HIGHLAND,  CLAY -MARION  COUNTIES 

ILLINOIS 


ILLUSTRATED 


B.  F.  BOWEN  &  COMPANY,  Publishers 

INDIANAPOLIS,  INDIANA 
1909 


•'.  :0-»  : 


PREFACE, 


All  life  and  achievement  is  evolution;  present  wisdom  comes  frorh  past 
experience,  and  present  commercial  prosperity  has  come  only  from  past  exer- 
tion and  suffering.     The  deeds  and  motives  of  the  men  that  have  gone  before 
have  been  instrumental  in  shaping  the  destinies    of    later  communities  and 
states.    The  development  of  a  new  country  was  at  once  a  task  and  a  privilege. 
It  required  great  courage,  sacrifice  and  privation.     Compare  the  present  con- 
ditions of  the  residents  of  Richland,  Clay  and  Marion  counties,  Illinois,  with 
what  they  were  one  hundred  years  ago.     From  a  trackless  wilderness  and 
virgin  prairie  they  have  come  to  be  centers  of  prosperity  and  civilization,  with 
millions  of  wealth,  systems  of  intersecting  railways,  grand  educational   in- 
stitutions, marvelous  industries  and  immense  agricultural  productions.     Can 
any  thinking  person  be  insensible  to  the  fascination  of  the  study  which  dis- 
closes the  incentives,  hopes,  aspirations  and  efforts  of  the  early  pioneers  who 
so  strongly  laid  the  foundation  upon  which  has  been  reared  the  magnificent 
prosperity  of  later  days  ?    To  perpetuate  the  story  of  these  people  and  to  trace 
and  record  the  social,  political  and  industrial  progress  of  the  community  from 
its  first  inception  is  the  function  of  the  local  historian.     A  sincere  purpose 
to  preserve  facts  and  personal  memoirs  that  are  deserving  of  preservation, 
and  which  unite  the  present  to  the  past  is  the  motive  for  the  present  publication. 
The  work  has  been  in  the  hands  of  able  writers,  who  have,  after  much  patient 
*7.      study  and  research,  produced  here  the  most  complete  biographical  memoirs  of 
Richland,  Clay  and  Marion  counties,  Illinois  ever  offered  to  the  public.     Es- 
pecially valuable  and  interesting  are  the  sketches  of  representative  citizens  of 
<°      these  counties  whose  records  deserve  perpetuation  because  of  their  worth,  ef- 
^>      fort  and  accomplishment.     The  publishers  desire  to  extend  their  thanks  to 
(ti      these  gentlemen  who  have  so  faithfully  labored  to  this  end.     Thanks  are  also 
j__^    clue  to  the  citizens  of  Richland,  Clay  and  Marion  counties  for  the  uniform 
57   kindness  with  which  they  have  regarded  this  undertaking,  and  for  their  many 
^        services  rendered  in  the  gaining-  of  necessary  information. 

In  placing  the  "Biographical  and  Reminiscent  History  of  Richland,  Clay 
and  Marion  Counties,  Illinois."  before  the  citizens,  the    publishers    can  con- 
scientiously claim  that  they  have  carried  out  the  plan  as  outlined  in  the  pros- 
pectus.     Every  biographical  sketch  in  the  work  has  been  submitted  to  the 
U yd      party  interested,  for  correction,  and  therefore  any  error  of  fact,  if  there  be 
-^        any,  is  solely  due  to  the  person  for  whom  the  sketch  was  prepared.     Confident 
-)        that  our  efforts  to  please  will  fully  meet  the  approbation  of  the  public,  we  are. 

Respectfully, 

THE   PUBLISHERS. 


NDEX 


Allen,  Hon.  James  Cameron 

84 

Chapman,  Robert  H  

481 

Fritchey,   Theo.   Augustus.. 

147 

Anderson,  Truman  B  

589 

Church,  St.  James  Lutheran 

465 

Fyfe,  George  S  

519 

Andrews,  Sevmour   

533 

Church,    St.    Joseph's    Cath- 

Fyke, John  J  

255 

Arnold,  James   W  

223 

olic,  of  Olney,  111  

504 

Gaft'ner,  Daniel  

I'.ni 

Bachmann,  Adam  H  

273 

Clark,  Thomas  J  

117 

Garner,  E.  P  

;'.1'2 

Bar  of  Southern  Illinois  Six- 

Cloud, Silas  

279 

Gassman,  Henry    

98 

ty-five  Years  Ago  

446 

Combs,  Lewis  

392 

Genoway,  Daniel  C  

•i:<  7 

Barnes,  A.  C  

564 

Coan,  William  E  

500 

Gerber,   Lydia  Phillips    

327 

Baughman,  Edmund  C  

154 

Conant,  John  B  

96 

Goodale,  W.  B  

586 

Bauer,  F.  H  

598 

Conant,  W.  S  

136 

Goodenough,  Wilbur  Adino. 

120 

Bateman,  John  A  

91 

Cope,    Allen    

304 

Goss,  Joseph  

377 

Bates,  Francis  M  

577 

Copple,  Eli  

569 

Graham,  Samuel  H  

411 

Bayler,    David    

290 

Copple,  Elmer  E  

568 

Graham,  Samuel  D  

139 

Beck,  Daniel   

.3553 

Copple,   Jacob    

549 

Grav,  John  H  

:;n:; 

Beck,  John    

401 

Copple,  Samuel  G  

406 

Gray,  William  H  

416 

Blankinship,  Charles  E  

492 

Cox,  George  

115 

Green,  Jonathan  A  

r.i'7 

Boatman,  Catherine   

407 

Cunningham,  Charles  S  

343 

Hardman,  Thomas  A  

IM; 

Boggs,  Franklin  Gilbert  

360 

Cunningham  Family  

235 

Hargrave,  Thomas  M  

n;s 

Bonney,  Judge  John  R  

362 

Dace,  James  M  

328 

Hauser,  John  T  

387 

Bostwick,  Landon  M  

320 

Davis,  C.  R  

486 

Hasler,   Christian    

10S 

Bothwell,  Henry  C  

306 

Davis,  John  L  

562 

Hartley,  William  A  

675 

Bower,  Hon.  William    

219 

Dean   Charles 

429 

Haynie    D    D 

44 

Bower,  John   

474 

Delzell.  James  H  

261 

Heap,  Benjamin  F  

484 

Boynton,  Frank  A  

78 

Dew,  Charles  F  

552 

Heaver,  George  J  

2!)S 

Bledsoe,  E.  Louis  

276 

Dillman,  William  H  

41 

Hedrick,  Edwin   

873 

Bradford,   Frank    

259 

Donovan,  John  F.   

99 

Heltman,  Philip   ..'  

196 

Branch,  Levi  

599 

Doser,  George  Washington  . 

437 

Henry,  John  O  

477 

Breeze,  Jacob  D  

566 

Downey,  Geo.  W  

545 

Hershberger,  David    

linn 

Breeze,  Sidney  

574 

Drapar,  William  L  

174 

Hester,  David  M  

843 

Brigham,  Robert  O  

192 

Dwight,  Samuel  L  

535 

Hi'ggins,  Bryant  

20 

Brinkerhoff,  Prof.  J.  H.  G. 

524 

Eagan,  Gustin  L  

532 

Hiltibidal,  George  W  

:',](: 

Brockman,  John  C  

49S 

Early  Lawyers   

426 

Hodges,  Isham  E  

312 

Bronson,  Horace   

579 

Eddings,  John  F  

189 

Holstlaw,  Daniel  S  

IM 

Brown,  Douglas  C  

537 

Eighth       Illinois      Infantry, 

Holstlaw  D  W 

590 

Brubaker  Edgar  F 

365 

419 

Holstlaw  Richard  J 

ii;n 

Brubaker,  Eli   

205 

Embser.  Jerome  N  

463 

Holt,  Charles  H.   ..'..'.'.'.... 

48 

Brubaker,  Jacob  

188 

Engle   Joseph  A 

341 

Hord     Henry 

18V 

Brims,  Fr.  John  H  

558 

Evans,  H.  D  

54 

Holt,  Luther   

:::'.! 

Bryan,  Family   

231 

Erwin,  Crawford  S  

66 

Holt,    Samuel    Marion    

2111; 

Bryan    J.  E  

244 

Eyer    Jacob 

404 

Hopkins    Charles  W 

339 

Bryan,  Hon.  William  J  

17 

Farquhar,  Aaron  B  

263 

Horrall,  Kenneth  D  

202 

Buenger,  Rev.  John   

95 

Farthing,  William  H  

253 

Howell.  James  F  

80 

Bundy,   Charles  E  

291 

Feltman,  Carlos  A  

62 

Huddleson,  Charles  S  

588 

Bundy,  William  F  

336 

Finch  Family   

211 

Hudelson,  William  H  

860 

Bundy,  William  Kell  

64 

Finch,  Solomon  T  

226 

Huff,    Nathaniel    G  

ISO 

Burgener,  Jacob    

329 

Fisher,  Alex.  W  

516 

Huggins,  Earl  C  

LOS 

Hurt,  Charles  V  

606 

Foster,  Hon.  Martin  D  

501 

Hull,  Hon.  Charles  E  

32 

Butler,  George   

382 

Foster,  Henry  C  

525 

Hunter,  James   

543 

Castle,  J.  E  . 

169 

Fowler  (  Brothers)  

567 

Hyatt,  James  F  

ITS 

C.imnboll.  Georee  W.   .. 

432 

French.   John   R.    .  . 

217 

Idleman.  G.  A. 

93 

Ingram,  William  C  
Irwin,  Walter  C  
James,  O.  A  
Jennings,   Charles    E.    .  . 

...  131 

...     28 
...     71 
...   51V 
513 

Morris,  Ira  C  
Morrison,  George  D  
Morrison,  Col.  Napoleon  B 
Neal,  Thomas  B  
Newman  William  D 

.  .  512 
..  137 
..  571 
.  .  319 
604 

Shriner,  Hon.  Harvey  W... 
Simcox,  George  B  
Simer,  Rev.  William  J.  ... 
Singer,  Judith  M  
Skipworth  J  W 

126 

402 

Jennings,  Z.  C  
Johnson,  William  T  
Jolly,    John    F  

...   208 
...   472 
...   134 
482 

Norfleet,  Benj.  F  
Olney  in  Its  Infancy  .... 
Olney  Sanitarium  

..  332 
.  .  423 
..   149 
159 

Smith,  Benj.  M  
Smith,  John  
Snively  &  Montgomery  

.,?r 

Jones,  J.   T  
Jones,  Samuel  W  
Joy,  Thomas  L  
Joy,    Verne    E  
Kagy,    Levi    Monroe    .  .  . 

.  ..     69 
...   221 
.  ..   540 
...   580 
...   237 
191 

Pace,  H.  T  
Palmer,  Charles  E  
Parkinson,  Joseph  C.  ... 
Patton,  Thomas  A  
Peak,  Joseph  S  
Peddicord  A  M 

,  .      42 
.  .   469 
.  .   368 
.  .  224 
..   294 
176 

Snuffin,   Stephen    
Songer,   A.    W  
Spring,  Henry    
Stratton,  George  W  
Stiindiford,  George  Washing- 

4:11 

lor, 
443 

Keith,   L.  B  
Kelchner,  Henry  F  
Kell,  Charles  T  
Kermicle,  John  Taylor   . 

.  .  .  285 
.  ..   520 
...   128 
...   459 

Peddicord,  Andrew  M.  .. 
Peirce,  John  A  
Pllaum,  John  W  
Phillips,  Samuel  F  

.  .   506 
.  .   435 

.  .   474 
,  .   240 

Stanford,  Samuel  A  
Stonecipher,  Judge  John  S.. 
Storment,  William  T  
Storer,  Ben.  W  

101 

Hi.-, 
144 

Kimberlin,  James  Henry 
Kinkade    James   M 

.  ..   110 

478 

Porter,  Albert  G  

.  .   530 

Telford,  J.  D  

27U 

467 

389 

508 

Knight,  J.  F  
Knoph,   Aden    
Kocher  Joseph  
Lacey,  Winfield  S  
Lane,  Thomas  M  
Larimer,  John   W  
Leseman,  William  H.  .  .  . 
Lewis,  James  B  
Lewis,  Richard  
Livesay,  Alfred  
Loomis,  Frank   

...   542 
.  .  .   494 
.  ..   413 
.  ..   386 
.  .  .   594 
.  .  .   281 
.  ..   430 
...     56 
.  .  .   178 
.  .  .   548 
...   295 
510 

Purceil,  Francis  M  
Pullen,  Burden  
Purdue,  James  F  
Quayle,  J.  R  
Rainey,  George  S  
Rapp,  Michael  E  
Ratcliff,  James  M  
Ratcliff,  Thomas  
Reed,  Lewis  H  
Reinhardt,  Julius  
Reminiscent  Sketch  
Rhodes  Henry  L 

.  .   201 
.  .   596 

!!     73 
.  .   152 
.  .   246 
,  .   487 
,  .   490 
.  .   559 
..   561 
.  .   419 
556 

Tolliver,  Judge  A.  N  
Trenary,  G.  H  
Tufts,  C.  D  
Tully,  Joseph  E  
Umfleet,  Harrison  
Utterbeck,  Jeter  C  
Van  Alman,  William  
Vawter,  John  H  
Walker,  Joseph  H  
Watldns,  Bartlett  Y  
Walton,  Joseph  W  
Walton  Orville  T 

Nil 

,-,3!l 

ir.'l 
23 
835 

497 
471 

811 

McBride    H    S 

410 

Richardson  Edward 

283 

76 

McCawley,  John  I  

...   309 
D     87 

Richardson,  James  R  

.   307 
396 

Watts,  Edwin  L  
Wells  George  C 

588 

•\,\  i 

McGahey,  George  A  
McKnight,  Roy  H  
McLaughlin,  Joseph  K.   . 

.  .  .   190 
.  .  .   297 
.  ..   299 
529 

Robb,  Francis  M  
Robinson,  Elbridge  
Rodgers,  Benj.  F  

,  .   528 
.   476 

.  .    272 
586 

Welton,  Edwin  L  
West,  Charles  H  
Wham,  Henderson  B  
Wham  William 

rut; 
118 
325 
265 

McQuin,  Robert  T  
Madden,  George  
Martin    Benj    E     Sr 

.  ..     26 
.  .  .   451 
29 

Rogers,  Frank  A  
Rogers,  Tilmon  J  

.     60 
..   521 
551 

Wieland,  Caleb  F  
Wilkinson,  William  T  
Williams  Augustine  Robert 

11  1 

17 

Martin,  Gen.  James  S.   . 
Martin,  John  C  
Martin,  John  E  

.  ..   267 

'.'.'.  262 
126 

Rose,  Albert  M  
Rose,  Wiley  
Rowland,  Elbert  

.   345 

,.   438 
.     51 
489 

Williams,  John  P  
Williams,  T.  W  
Wilson,  Hon.  Edward  S.  .  . 
Wilson  George  C 

881 
54 

1C.7 

•no 

Martin,  William  J  
Matthews,  Leander  C.  .  .  . 
Maxey,  Bennett  M  
May,   Harvey   D  
Meagher,  Thomas  F  
Merritt.   Hon.   Thos.   E. 
Merz,  Wilfred  W  
Michaels.  M.  W  
Miller,  Franklin  P  
Mills,   Israel    
Morton,  James  S  

.-.  .   197 
.  ..   148 
.  .  .   104 
...  204 
.  .  .   601 
.  ..   347 
...    121 
...   292 
.  ..   581 
.  .  .   314 
...   485 

Sanders,  Charles  C  
Sayre,  Perry  
Schwartz  Brothers  
Schilt,  Fred  W  
Schultz.  John  M  
See,  Henry  William,  Sr.  .  . 
Seller,  Frederick  
Seiler,  John  
Seymour,  Mary  A  
Shanafelt,  Andrew  
Shook,  Samuel  

.   256 
.   390 

..   248 
.   354 
,.   351 
.  395 
..  456 
.   356 
.   461 
.   357 
,.   555 

Wilson,  William  Gilham  .  .  . 
Wilson,  Lucian  O  
Wilson,  Richard  
Wilson,  Samuel  C  
Wilson,  William  Henry  .  .  . 
Woods,  John  
Woodward,  H.  N  
Woodard,  W.  R  
Wolgamott,  George  
Xander,  John  P  
Young,  William  J  

112 
583 
468 

1X2 
i';'n:i 
•:,--, 

;!i7 
I." 

JO 


HON.  W.  J.  BRYAN. 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


WILLIAM  JENNINGS  BRYAN. 
BY  PROF.  J.  H.  G.  BRINKERHOFF. 

William  Jennings  Bryan,  son  of  Silas  L. 
Bryan  (see  biography)  and  Mariah  Eliza- 
beth (Jennings)  Bryan,  was  born  in  Salem, 
Illinois,  March  19,  1860.  As  a  boy  he  was 
not  different  from  other  healthy,  hearty 
American  boys,  fond  of  play  and  fond  of 
good  things  to  eat,  but  rather  given  to  seri- 
ous sport  than  to  mischief^*  Among  his  earli- 
est ambition  was  the  desire  to  become  a  min- 
ister, but  in  early  youth  that  desire  was  lost 
in  the  ambition  to  become  a  lawyer  like  his 
father  and  as  that  ambition  seemed  to  be 
permanent  his  training  was  directed  to  that 
end.  ~)  When  William  was  six  years  old  the 
family  moved  to  a  large  farm  just  outside 
of  the  corporate  limits  of  Salem,  and  here 
he  studied,  played  and  worked  until  ten 
years  old,  his  mother,  a  remarkably  strong- 
minded,  clear-headed,  Christian  woman,  be- 
ing his  teacher,  his  guide  and  task-master, 
his  work  being  such  chores  as  fall  to  the  lot 
of  boys  in  well  regulated,  prosperous  farm 
homes.  ^At  the  age  of  ten  years  he  entered 
the  Salem  public  school,  which  he  attended 
five  years,  but  was  not  particularly  bright  in 
his  studies^)  his  examinations  show  thor- 


oughness rather  than  brilliancy,  but  his  in- 
terest in  the  literary  and  debating  societies 
was  early  developed  and  remained  while  he 
attended  the  school  and  still  abides,  as  is 
shown  by  the  Bryan  oratorical  contest  held 
annually  in  this  school,  and  for  which  Mr. 
Bryan  provides  a  first  and  second  prize  of 
ten  and  five  dollars  respectively. 

In  1872  his  father  made  the  race  for  Con- 
gress, and  William,  then  twelve  years  of 
age,  became  much  interested  in  the  cam- 
paign, and  from  that  time  on  he  cherished 
the  thought  of  some  day  being  a  public  man 
and  a  leader  of  the  people. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  united  with  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  at  Salem. 
While  at  Jacksonville  he  took  membership 
with  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  and 
upon  his  removal  to  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  he 
placed  his  letter  with  the  First  Presbyte- 
rian church  of  that  place,  and  where  his 
membership  still  remains. 

At  fifteen  years  of  age  he  entered  the  pre- 
paratory department  of  Illinois  College,  at 
Jacksonville,  and  for  eight  years  was  a  stu- 
dent in  that  college,  spending  only  his  vaca- 
tions at  home.  (^Mr.  Bryan  while  at  college 
was  not  a  great  admirer  of  athletic  sports, 
but  took  a  mild  interest  in  base  ball  and  foot 
ball,  and  was  rather  an  enthusiastic  runner 


i8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


and  jumper,  and  in  a  contest  open  to  stu- 
dents and  alumni,  three  years  after  his  grad- 
uation, he  won  the  medal  for  the  broad 
standing  jump,  twelve  feet  and  four  inches 
being  the  distance  covered.) 
f  While  at  the  preparatory  school  the  first 
year  he  entered  a  prize  contest  and  de- 
claimed Patrick  Henry's  great  speech,  and 
ranked  near  the  fooyThe  second  year  he  de- 
claimed "The  Palmetto  and  the  Pine,"  and 
stood  third.  The  next  year  as  a  freshman 
he  tried  for  a  prize  in  Latin  prose  and  di- 
vided the  second  prize  with  a  competitor. 
The  same  year  he  gained  second  prize  in 
declamation.  In  his  sophomore  year  he 
took  first  prize  with  an  essay,  and  in  his  jun- 
ior year  first  prize  in  oration  and  was  there- 
by made  representative  of  his  college  in  the 
intercollegiate  oratorical  contest  at  Gales- 
burg,  in  1880,  where  he  received  the  second 
prize  of  fifty  dollars.  That  great  orator,  Gen. 
John  C.  Black,  was  one  of  the  judges  and 
marked  him  one  hundred  on  delivery.  At 
the  close  of  his  college  life  in  1881,  Mr. 
Bryan  stood  at  the  head  of  his  class  and  de- 
livered the  valedictory.  This  much  is  given 
for  the  encouragement  of  young  men,  show- 
ing that  improvement  only  comes  with  ef- 
fort, and  to  persevere,  though  the  first  at- 
tempt finds  you  near  the  foot. 

In  the  fall  of  1881  Mr.  Bryan  entered 
Union  Law  College  at  Chicago,  and  spent 
much  of  his  time  in  the  law  office  of  Lyman 
Trumbull.  After  graduation  he  returned 
to  Salem  for  a  short  time,  and  won  his  fee 
in  the  county  court  of  Marion  county. 

July  4,  1883,  Mr.  Bryan  began  the  prac- 


tice of  law  in  Jacksonville,  Illinois ;  he  had 
desk  room  in  the  office  of  Brown  &  Kirby, 
and  now  came  the  real  test,  waiting  for  busi- 
ness. The  first  six  months  were  trying  and 
he  was  forced  to  draw  upon  his  father's  es- 
tate for  small  advances,  and  at  one  time  he 
seriously  thought  of  seeking  new  fields,  but 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1884  brought 
clients  more  frequently,  and  he  felt  encour- 
aged to  stay  in  Jacksonville,  and  now  feeling 
that  he  could  see  success,  on  October  i, 
1884,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Baird, 
of  Perry,  Illinois. 

In  the  summer  of  1887  business  called 
Mr.  Bryan  to  the  West,  and  he  spent  one 
Sunday  with  a  classmate,  A.  R.  Talbot,  who 
was  located  in  Lincoln,  Nebraska.  So  greatly 
was  he  impressed  with  the  opportunities  of 
the  growing  capital  of  the  state  that  he  re- 
turned to  Illinois  full  of  enthusiasm  for  the 
city  of  Lincoln,  and  perfected  plans  for  re- 
moval thither.  In  October,  1887,  a  partner- 
ship was  formed  with  Mr.  Talbot,  and 
during  the  next  three  years  a  paying  prac- 
tice resulted. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Bryan  settled  in  Lincoln 
he  identified  himself  actively  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  of  which  he  had  been  a  mem- 
ber in  Illinois,  and  to  the  principles  of  which 
his  whole  being  was  bound,  and  made  his  first 
political  speech  at  Seward,  in  the  spring  of 
1888.  Soon  after  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate 
to  the  state  convention,  and  in  the  canvass 
of  the  First  Congressional  District  he  made 
many  speeches  in  favor  of  J.  Sterling  Mor- 
ton, and  also  spoke  in  thirty-four  counties 
in  favor  of  the  state  ticket.  Mr.  Morton 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


was  defeated  by  thirty-four  hundred,  as  the 
district  was  strongly  Republican.  In  1890 
there  was  but  little  hope  for  the  Democrats 
in  the  First  District,  and  Mr.  Bryan  was 
nominated  without  opposition.  W.  J.  Con- 
nell  was  the  Republican  nominee.  A  chal- 
lenge to  conduct  the  canvass  by  a  series  of 
joint  debates  was  issued  by  Mr.  Bryan  and 
accepted  by  Mr.  Connell,  and  at  the  close 
Mr.  Bryan  won  by  a  plurality  of  six  thou- 
sand, seven  hundred  and  thirteen.  Mr. 
Bryan  was  elected  to  Congress  again  from 
a  new  district  which  had  been  formed  when 
the  state  was  re-apportioned  in  1891.  The 
Republican  state  ticket  carried  the  district 
by  six  thousand,  five  hundred,  but  Mr. 
Bryan  was  elected  by  one  hundred  and  forty 
plurality.  During  the  four  years  he  was  in 
Congress,  he  was  very  active,  taking  part  in 
every  important  debate  and  speaking  many 
times.  He  declined  to  run  again  for  Con- 
gress but  later  permitted  his  nomination  for 
the  Senate,  but  the  Republicans  carried  the 
state  and  Thurston  was  chosen  Senator. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention 
convened  at  Chicago  July  4,  1896,  and  for 
four  days  a  battle  of  giants  ensued  over  the 
monetary  plank  in  the  platform.  Speeches 
were  made  for  and  against  the  free  silver 
coinage  plank  by  such  men  of  master  minds 
and  national  reputations  before  the  conven- 
tion as  Senator  Tillman,  Senator  Jones, 
Senator  Hill,  Senator  Vilas,  ex-Governor 
Russell.  Senator  Tillman  favored  the  ma- 
jority report  of  the  committee,  which  fa- 
vored the  free  coinage;  all  the  rest  opposed. 
The  debate  was  closed  by  Mr.  Bryan  in 


support  of  the  majority  report  in  a  speech 
which  rang  so  true  and  was  such  a  master 
piece  of  oratory  that  the  convention  was 
swept  off  its  feet  and  brought  to  Mr.  Bryan 
the  nomination  for  the  Presidency  on  the 
fifth  ballot  on  Friday,  July  loth.  After  a 
most  remarkable  campaign  he  was  defeated 
by  William  McKinley  being  elected. 

Four  years  later  Mr.  Bryan,  greater  in 
defeat  than  other  men  in  success,  was  again 
the  choice  of  the  Democratic  party  for  the 
Presidency,  and  again  suffered  defeat,  Mr. 
McKinley  being  re-elected.  In  1904  the 
Democratic  party  nominated  Alton  B.  Par- 
ker, of  New  York,  for  President,  and  he 
led  the  party  to  the  most  crushing  defeat 
ever  suffered  by  any  party  since  the  days  of 
John  Ouincy  Adams. 

In  1908  the  Democratic  party  again  nom- 
inated Mr.  Bryan,  and  the  Republican  party 
William  H.  Taft  and  again  the  decision  was 
against  the  former.  Thrice  defeated  yet 
with  each  defeat  growing  greater,  ad- 
vocating great  principles  which  he  sees  his 
political  opponents  adopt,  he  stands  today 
the  greatest  living  American. 

When  in  1906  and  1907  he  took  a  trip 
around  the  world,  he  was  received  every- 
where with  such  ovations  as  are  seldom  ac- 
corded to  any,  and  were  never  before  to  a 
private  citizen,  and  his  welcome  home  in  the 
city  of  New  York  was  a  demonstration  of 
love  and  respect  from  Americans  to  an 
American  that  has  never  been  equalled  in 
the  history  of  the  nation.  Mr.  Bryan  may 
never  be  President,  but  he  has  made  an 
impress  on  the  nation  for  good  that  can 


ilOC.KAPHICAL    AND    KK  M  I  .\  ISCKNT     HISTORY    OF 


never  be  effaced  and  from  his  life  the  peo- 
ples of  the  world  have  received  an  uplift 
that  will  be  felt  to  bless  generations  yet  un- 
born. In  his  life  of  moral  purity,  in  his  sin- 
cere Christianity,  and  in  his  addresses  on 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  life  he  has 
given  a  new  impulse  to  many  a  youth  for 
better  things  and  if  his  work  closed  now 
the  one  address  "The  Prince  of  Peace,"  will 
stand  a  monument,  more  enduring  than 
chiseled  marble  or  moulded  brass,  standing 
forever  as  it  must  in  the  higher  aims,  purer 
thoughts,  nobler  impulses  and  grander  lives 
of  the  men  and  women  of  the  America  of 
the  future. 


BRYANT  HIGGINS. 

The  family  of  our  subject  has  been  known 
in  Richland  county  since  the  pioneer  pe- 
riod, and,  without  invidious  comparison,  it 
can  with  propriety  be  said  that  no  other 
name  is  better  known  or  more  highly  es- 
teemed in  Richland  county.  Honored  and 
respected  by  all,  there  is  today  no  man  in 
the  county  who  occupies  a  more  enviable 
position  in  the  estimation  of  the  public,  not 
alone  by  the  success  he  has  achieved,  but 
also  for  the  commendable  and  straightfor- 
ward policies  which  he  has  ever  pursued  and 
the  blameless  life  he  has  lived.  He  has  led  a 
life  of  noble  endeavor,  a  life  not  devoid  of 
hardship  and  failure,  but  withal  successful 
and  happy  and  one  that  is  calculated  to  ben- 
efit any  locality,  therefore  those  who  know 
Mr.  Higgins  are  glad  to  accord  him  the  re- 


spect due  him,  and  in  his  old  age  he  has  the 
cheer  of  loyal  friends  and  the  thought  that 
his  life  has  been  lived  in  a  manner  that  has 
resulted  in  no  evil  or  harm  to  anyone. 

Bryant  Higgins,  an  account  of  whose  in- 
teresting reminiscences  of  the  early  days 
appears  in  this  work,  and  who  has  been  one 
of  the  leading  business  and  public  men  in 
Richland  county,  who  is  now  living  in  hon- 
orable retirement,  enjoying  a  well  earned 
respite,  was  born  in  Edwards  county,  Illi- 
nois, September  28,  1838.  George  Hig- 
gins, grandfather  of  the  subject,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Connecticut,  whose  father,  Willis 
Higgins,  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  was  a 
follower  of  Cromwell.  When  that  great 
leader  went  down  in  defeat,  Willis  Higgins 
soon  afterward  emigrated  to  America,  lo- 
cating at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  where  he 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  used 
the  prefix  "O"  to  his  name,  O'Higgins.  He 
was  a  military  man  most  of  his  life,  belong- 
ing to  the  English  army.  George  Higgins. 
grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born  in 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  became  a  tan- 
ner, which  profession  he  followed  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  came  to  Illinois  in 
1803  with  his  family,  settling  where  is  now 
Friendsville,  Wabash  county,  then  known  as 
Edwards  county,  which  included  nearly  one- 
third  of  the  state.  All  was  then  wilderness 
west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  He  was 
among  the .  early  pioneers  of  this  state. 
Many  hardships  were  endured  on  his  trip 
overland.  He  took  up  land,  cleared  and 
improved  farms.  He  was  a  typical  pioneer 
of  sterling  traits.  George  Higgins  was  a 


ICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


RICH  LA 

Her.  liavi 


r  Revolutionary  soldit 
iment   of  Connecticut   infantry. 


'ing  been  in  a  reg- 
The   sub- 

\  ject  has  a  pair  of  spectacles  which  his 
grandfather  wore  from  Dorchester  Heights 
to  Yorktown.  It  is  a  relic  which  he  prizes 
very  highly.  A  well  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  deep  was  dug  at  Friendsville  in  those 
days  when  it  was  inside  of  what  was  then 
Fort  Barney,  and  George  and  Ransom  Hig- 
gins,  the  latter  the  subject's  father,  helped 
dig  the  same.  It  is  still  in  use.  George 
Higgins  died  there  at  an  advanced  age.  Our 
subject's  father,  Ransom  Higgins,  was  born 
in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  where  he  was 
reared,  and  in  this  state  he  married  Ann 
Bullard,  a  native  of  South  Carolina.  In  1800 
Ransom  Higgins  made  the  long  trip  over- 
land on  horseback  from  Hartford  to  Vin- 
cennes.  Indiana.  It  was  a  trip  of  inspec- 
tion to  the  vicinity  of  what  is  now  Friends- 
ville for  the  purpose  of  finding  a  place  for 
settlement  of  a  colony  which  came  in  1803, 
already  referred  to.  He  returned  to  Con- 
necticut in  1 80 1  and  accompanied  the  colony 
west  two  years  later.  He  was  a  millwright 
and  probably  built  the  first  mill  in  this  lo- 
cality in  1805  on  the  Embarass  river.  It 
was  driven  by  water  power.  It  was  located 
where  Billet  Station  now  stands  on  the  Big 
Four  Railway,  the  mill  having  been  built  for 
a  Mr.  Brown.  The  father  of  our  subject  is 
described  as  a  very  humane  man.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  physical  endurance,  six  feet 
and  four  inches  in  height  and  weighed  two 
hundred  and  seventy  pounds.  About  the 
time  he  built  the  mill  referred  to  he  found 
an  Indian  in  the  woods  with  a  broken  leg. 


whom  he  carried  to  shelter  and  nursed. 
Soon  after  this  the  Indian  warned  him  that 
Brown  and  his  family  would  be  killed.  Mr. 
Higgins  urged  them  to  leave  the  mill  and 
seek  shelter,  but  they  refused  and  were  soon 
afterward  killed.  Mr.  Higgins  was  after- 
wards known  to  the  Indians  as  "Big  Medi- 
cine Man."  He  was  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  many  years,  being  among  the  first  in  the 
territory.  He  was  also  Overseer  of  the 
Poor.  He  was  a  man  of  great  bravery  and 
courage  and  made  a  gallant  soldier  in  the 
War  of  1812,  and  also  in  the  Black  Hawk 
war,  and  enlisted  for  the  Mexican  war,  but 
was  later  sent  home.  He  was  at  the  battle 
of  Tippecanoe.  His  death  occurred  in  1850 
in  Edwards  county,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight 
years.  His  faithful  life  companion,  a  woman 
of  many  fine  traits,  passed  to  her  rest  in  Ol- 
ney  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  all  de- 
ceased except  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who 
was  the  youngest  of  the  family. 

Bryant  Higgins,  our  subject,  was  reared 
amid  pioneer  scenes  on  a  farm.  He  attend- 
ed subscription  and  public  schools,  also  had 
private  tutors,  and  made  good  use  of  his 
opportunity,  such  as  it  was  in  those  early 
days,  to  secure  a  fairly  good  education.  He 
studied  civil  engineering  and  surveying  un- 
der a  Mr.  Sloan,  making  rapid  progress  in 
this  line  of  work,  which  he  followed  with 
gratifying  results  for  many  years.  He  lo- 
cated in  Richland  county  in  1851,  and  has 
since  resided  here.  He  did  much  of  the 
'early  surveying  in  Richland  county  and  has 
seen  the  same  develop  from  the  wilderness 


mOGRAIMIICAL    AXD    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


to  its  present  high  position  among  the  sis- 
ter counties  of  this  great  commonwealth,  al- 
ways doing  his  just  share  in  the  work  of 
progress. 

Mr.  Higgins  was  one  of  the  loyal  sons  of 
the  Union  who  was  glad  to  offer  his  services 
under  the  old  flag  when  the  dark  days  of 
rebellion  came,  having  been  among  the  ear- 
liest to  enlist  in  April,  1861,  in  Company  D, 
Eighth  Regiment  Illinois  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, his  enlistment  having  been  for  three 
months.  The  subject  and  John  Lynch  were 
instrumental  in  organizing  Company  D, 
which  was  the  first  company  organized  and 
mustered  from  Richland  county.  After  his 
first  term  of  enlistment  had  expired  he  en- 
listed in  Company  G,  Twenty-sixth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which  he  served  in  a 
most  gallant  manner  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  having  been  mustered  out  at  Moscow, 
Tennessee,  in  1865.  During  his  service  he 
was  in  the  siege  of  Corinth  and  the  battles 
there,  also  fought  at  luka.  Farmington,  the 
siege  of  Vicksburg,  Missionary  Ridge,  the 
siege  of  Atlanta.  He  was  wounded  at  Far- 
mington, Mississippi,  May  9,  1862,  having 
been  hit  in  the  right  elbow  by  a  piece  of 
shell.  He  was  examined  for  promotion 
twice  and  was  on  General  Loomis'  staff,  but 
was  not  commissioned,  being  orderly  ser- 
geant. Nineteen  years  after  the  war  closed 
he  was  presented  with  a  badge  made  at 
Meriden,  Connecticut.  It  was  given  to  Mr. 
Higgins  by  Gen.  John  Mason  Loomis,  who 
had  it  made  in  recognition  of  services  ren- 
dered by  the  subject.  The  arrangement  of 
the  badge  commemorates  the  Thirteenth, 


Fifteenth,  Seventeenth  and  Twentieth  Army 
Corps,  the  subject  having  been  a  member  of 
the  Fifteenth,  John  A.  Logan's  Corps,  which 
was  never  defeated,  and  was  never  set 
against  a  town  it  did  not  capture.  The  old 
cartridge  box  of  forty  rounds  became  the 
badge  of  the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Higgins  returned 
home,  having  married  in  1862  while  on  a 
trip  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  on  military  busi- 
ness. He  took  up  surveying  and  civil  en- 
gineering and  did  much  work  settling  old 
disputed  business.  In  1892  he  was  elected 
County  Surveyor,  being  the  only  Republican 
on  the  ticket  elected  in  a  Democratic  coun- 
ty, which  fact  proved  his  great  popularity 
in  his  locality.  He  has  lived  in  Olney  many 
years  and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  community.  In  the  spring  of 
1907  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  City 
Council,  being  the  sixth  year  as  a  member 
of  the  same.  He  also  served  one  term  as 
City  Surveyor.  He  now  lives  retired  in  a 
beautiful  and  comfortable  home,  modern 
and  nicely  furnished. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Higgins  was  Sarah  E. 
Marney  before  her  marriage,  the  daughter 
of  Robert  and  Sarah  E.  (Morris)  Marney, 
pioneers  of  Richland  county,  where  Mrs. 
Higgins  was  born.  Her  father  was  a  na- 
tive of  Scotland  and  her  mother  was  born 
in  Kentucky.  The  Morris  family  were  great 
slave  owners,  bringing  them  to  Illinois,  and 
later  freed  them  here.  Colonel  Morris, 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  Higgins,  also  her  father, 
Robert  Marney,  were  in  the  War  of  1812 
and  were  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  Col- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


onel  Morris  being  wounded  there.  Robert 
Marney  was  the  first  Probate  Judge  of 
Richland  county. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Higgins  are  the  parents  of 
five  children,  four  boys  and  one  girl,  two  of 
whom  are  living.  Their  oldest  son.  Lew 
K.,  is  in  the  employ  of  the  Wells  Fargo  Ex- 
press Company  at  Oakland,  California, 
James,  the  youngest  son,  is  fireman  on  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad;  Edward  died 
in  infancy ;  Mary  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years ;  Robert  was  killed  in  a  railroad  wreck 
in  Arizona  when  thirty  years  old,  having 
been  conductor  on  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad. 

Mr.  Higgins  has  been  a  keen  and  alert 
man  of  affairs,  and  long  a  man  of  power  in 
his  community.  Over  half  a  century  has 
passed  since  he  came  to  this  county  and  his 
name  is  inscribed  high  on  the  roll  of  honored 
pioneers. 


JETER  C.  UTTERBACK. 

Prominent  among  the  leading  journalists 
of  southern  Illinois  is  the  well  known  and 
highly  esteemed  gentleman  whose  name  fur- 
nishes the  caption  of  this  article.  As  editor 
and  proprietor  of  one  of  the  influential  pa- 
pers in  his  part  of  the  state  he  has  been  a 
forceful  factor  in  moulding  sentiment  in  his 
community  and  directing  thought  along 
those  lines  which  make  for  the  enlighten- 
ment of  the  public  and  the  highest  good  of 
his  fellow  men. 

Jeter  C.  Utterback  is  a  native  of  Jasper 
county,  Illinois,  where  his  birth  occurred  on 
the  8th  day  of  August,  1873.  His  father, 


B.  C.  W.  Utterback,  a  Kentuckian  by  birth, 
was  the  son  of  Thomas  Utterback,  who  was 
also  a  native  of  the  Blue  Grass  state,  and  a 
member  of  one  of  the  oldest  pioneer  families 
of  Grayson  county.  In  an  early  day  Thomas 
Utterback  became  prominent  in  the  affairs 
of  his  county  and  stood  high  in  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens.  In 
1836  he  migrated  to  Illinois  and  settled  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  Richland  county, 
where  he  also  became  a  local  leader  and  a 
man  of  wide  influence.  He  was  a  farmer  by 
occupation,  and  in  due  time  accumulated  a 
large  and  valuable  estate  in  the  county  of 
Richland,  in  which  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days,  dying  a  number  of  years  ago, 
deeply  lamented  by  the  large  circle  of  friends 
and  acquaintances  who  had  learned  to  prize 
him  for  his  sterling  worth. 

B.  C.  W.  Utterback  was  reared  to  matu- 
rity in  Richland  county,  and,  like  his  father, 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  for  a  liveli- 
hood. In  the  early  seventies  he  disposed  of 
his  interests  in  the  county  of  Richland  and 
removed  to  Jasper  county,  where  he  contin- 
ued farming  and  stock  raising  until  1878, 
when  heturned  his  land  over  to  other  hands 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  Newton,  where 
he  is  now  living  a  life  of  honorable  retire- 
ment. Nancy  Ann  Hinman,  who  became  the 
wife  of  B.  C.  W.  Utterback  in  January,  1856, 
was  born  in  Bartholomew  county,  Indiana, 
where  her  father,  Titus  Hinman,  a  native  of 
Ohio,  settled  in  an  early  day.  She  bore  her 
husband  ten  children,  seven  of  whom  sur- 
vive, namely :  Eva,  wife  of  George  E.  Hut- 
son,  of  Dundas,  Illinois;  Thomas  H.,  As- 
sistant State  Librarian,  who  lives  in  the 


i:io<;KApmcAi,  AND  REMINISCENT  HISTORY  OF 


city  of  Springfield ;  Hester,  now  Mrs.  T.  C. 
Chamberlin,  of  Newton;  Charles  C.  resides 
in  Salem;  Albert  L.,  of  Caney,  Kansas, 
where  he  holds  the  position  of  postmaster; 
M.  T.,  of  Newton,  and  Jeter  C.,  whose  name 
introduces  this  sketch. 

Jeter  C.  Utterback  spent  his  early  life  in 
the  town  of  Newton,  grew  up  under  the 
sturdy  and  invigorating  discipline  of  an  ex- 
cellent home  environment  and  while  still  a 
lad  laid  his  plans  for  the  future  with  the 
object  of  becoming  something  more  than  a 
mere  passive  agent  in  the  world  of  affairs. 
In  due  time  he  entered  the  schools  of  his 
native  place  and  after  attending  the  same 
until  completing  the  prescribed  course  of 
study,  in  1889  began  learning  the  printer's 
trade  in  the  office  of  the  Newton  Mentor, 
where  he  made  rapid  progress  and  soon 
became  quite  proficient,  besides  obtaining  a 
practical  knowledge  of  other  branches  of  the 
profession.  After  mastering  the  trade  he 
worked  for  a  short  time  in  Webb  City,  Mis- 
souri, and  then  accepted  a  position  in  the 
office  of  the  St.  Louis  Post-Dispatch,  where 
he  continued  until  1891,  when  he  came  to 
Salem,  Illinois,  and  entered  the  employ  of 
Mrs.  Belle  C.  Johnson,  editress  and  man- 
ager of  The  Republican,  with  whom  he 
continued  until  affecting  a  co-partnership 
with  his  brother,  T.  H.  Utterback,  for  the 
purchase  of  a  paper  four  years  later. 

The  Republican  under  the  joint  manage- 
ment of  the  Utterback  brothers,  continued 
to  make  its  periodical  visits  about  one  year, 
when  the  plant  passed  into  the  hands  of  G. 
C.  Harner,  the  subject  going  to  the  town 
of  Carrollton,  where  he  followed  his  chosen 


calling  until  his  return  to  Salem  in  1896, 
when  he  again  became  interested  in  The  Re- 
publican, buying  the  paper  that  year  from 
his  brother,  who  in  the  meantime  had  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Harner  as  editor  and  proprietor. 
On  becoming  sole  proprietor  of  The  Repub- 
lican Mr.  Utterback  infused  new  life  into 
the  paper  and  it  was  not  long  until  its  influ- 
ence began  to  be  felt  throughout  the  county, 
not  only  as  an  able  political  organ,  but  as  a 
clean,  dignified  and  popular  family  paper, 
through  the  columns  of  which  appeared  all 
the  latest  news,  also  much  of  the  best  liter- 
ature of  the  day,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
numerous  productions  from  the  pens  of  local 
writers.  Since  assuming  control  he  has 
enlarged  the  paper  as  well  as  added  to  its 
interest  and  popularity  besides  purchasing 
new  machinery,  presses  and  other  appliances 
and  thoroughly  equipping  the  office  until  the 
plant  is  now  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  the 
kind  in  Marion  county,  and  in  all  that  con- 
stitutes a  live  up-to-date  sheet  The  Repub- 
lican compares  favorably  with  any  other  lo- 
cal paper  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state. 
Mechanically  it  is  a  model  of  the  printer's 
art,  and  politically  is  staunchly  and  uncom- 
promisingly Republican,  being  the  official 
party  organ  of  Marion  county,  while  its  in- 
fluence in  directing  and  controlling  current 
thought  in  relation  to  the  leading  questions 
and  issues  of  the  day  has  brought  it  promi- 
nently to  the  notice  of  party  leaders  through- 
out the  state. 

As  an  editorial  writer,  Mr.  Utterback  is 
clear,  forceful,  elegant,  at  times  trenchant, 
and  in  discussing  the  leading  questions  be- 
fore the  people  he  is  a  courteous  but  fearless 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


and  formidable  antagonist.  On  all  matters 
of  public  policy  he  occupies  no  neutral 
ground,  but  fearlessly  and  honestly  advo- 
cates what  he  considers  to  be  for  the  best 
interest  of  the  people  and  regardless  of  con- 
sequences. In  addition  to  its  prominence 
and  influence  as  a  party  organ,  Mr.  Utter- 
back  has  endeavored  to  make  his  paper 
answer  the  purpose  of  an  educational  factor 
and  such  it  has  indeed  become,  as  its  con- 
tents, both  political  and  general,  tend  to 
improve  the  mind  and  cultivate  the  taste 
rather  than  appeal  to  passion  and  prejudice, 
after  the  manner  of  too  many  local  sheets. 

In  recognition  of  valuable  political  ser- 
vices as  well  as  by  reason  of  his  fitness  for 
the  position,  Mr.  Utterback  in  February, 
1907,  was  appointed  by  President  Roosevelt, 
postmaster  of  Salem,  the  duties  of  which 
responsible  position  he  has  discharged  with 
commendable  fidelity,  proving  an  able,  cour- 
teous and  truly  obliging  public  official.  At 
the  time  of  his  appointment  the  office  was 
in  the  third  class  with  a  salary  of  $1,700 
per  year,  but  since  then  the  business  has  in- 
creased to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  now  a 
second  class  office  with  fair  prospects  of 
advancing. 

Since  the  establishment  of  a  post-office 
at  Salem  many  years  ago,  no  young  man 
was  appointed  postmaster  until  the  honor 
fell  to  Mr.  Utterback,  and  to  say  that  he  has 
been  praiseworthy  of  the  trust  and  dis- 
charged the  duties  as  ably  and  faithfully  as 
any  of  his  numerous  predecessors  is  to  state 
a  fact  of  which  all  are  cognizant,  and  which 
all,  irrespective  of  political  alignment,  most 
cheerfully  concede.  The  high  esteem  in 


which  he  is  held  as  an  editor,  public  servant 
and  enterprising  citizen,  indicate  the  pos- 
session of  sterling  manly  qualities  and  a 
character  above  reproach,  and  that  he  is 
destined  to  fill  a  still  larger  place  in  the  pub- 
lic gaze  and  win  brighter  honor  with  the 
passing  of  years,  is  the  belief  of  his  friends 
and  fellow  citizens,  based,  they  say,  on  the 
able  and  conscientious  manner  in  which  he 
has  fulfilled  every  trust  thus  far  confided  to 
him.  Mr.  Utterback,  although  a  young  man, 
has  achieved  success  such  as  few  attain  in 
a  much  longer  career,  and  the  hope  the  peo- 
ple of  Salem  and  Marion  county  entertain 
for  his  future  seems  fully  justified  and  well 
founded. 

Mr.  Utterback  is  a  splendid  type  of  the 
intelligent,  broadminded  American  of  today, 
and  personally  as  well  as  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  press  he  is  doing  much  to  foster 
the  material  development  and  intellectual 
growth  of  his  city  and  county,  besides  exer- 
cising an  active  and  potential  influence  in 
elevating  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  com- 
munity. He  holds  membership  with  the 
Pythian  Lodge  of  Salem,  and  has  labored 
earnestly  to  make  the  organization  answer 
the  purposes  which  the  founders  had  in 
view,  exemplifying  in  his  daily  life  and  con- 
duct the  beautiful  principles  and  sublime 
precepts  upon  which  the  order  is  based.  He 
is  a  believer  in  revealed  religion,  and  while 
subscribing  to  the  Methodist  faith  is  not 
narrow  in  his  views,  having  faith  in  the 
mission  of  all  churches  and  to  the  extent  of 
his  ability  assisting  the  different  organiza- 
tions of  his  city,  although  devoutly  loyal 
to  the  one  with  which  identified. 


HIOGKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Mr.  Utterback  owns  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  attractive  homes  in  Salem,  which 
is  a  favorite  resort  of  the  best  social  circle 
of  the  city,  and  within  its  walls  reigns  an 
air  of  genuine  hospitality  which  sweetens 
the  welcome  extended  to  every  guest  that 
crosses  the  threshold.  The  presiding  spirit 
of  this  attractive  domicile  is  a  lady  of  intel- 
ligence and  gracious  presence  who  presides 
over  the  family  circle  with  becoming  grace 
and  dignity,  and  whose  popularity  is  only 
bounded  by  the  limits  of  her  acquaintance. 
The  maiden  name  of  this  estimable  woman 
was  Charlotte  B.  Merritt,  and  the  ceremony 
by  which  it  was  changed  to  the  one  she  now 
so  worthily  bears  as  the  wife  and  helpmeet 
of  the  subject  was  solemnized  on  the  2nd 
day  of  November,  1898.  Mrs.  Utterback 
is  the  daughter  of  Hon.  T.  E.  Merritt,  of 
Salem,  ex-Senator  from  Marion  county,  and 
a  man  of  influence  and  high  standing  both 
politically  and  socially.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ut- 
terback have  one  child,  a  son,  Tom  C.,  who 
was  born  October  17,  1901,  and  for  whose 
future  his  fond  parents  entertain  many  ar- 
dent hopes. 


ROBERT  T.  McQUIN. 

In  the  pursuit  of  his  business  career  Mr. 
McQuin  has  displayed  unfaltering  devotion 
to  the  principles  he  has  learned  to  cherish 
and  his  honesty  and  integrity  have  earned 
him  a  place  among  the  representative  and 
staunchest  citizens  of  Marion  county,  Illi- 
nois. 


Robert  T.  McQuin  was  born  in  Johnson 
county,  Indiana,  October  16,  1853,  the  son 
of  William  I.  McQuin,  a  native  of  Kentucky 
who  went  to  Indiana  when  a  young  man. 
He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  moved 
from  Indiana  soon  after  our  subject  was 
born,  locating  at  Oconee,  Shelby  county,  Il- 
linois, where  he  lived  for  three  or  four  years. 
Then  he  moved  to  Salem,  Illinois,  in  July, 
1859.  The  first  work  he  did  here  was  on 
the  Park  Hotel,  which  was  built  in  that  year 
by  Amos  Clark  and  which  was  known  then 
as  the  Clark  House.  William  I.  McQuin 
continued  to  live  in  Salem,  where  he  was 
regarded  as  a  man  of  integrity  and  influ- 
ence, until  his  death  in  October,  1899.  The 
mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
known  in  her  maidenhood  as  Mary  E.  Stur- 
geon, who  was  a  native  of  Kentucky  and  a 
woman  of  many  estimable  traits.  Her  moth- 
er lived  to  reach  the  remarkable  age  of  nine- 
ty-seven years.  One  of  her  brothers  was  a 
policeman  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  She  died 
in  April,  1908,  in  Denison,  Texas,  where 
she  was  living  with  her  son,  Edwin  S.  Mc- 
Quin. 

The  father  and  mother  of  the  subject 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  five  of 
whom  are  living.  Their  names  in  order  of 
birth  follow:  Tarlton,  deceased;  William  F., 
deceased;  Robert  T.,  our  subject;  James  S., 
who  is  living  at  New  Castle,  Indiana,  and 
is  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Hoosier 
Kitchen  Cabinet  Company,  which  is  doing 
an  extensive  business  all  over  the  world; 
Sarah  E.,  deceased;  Agnes,  deceased;  Ed- 
win S.,  living  at  Denison,  Tex.,  being  a  con- 
ductor on  the  Missouri,  Kansas  &  Texas 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


-'7 


Railroad  Company's  lines:  John  T.,  a  car- 
penter, living  in  St.  Louis;  May  lives  with 
her  brother  in  Denison,  Texas. 

These  children  all  received  every  advan- 
tage possible  by  their  parents,  who  tried  to 
raise  them  in  a  wholesome  home  atmosphere, 
setting  worthy  ideals  before  them  at  all 
times. 

Robert  T.  McOuin,  our  subject,  lived  with 
his  father  until  he  was  twenty-five  years  old. 
assisting  with  the  work  about  the  place  and 
attending  the  public  schools  of  Salem,  in 
which  he  diligently  applied  himself,  and  re- 
ceived a  fairly  good  education.  When  twen- 
ty years  old  he  began  working  as  a  harness 
maker  and  two  years  later  commenced  the 
shoemaker's  trade,  following  this  with  much 
success  until  1881,  when  he  launched  into 
the  shoe  business  for  himself,  having  con- 
tinued the  same  ever  since  with  satisfactory 
results,  building  up  a  large  and  extensive 
trade  by  reason  of  his  honest  business  prin- 
ciples and  his  uniform  courtesy  to  custom- 
ers. His  trade  extends  to  all  parts  of  the 
county  and  his  store  is  well  known  to  all 
the  citizens  of  Salem  and  surrounding  towns 
for  his  patrons  have  learned  that  he  handles 
the  best  grade  of  footwear  in  the  market  and 
always  gives  good  value.  He  augmented  his 
business  in  1889  by  adding  a  complete  stock 
of  harness  and  by  doing  a  general  line  of  re- 
pair work.  He  now  handles  a  full  line  of 
harness  and  similar  materials.  He  manufac- 
tures most  all  of  his  heavy  harness  and  some 
buggy  harness,  being  recognized  as  the  lead- 
ing dealer  in  this  line  in  Marion  county. 

Mr.  McQuin  was  happily  married  to  Jen- 


nie Slack,  October  16,  1879,  the  refined  and 
accomplished  daughter  of  Frederick  W. 
Slack,  who  lived  in  Salem  at  that  time.  Her 
family  were  natives  of  Kentucky.  It  was 
rather  singular  that  this  family  moved  from 
Kentucky  to  Oconee,  Illinois,  and  then  to 
Salem  simultaneously  with  the  McQuin  fam- 
ily ;  however  the  last  move  was  made  a  few 
years  after  the  McQuin  family  came  to  Sa- 
lem. Two  children  have  been  born  to  the 
subject  and  wife,  namely :  Maud,  who  is  the 
wife  of  Dwight  W.  Larimer,  in  the  abstract 
business  in  Salem ;  Ralph  is  the  second  child 
and  a  student  of  the  Salem  public  schools. 

Mr.  McOuin  has  been  twice  honored  by 
being  elected  City  Council  of  Salem.  He 
is  associated  with  his  brother-in-law,  \Y.  S. 
Slack,  in  the  monument  business  in  Salem, 
which  is  also  a  thriving  business,  the  firm 
name  being  R.  T.  McQuin  &  Company. 

Our  subject  is  a  Modern  Woodman  in  his 
fraternal  relations  and  he  belongs  to  the 
Presbyterian  church,  having  been  a  consist- 
ent member  of  the  same  for  a  period  of  thir- 
ty-four years  in  1908.  Mrs.  McQuin  also 
subscribes  to  this  faith.  Our  subject  has 
been  a  deacon  in  the  church  and  is  now  a 
ruling  elder. 

Mr.  McQuin  has  ever  been  known  as  a 
loyal  citizen  and  has  done  his  share  in  aid- 
ing the  march  of  progress  and  development 
in  this  county,  and  during  his  residence  in 
Salem  his  characteristics  have  won  for  him 
recognition  as  a  man  of  upright  dealing  and 
by  his  many  virtues  he  has  won  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


WALTER  C.  IRWIN. 

One  of  the  progressive  and  well  known 
business  men  of  Salem,  Marion  county,  Illi- 
nois, is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  has 
spent  his  life  in  this  vicinity,  a  life  that  has 
been  very  active  and  useful,  for  he  has  not 
lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  it  is  every  man's 
duty  to  aid  in  the  upbuilding  of  his  county 
in  all  lines  of  development  while  he  is  ad- 
vancing his  own  interests,  and  because  of  the 
fact  that  he  has  ever  taken  an  interest  in 
the  public  weal,  has  led  an  honorable  and 
consistent  career,  being  at  present  one  of  the 
best  known  druggists  of  the  county,  the  pub- 
lishers of  this  work  are  glad  to  give  him 
proper  representation  here. 

Walter  C.  Irwin,  of  the  Salem  Drug  Com- 
pany, was  born  in  luka,  this  county,  in  Oc- 
tober, 1866,  the  son  of  Dr.  J.  A.  Irwin,  a 
native  of  Johnson  county,  Missouri,  who 
came  to  luka  at  the  close  of  the  war,  having 
been  a  surgeon  in  the  Confederate  army  un- 
der General  Price's  command.  He  was  at 
the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek,  near  Spring- 
field, Missouri,  and  also  the  battle  of  Pea 
Ridge,  Arkansas,  in  addition  to  many  other 
smaller  engagements.  He  successfully  prac- 
ticed his  profession  from  1865  to  1905,  and 
is  now  living  at  St.  Augustine,  Florida, 
where  he  went  in  1905  on  account  of  his 
health. 

The  mother  of  the  subject  was  Mary 
Dubbs,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  who  came 
to  Illinois  in  1865.  She  was  a  woman  of 
many  praiseworthy  traits  and  passed  to  her 
rest  in  1894  at  luka.  Four  children  were 


born  to  the  parents  of  our  subject,  named  in 
order  of  birth  as  follows :  \Valter,subject  of 
this  sketch;  Byrdie,  the  wife  of  Charles  A. 
Bainum,  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank 
at  Bicknell,  Indiana ;  J.  Max  is  practicing 
medicine  at  St.  Augustine,  Florida;  Maggie 
Alice  died  in  1880. 

Walter  Irwin  was  reared  at  luka,  where 
he  attended  the  common  schools,  later  tak- 
ing a  course  in  Lincoln  University  at  Lin- 
coln, Illinois,  which  he  attended  for  two 
years,  making  a  brilliant  record  as  a  student. 
After  this  he  attended  the  Business  Univer- 
sity at  Lincoln  for  one  year,  having  grad- 
uated from  the  same.  He  then  returned  to 
luka  and  was  engaged  in  general  merchan- 
dising and  the  drug  business  until  1894, 
when  he  came  to  Salem  and  embarked  in 
the  drug  business.  While  at  luka  he  was 
postmaster  under  Cleveland  and  resigned  to 
come  to  Salem,  and  his  father  was  appointed 
postmaster  in  his  place.  Our  subject  has 
been  in  Salem  ever  since,  with  the  exception 
of  two  years  spent  as  a  traveling  salesman, 
when  he  resided  in  Bloomington,  this  state. 

The  Salem  Drug  Company  was  organized 
August  26,  1907.  Prior  to  that  time  Mr. 
Irwin  owned  the  store,  having  established  it 
in  1904,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  two 
years  noted  he  has  been  continuously  identi- 
fied with  it,  building  up  an  excellent  trade 
with  the  people  of  Salem  and  the  entire  coun- 
ty, as  the  result  of  his  unusual  knowledge  of 
this  line  of  business  and  his  courteous  and 
impartial  treatment  of  cutsomers. 

Mr.  Irwin  was  married  in  1892  to  Maggie 
Stevenson,  who  was  born  in  Stevenson 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


township,  this  county,  the  accomplished 
daughter  of  Samuel  E.  Stevenson,  now  de- 
ceased, for  whom  the  township  was  named. 
lie  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  county  for 
many  years. 

One  son,  a  bright  and  interesting  lad,  has 
added  cheer  and  comfort  to  the  home  of  our 
subject,  who  bears  the  name  of  Eugene  E., 
and  whose  date  of  birth  occurred  November 
5,  1893,  while  the  family  was  residing  at 
luka. 

Mr.  Invin  has  prospered  as  a  result  of  his 
well  directed  energies  and  has  considerable 
business  interests  besides  his  drug  store, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  a  half  inter- 
est in  the  Fibernie  Sweep  Clean  Company, 
manufacturers  of  a  preparation  for  cleaning 
floors,  carpets,  etc.,  the  main  office  being  lo- 
cated at  Salem  with  branches  in  Springfield, 
Missouri ;  Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  Fort 
Smith,  Arkansas.  The  business  of  this  con- 
cern is  growing  at  a  rapid  stride.  Mr.  Ir- 
win  is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  Sa- 
lem National  Bank.  He  is  also  proprietor 
of  the  White  Foam  Company,  which  manu- 
factures a  preparation  for  cleaning  fabrics 
without  rubbing  and  which  at  present  prom- 
ises to  become  in  immense  demand.  Our 
subject  is  also  a  stockholder  and  director  in 
the  Oleite  Manufacturing  Company,  of  St. 
Louis,  which  manufactures  leather  dress- 
ings. 

Mr.  Irwin  has  served  in  a  most  acceptable 
manner  as  a  member  of  the  Salem  Board  of 
Education.  In  his  fraternal  relations  he  is 
a  Mason,  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Py- 
thias, the  American  Home  Circle,  Ben  Hur 


and  the  Eastern  Star,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ir- 
win are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
They  live  in  a  modern,  comfortable  and 
nicely  furnished  home,  which  is  presided 
over  with  rare  grace  and  dignity  by  Mrs. 
Irwin,  who  often  acts  as  hostess  to 
numerous  admiring  friends,  and  every- 
one who  crosses  its  threshold  is  made 
partaker  of  the  good  will  and  hos- 
pitality that  is  always  unstintingly  dis- 
pensed here,  and  because  of  their  genuine 
worth,  integrity,  uprightness  and  pleasing 
manners  no  couple  in  Marion  county  en- 
joy to  a  fuller  extent  the  esteem  and  friend- 
ship of  all  classes  than  our  subject  and  wife. 


BENJAMIN   E.   MARTIN,   SR. 

It  is  safe  to  venture  the  assertion  that  no 
one  attains  eminence  in  business  or  any  pro- 
fession without  passing  through  a  period  of 
more  or  less  unremitting  toil,  of  disappoint- 
ments and  struggles.  He  who  has  brought 
his  business  to  a  successful  issue  through 
years  of  work  and  has  established  it  upon 
a  substantial  basis,  and  yet  retains  the  ap- 
pearance of  youth,  who  has  in  his  step  the 
elasticity  of  younger  days  and  shows  little 
trace  of  worry  or  care  that  too  often  lag  the 
footsteps  of  the  direction  of  large  affairs, 
must  be  a  man  possessed  of  enviable  char- 
acteristics. Such  is  a  brief  word  picture  of 
the  worthy  gentleman  whose  name  forms  the 
caption  of  this  sketch,  as  he  now  appears, 
after  a  long,  active  and  prosperous  business 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


career,  the  peer  of  any  of  his  contemporaries 
in  all  that  enters  into  the  make-up  of  the  suc- 
cessful man  of  affairs  or  that  constitutes  a 
leader  in  important  business  enterprises. 
Therefore,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Martin  has  attained  worthy  prestige  as  a 
business  man,  and  also  because  he  was  one 
of  the  patriotic  sons  of  the  North  who  went 
forth  on  many  a  hard  fought  battlefield  to 
defend  the  flag  in  the  days  of  the  Rebellion, 
and  also  because  of  his  life  of  honor,  it  is 
eminently  fitting  that  he  be  given  just  rep- 
resentation in  a  work  of  the  province  as- 
signed to  the  one  at  hand. 

B.  E.  Martin  was  born  in  what  was  for- 
merly Estillville.  now  Gate  City.  Virginia, 
February  27,  1845.  the  son  of  John  S.  Mar- 
tin, also  a  native  of  Virginia  and  the  repre- 
sentative of  a  fine  old  Southern  family.  The 
father  of  the  subject  was  Clerk  of  the  Court 
in  his  home  county  for  a  period  of  twenty- 
four  years.  He  moved  to  Illinois  in  1846 
and  entered  government  land  near  Alma,  the 
land  that  Alma  now  stands  on.  He  laid  out 
the  town  of  Alma  and  there  went  into  the 
mercantile  business,  in  which  he  remained 
until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  He 
died  in  that  town  in  1866.  He  was  a  man 
of  unusual  business  ability  and  became  well 
known  in  his  community.  The  mother  of 
the  subject  was  Nancy  Brownlow,  a  native 
of  Virginia.  She  dide  shortly  after  she 
moved  to  Illinois.  She  is  remembered  as  a 
woman  of  gracious  personality.  Seven  chil- 
dren were  born  to  the  parents  of  our  subject, 
four  sons  and  three  daughters,  named  in  01- 
der  of  birth  as  follows :  Eliza,  deceased ;  Mrs. 


Nancy  Bradford,  of  Greenville,  Illinois, 
.Emily,  deceased;  Robert;  Mrs.  Kate  Ben- 
nett, of  Greenville,  Illinois;  Thompson  G., 
of  Salem;  B.  E.,  our  subject,  being  the 
youngest.  The  father  of  these  children  was 
married  three  times,  his  first  wife  being  Ma- 
linda  Morrison,  of  Estillville,  Virginia,  to 
whom  three  children  were  born,  two  dying 
in  infancy,  the  one  surviving  becoming  Col. 
James  S.  Martin,  now  deceased,  who  lived 
to  be  eighty  years  of  age,  a  sketch  of  whom 
appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The  sec- 
ond wife  was  the  mother  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch ;  the  third  wife  was  Jane  See,  to 
whom  one  child  was  born,  who  died  in  the 
Philippine  Islands. 

B.  E.  Martin,  Sr.,  was  reared  in  Alma, 
this  state,  remaining  there  until  he  was  six- 
teen years  of  age,  attending  the  local  school. 
When  only  sixteen  years  old  he  could  not  re- 
press the  patriotic  feeling  that  prompted  him 
to  shoulder  arms  in  defense  of  the  nation's 
integrity,  consequently  on  July  25,  1861,  he 
enlisted  in  the  Fortieth  Illinois  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. He  was  in  many  skirmishes  and  en- 
gagements, having  fought  in  the  great  bat- 
tle of  Shiloh,  where  his  regiment  lost  two 
hundred  and  forty-seven  men  in  the  two 
days'  fight,  and  he  was  in  several  small  en- 
gagements as  they  advanced  on  Corinth. 
His  brother,  Thomas  G..  was  in  every  en- 
gagement and  skirmish  in  which  this  regi- 
ment was  involved,  never  being  sick  a  day. 
and  never  missing  a  roll  call.  He  enlisted 
in  1 86 1  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
three  years  re-enlisted  as  a  veteran  and 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Our  sub- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


ject  had  three  brothers  and  one  half-brother 
in  the  army. 

After  his  career  in  the  army  Mr.  Martin 
went  into  the  drug  business  at  Greenville, 
Illinois.  He  later  went  to  Olathe,  Johnson 
county,  Kansas,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
same  line  of  business  from  1867  to  1869; 
then  he  returned  to  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
and  resumed  the  drug  business  here,  in 
which  he  remained  a  short  time.  Selling 
out  his  stock  of  drugs,  he  began  selling 
agricultural  implements,  adding  the  lumber 
business  in  connection  with  his  brother.  He 
made  a  success  of  all  the  lines  in  his  vari- 
ous locations.  In  1877  he  established  his 
present  business,  that  of  wholesale  seeds,  in 
which  he  has  quite  an  extensive  trade,  hav- 
ing become  known  as  the  leading  seed  man 
in  this  locality,  consequently  his  trade  ex- 
tends to  all  parts  of  the  country.  He  uses 
the  most  modern  and  highly  improved  ma- 
chinery for  cleaning  seeds. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  in 
November,  1866,  to  Florida  Cunningham, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Salem,  the 
daughter  of  John  Cunningham,  then  a  mer- 
chant of  Salem.  He  was  a  man  of  honest 
principle  and  influence  in  his  community. 

Eight  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy, 
the  others  are  now  living  in  1908.  They 
are:  Mary,  the  wife  of  Charles  T.  Austin, 
of  Indianapolis;  B.  E.,  Jr.,  who  is  engaged 
in  the  general  mercantile  business  in  Salem ; 
Bertha  is  the  wife  of  John  Gibson,  living  in 
Manila,  Philippine  Islands;  Nancy  is  living 
in  Salem;  John  C.  is  cashier  of  the  Salem 
National  Bank ;  Edith  and  Gena. 


The  subject  has  achieved  success  in  an 
eminent  degree  owing  to  his  well  directed 
energy  and  honesty  and  persistency.  He  is 
a  stockholder  and  director  of  the  Salem  Na- 
itonal  Bank.  He  owns  a  modern,  comfort- 
able and  nicely  furnished  residence. 

Mr.  Martin  has  served  as  Supervisor  of 
Salem  township.  He  discharged  the  duties 
of  this  office  with  his  usual  business  alacrity 
and  foresight.  He  is  a  Democrat  and  has 
always  been  active  in  politics.  In  his  fra- 
ternal relations  he  affiliates  with  the  Ma- 
sons. He  also  belongs  to  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  also  the  Gid- 
eons. He  is  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Woodmen,  and  he  is  well  and  favorably 
known  in  lodge  circles,  business  life  and 
social  relations,  being  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  trustworthy  and  substantial  citi- 
zens of  Salem  and  Marion  county. 

Before  closing  this  review  it  would  not  be 
amiss  to  quote  the  following  paragraph 
which  appeared  in  a  Salem  paper  some  time 
since  under  the  caption,  "A  Remarkable 
Record" : 

"There  resides  in  this  city  four  brothers 
who  have  a  record  which  is  remarkable  and 
doubtless  without  a  parallel  among  their 
fellow  countrymen.  They  were  all  soldiers 
in  the  Civil  war;  two  enlisting  in  the  Forti- 
eth Regiment  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  in 
1 86 1,  and  the  other  two  in  the  One  Hundred 
and  Eleventh  Regiment  of  this  state  in  1862. 
They  participated  in  every  battle  in  which 
their  respective  regiments  were  engaged. 
were  never  in  a  hospital,  and  none  of  them 
ever  received  the  slightest  wound,  notwith- 


32 


niOGKAI'HICAL    AND    KK.MIXISCKXT     HISTORY    OF 


standing  they  were  in  the  thickest  of  fights 
where  thousands  were  slain  or  wounded.  At 
the  battle  of  Shiloh  nearly  three  hundred 
of  the  Fortieth  Regiment  were  killed  or 
wounded,  but  'Tom'  and  'Ben'  were  among 
those  who  came  out  without  a  scratch. 
These  four  brothers  with  the  remarkable 
record  are  James  S.,  Thomas,  Robert  and 
Benjamin  E.  Martin,  honorable,  substantial 
citizens  of  Salem." 


HON.  CHARLES  E.  HULL. 

One  of  the  notable  men  of  his  day  and 
generation,  who  has  gained  success  and  rec- 
ognition for  himself  and  at  the  same  time 
honored  his  county  and  state  by  distin- 
guished services  in  important  trusts,  is 
Hon.  Charles  E.  Hull,  of  Salem,  who 
holds  worthy  prestige  among  the  leading 
business  men  of  Southern  Illinois.  Distinct- 
ively a  man  of  affairs  whose  broad  and  liber- 
al ideas  command  respect,  he  has  long  filled  a 
conspicuous  place  in  the  public  eye,  and  as 
a  leader  in  many  important  civic  enterprises 
as  well  as  a  notable  figure  in  the  political 
arena  of  his  day,  he  has  contributed  much 
to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  men  and  at- 
tained distinction  in  a  field  of  endeavor 
where  sound  erudition,  mature  judgment 
and  talents  of  a  high  order  are  required. 
Aside  from  his  honorable  standing  in  pri- 
vate and  public  life,  there  is  further  pro- 
priety in  according  him  representation  in 
the  work,  for  he  is  a  native  son  of  Marion 


county,  which  has  been  the  scene  of  the 
greater  part  of  his  life's  earnest  labors,  his 
home  being  in  the  beautiful  and  attractive 
little  city  of  Salem,  where  he  it  at  present 
the  head  of  a  large  and  important  business 
enterprise,  and  where  he  also  commands  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  all  classes  and  con- 
ditions of  the  populace. 

Mr.  Hull  belongs  to  an  old  and  highly 
esteemed  family  that  figured  in  the  early 
history  of  Kentucky,  to  which  state  his 
great-grandparent,  John  Hull,  emigrated 
from  New  Jersey  in  1788.  Here  Samuel 
Hull  was  born  in  1806.  About  the  year  1815 
the  Hulls  disposed  of  their  interests  in  the 
South  and  migrated  to  Illinois,  settling  at 
Grand  Prairie,  Clinton  county,  where  John 
Hull  died  in  1833.  Before  his  death  he  sent 
his  son,  Samuel,  into  what  is  now  the  county 
of  Marion  to  a  place  near  the  site  of  Wal- 
nut Hill,  where  he,  in  1823,  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  attended  the  first  school  ever 
taught  in  the  county.  At  this  time  Marion 
was  created  from  Jefferson  county  and  the 
young  man  remained  here,  marrying  in  1831 
Lucy,  the  daughter  of  Mark  Tully,  the 
founder  of  Salem.  He  was  made  Recorder 
in  1833,  which  office  he  held  until  1837, 
when  he  was  made  Sheriff,  filling  the  latter 
position  by  successive  re-elections  six  terms, 
the  most  of  the  time  without  opposition. 
Later  in  1849  he  was  further  honored  by 
being  elected  County  Judge,  this  being  un- 
der the  old  law  which  provided  for  two  As- 
sociate Judges,  but  Mr.  Hull's  knowledge  of 
law  together  with  his  fitness  for  the  position 
enabled  him  to  discharge  his  judicial  func- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COTNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


33 


tions  without  much  assistance  from  the  hon- 
orable gentleman  who  occupied  the  bench 
with  him.  He  proved  an  able  and  judicious 
judge,  and  during  his  incumbency  of  four 
years  transacted  a  great  deal  of  business  and 
rendered  a  number  of  important  decisions, 
but  few  of  which  suffered  reversal  at  the 
hands  of  higher  tribunals.  Shortly  after  re- 
tiring from  the  bench  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Pierce  postmaster  of  Salem,  and 
four  years  later  he  was  reappointed  by 
President  Buchanan,  holding  the  position 
during  the  latter's  administration,  and  in 
this,  as  in  the  other  offices  with  which  he 
was  honored,  proving  a  capable  and  popu- 
lar public  servant. 

Samuel  Hull  was  a  pronounced  Demo- 
crat and  influential  member  of  the  party  un- 
till  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  when 
he  became  a  Republican  and  a  great  admirer 
of  President  Lincoln,  whom  he  supported  in 
the  election  of  1860,  and  for  whom  he  ever 
afterward  entertained  feeling  of  the  most 
profound  regard.  He  was  a  prominent  fig- 
ure in  the  affairs  of  Marion  county  for  over 
eighty  years,  during  which  period  he  be- 
came widely  and  favorably  known, 
and  his  influence  was  always  on  the  side  of 
right  as  he  saw  and  understood  the  right. 
During  his  later  years  he  lived  a  life  of  hon- 
orable retirement  at  his  beautiful  rural  home 
near  Salem,  having  purchased  the  land 
from  the  Government  shortly  after  coming 
to  Marion  county,  building  with  his  own 
hands  in  1831  a  double  log  house,  which  still 
stands — the  oldest  building  in  Marion 
county.  This  sterling  citizen  and  faithful 
3 


official  lived  to  a  good  purpose  and  his  mem- 
ory is  cherished  as  a  sacred  heritage  not 
only  by  his  immediate  family  and  friends, 
but  by  the  entire  community,  all  with  whom 
he  was  accustomed  to  mingle,  feeling  his 
death  as  a  personal  loss.  He  reached  a 
ripe  and  contented  old  age  and  it  is  a  fact 
worthy  of  note  that  he  and  his  faithful  wife 
and  helpmeet  died  the  same  night  after  a 
mutually  happy  and  prosperous  wedded  ex- 
perience of  fifty-nine  years.  Samuel  Hull 
and  wife  were  held  in  high  esteem  by  near- 
ly every  citizen  of  Marion  county,  their  cir- 
cle of  friends  and  acquaintances  being  large 
and  their  names  familiar  sounds  in  almost 
every  household  in  both  city  and  country. 
He  served  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  besides 
participating  in  many  other  exciting  strug- 
gles during  the  pioneer  period,  as  he  was  a 
leader  among  his  fellow  men  and  always 
stood  for  law  and  order,  sometimes,  too,  at 
his  personal  risk.  The  land  which  he  en- 
tered and  improved  and  on  which  he  spent 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  is  now  owned  by 
his  grandson,  Charles  E.  Hull.  This  piece 
of  land,  now  within  the  city  limits  of  Sa- 
lem, has  the  unique  distinction  of  the  few- 
est transfers,  it  having  been  transferred  by 
purchase  from  Samuel  direct  to  Charles. 

Erasmus  Hull,  son  of  the  aforementioned 
Samuel  and  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  August  31,  1832,  in  Ma- 
rion county,  Illinois,  and  spent  his  entire 
life  near  the  place  of  his  birth,  having  for 
many  years  been  identified  with  the  town 
of  Salem,  and  a  leader  in  its  business  and 
financial  interests.  He  was  a  merchant  and 


34 


I!I()C,KAIM!ICAI.    AXI)    KKM  I  \  ISCKNT    HISTORY    OF 


banker  and  in  addition  to  achieving  marked 
success  in  those  capacities  he  was  also  an 
enterprising  man  of  affairs,  public  spirited 
in  all  the  term  implies  and  wielded  a  strong 
influence  in  behalf  of  all  measures  and 
movements  having  for  their  object  the  ma- 
terial advancement  of  the  community  and 
the  social  and  moral  welfare  of  the  people. 
A  leading  spirit  in  the  organization  of  the 
Salem  Bank,  in  1869,  and  one  of  the  orig- 
inal stockholders,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  from  that  time  until  his 
death,  and  to  his  mature  judgment,  sound 
business  ability  and  familiarity  with  finan- 
cial matters  were  largely  due  the  continued 
growth  and  signal  success  of  the  institu- 
tion. He  was  also  interested  in  the  Ma- 
rion County  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  the 
predecessor  of  the  bank,  and  always  kept  in 
close  touch  with  the  finances  of  the  state 
and  nation  as  well  as  with  general  business 
affairs,  on  all  of  which  he  was  well  in- 
formed and  on  not  a  few  was  considered  an 
authority. 

Mr.  Hull  was  the  first  Supervisor  of  Sa- 
lem township,  also  Chairman  of  the  County 
Board  for  a -number  of  years,  besides  serv- 
ing a  long  time  as  School  Director.  In 
these  different  capacities  he  discharged  his 
official  duties  faithfully  and  effectively,  tak- 
ing a  leading  part  in  educational  matters 
and  using  his  influence  in  every  laudable 
way  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  happiness  of  the  people:  In 
addition  to  his  mercantile  and  financial  busi- 
ness he  was  quite  prominently  interested  in 
the  manufacture  of  flour  and  lumber,  be- 


ginning to  operate  a  mill  in  1853,  and  con- 
tinuing the  business  with  encouraging  sue* 
cess  as  long  as  he  lived.  He  also  conducted 
a  large  packing  house  in  Salem  before  the 
days  of  trusts  and  combines  and  built  up  an 
important  and  far-reaching  industry,  buying 
nearly  all  the  hogs  in  the  adjacent  country 
and  shipping  his  meats  to  the  leading  mar- 
kets, where  they  commanded  good  prices. 
He  was  a  man  of  brain  and  of  practical 
ideas,  combined  with  solid  judgment,  wise 
foresight  and  he  seldom  failed  in  any  of  his 
undertakings.  In  politics  he  was  an  un- 
swerving Democrat,  and  an  influential 
worker  for  the  success  of  his  party  and  its 
candidates,  though  not  a  partisan  in  the 
sense  of  aspiring  for  office.  He  discharged 
his  duties  of  citizenship  in  the  spirit  becom- 
ing the  progressive  and  broad  minded  Amer- 
ican of  the  day  in  which  he  lived,  while  the 
deep  interest  he  manifested  in  his  own  lo- 
cality made  him  a  leader  in  all  laudable  en- 
terprises for  its  advancement.  His  career, 
which  was  strenuous,  eminently  honorable 
and  fraught  with  great  good  to  his  fellow 
men  and  to  the  world,  terminated  with  his 
lamented  death  on  the  i6th  day  of  June, 
1896,  in  his  sixty-fourth  year;  his  taking 
off,  like  that  of  his  father,  being  keenly  felt 
and  widely  mourned  in  the  town  where  he 
had  so  long  and  creditably  lived,  and  where 
his  success  had  been  achieved. 

Before  her  marriage  Mrs.  Erasmus  Hull 
was  Dicy  Finley.  Her  father,  Rev.  William 
Finley,  a  well  known  and  remarkably  suc- 
cessful minister  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church,  came  to  Marion  county  in  an 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


early  day  and  for  many  years  labored  zeal- 
ously to  disseminate  the  truths  of  religion 
among  the  people  and  win  souls  to  the 
higher  life.  During  the  years  of  his  activ- 
ity, he  traveled  extensively  throughout 
Southern  Illinois,  preaching  and  organizing 
churches,  and  it  is  said  that  the  majority  of 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  societies  in  the 
central  and  southern  portions  of  the  state 
were  established  by  him,  while  others  and 
weak  congregations  were  strengthened  and 
placed  upon  solid  footing  through  his  ef- 
forts. Mrs.  Hull  bore  her  husband  three 
children  and  departed  this  life  on  May  16, 
1903,  beloved  and  respected  by  all  with 
whom  she  came  in  contact.  Of  her  family 
one  of  the  children  died  in  infancy,  Mrs. 
Mary  Bradford  being  the  second  in  order 
of  birth,  and  Charles  E.  Hull,  of  Salem,  the 
subject  of  this  review,  the  youngest  of  the 
number. 

On  his  father's  maternal  side  the  subject 
dates  his  family  history  to  the  earliest  set- 
tlement of  Illinois,  his  great-grandfather, 
Mark  Tully,  migrating  to  what  is  now  Ma- 
rion county,  while  the  feet  of  savages  still 
pressed  the  soil  and  settling  near  the  site  of 
Salem,  where  there  was  no  vestage  of  civili- 
zation within  a  radius  of  eight  or  ten  miles, 
his  rude  cabin  having  been  the  first  human 
habitation  where  the  thriving  seat  of  justice 
now  stands.  He  moved  here  from  Indiana 
and  entered  a  tract  of  land  from  which  in 
due  time  he  cleared  and  developed  a  farm, 
and  later  when  the  county  of  Marion  was  set 
off  and  organized,  he  donated  ground  for 
the  seat  of  justice,  which  was  surveyed  and 


platted  in  1823,  and  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  Salem.  In  honor  of  the  town  in 
the  Hoosier  state  from  which  he  came.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  county  organiza- 
tion, was  its  first  Sheriff  and  held  a  number 
of  offices  from  time  to  time,  and  to  him  be- 
longs the  credit  of  keeping  the  first  tavern 
in  Salem,  which  appears  to  have  been  quite 
well  patronized,  while  the  town  was  being 
settled  and  for  eighty  years  thereafter,  being 
kept  after  his  death  by  a  daughter.  He  also 
erected  a  mill,  the  first  in  Salem,  which  was 
highly  prized  by  the  pioneers  for  many 
miles  around,  although  a  primitive  affair 
equipped  with  the  simplest  kind  of  machin- 
ery, and  originally  operated  by  means  of  a 
sweep.  Later  it  was  somewhat  improved 
and  operated  by  horses  or  oxen  in  what  was 
called  a  tread,  but  after  the  lapse  of  several 
years  the  original  structure  was  remodeled, 
a  large  addition  built,  and  new  and  im- 
proved machinery'  installed,  and  steam 
power  introduced,  this  being  the  first  mill  in 
the  county  to  be  run  by  steam.  Mr.  Tully 
was  a  true  type  of  the  sturdy,  strong  willed 
pioneer  of  his  day.  He  was  energetic,  pub- 
lic-spirited, distinctively  a  man  of  affairs, 
and  to  him  as  much  perhaps  as  to  any  other, 
is  the  town  of  Salem  indebted  for  the  im- 
petus which  added  so  materially  to  its 
growth  and  prosperity.  As  a  leader  among 
the  pioneers  of  his  time,  he  did  a  work  that 
few  could  accomplish  and  wielded  an  influ- 
ence which  had  a  decided  effect  in  establish- 
ing the  social  status  of  the  community  upon 
a  high  moral  plane.  After  a  long  and  useful 
career  he  was  called  from  the  scenes  of  his 


BIOC.RAl'HTCAL    AX1)    RKM1XISCF.XT    HISTORY    OF 


earthly  struggles  and  triumphs  in  the  year 
1867,  leaving  a  number  of  descendants, 
some  of  whom  still  live  in  Marion  county, 
and  are  among  the  substantial  and  respected 
people  of  the  communities  in  which  they  re- 
side. 

Hon.  Charles  E.  Hull  was  born  Novem- 
ber 7,  1862,  in  Salem,  and  spent  his  early 
years  like  the  majority  of  town  lads,  assist- 
ing his  parents  where  his  services  were  re- 
quired, and  during  certain  months  pursuing 
his  studies  in  the  public  schools.  While  a 
mere  child,  he  evinced  a  decided  taste  for 
books  and  his  progress  in  his  studies  was  so 
rapid  that  he  completed  the  high  school 
course  and  was  graduated  at  the  early  age 
of  fourteen,  standing  among  the  best  stu- 
dents in  the  class  of  1877.  Actuated  by  a 
laudable  desire  to  add  to  his  scholastic 
knowledge  he  subsequently  entered  the 
Southern  Illinois  Normal  University,  at 
Carbondale,  where  he  took  the  full  classical 
course,  which  he  finished  in  three  years,  one 
year  less  than  the  prescribed  time,  graduat- 
ing in  1880  with  the  class  honors. 

Shortly  after  receiving  his  degree  from 
the  above  institution  Mr.  Hull  engaged  in 
merchandising  at  Salem,  continued  to  the 
present  time  a  business  established  by  Sam- 
uel and  Erasmus  Hull,  in  1853,  and  since 
that  time  his  life  has  been  very  closely  iden- 
tified with  the  business  interests  and  general 
prosperity  of  the  town,  in  addition  to  which 
he  has  conducted  several  mercantile  estab- 
lishments at  other  points  and  become  a 
prominent  figure  in  the  public  life  of  Marion 


county,  and  the  state  at  large.  Possessing 
sound  sense,  well  balanced  judgment,  and  a 
natural  aptitude  for  business,  his  mercantile 
experience  soon  passed  the  experimental 
stage  and  within  a  comparatively  brief  pe- 
riod he  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  patron- 
age, and  became  one  of  the  best  known  and 
most  popular  merchants  of  the  town.  Ad- 
vancing with  rapid  strides  and  outstripping 
all  of  his  competitors,  he  was  soon  induced 
to  project  his  business  enterprises  into  other 
parts,  accordingly,  as  already  indicated,  he 
established  stores  in  various  towns  and  vil- 
lages of  the  county,  and  at  one  time  had 
five  of  these  establishments  in  successful  op- 
eration in  addition  to  his  large  general 
mercantile  house  in  Salem,  all  of  .which 
proved  successful  and  in  due  season  made 
him  one  of  the  financially  solid  and  reliable 
men  of  Marion  county.  After  some  years 
he  closed  out  two  of  his  stores  but  he  still 
retains  the  other  three,  two  in  Salem  and 
one  in  Kinmundy,  and  enjoys  a  well  merited 
reputation  as  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
and  successful  business  men  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  state. 

In  addition  to  his  large  mercantile  inter- 
ests Mr.  Hull  is  connected  with  other  im- 
portant business  enterprises,  having  been  a 
director  of  the  Salem  bank  since  1895,  and 
cashier  of  the  institution  during  the  years 
1906-7,  and  in  1889  he  organized  the  Salem 
Creamery,  which  he  operated  for  a  period  of 
fifteen  years,  during  which  time  he  did  an 
extensive  and  lucrative  business,  using  as 
high  as  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  milk  per 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


day,  and  making  a  brand  of  butter  for  which 
there  was  always  a  great  demand.  By  rea- 
son of  indifference  on  the  part  of  the  farm- 
ers in  the  matter  of  supplying  milk,  Mr. 
Hull  disposed  of  the  creamery  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  period  indicated,  the  better  to  de- 
vote his  attention  to  his  other  interests, 
which  have  become  important  and  far  reach- 
ing in  their  influence,  adding  much  to  the 
material  prosperity  of  the  city  and  to  his 
fame  as  a  leading  spirit  in  business  circles. 
Among  the  various  enterprises  of  which  he 
is  the  head,  is  the  Salem  Brick  Mill,  which, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Hull  &  Draper,  has 
become  one  of  the  successful  industrial  con- 
cerns of  the  place,  also  the  Hull  Telephone 
System,  established  in  1898,  and  of  which 
he  is  sole  proprietor.  This  important  and 
much  valued  enterprise,  one  of  the  best  of 
the  kind  in  Illinois,  extends  to  all  parts  of 
Marion  county,  connecting  all  the  towns  and 
villages  and  numerous  private  residences, 
besides  having  connection  in  the  adjoining 
counties,  thus  bringing  Salem  in  close  touch 
with  all  the  leading  cities  of  the  state  and 
nation,  and  proving  of  inestimable  value  to 
the  people  as  well  as  to  the  business  interests 
of  the  various  points  on  the  line.  Under  the 
personal  management  of  Mr.  Hull,  who  has 
operated  the  plant  ever  since  it  was  estab- 
lished, the  system  has  been  brought  to  a 
degree  of  efficiency  second  to  no  other. 

Since  the  year  1894,  Mr.  Hull  has  owned 
The  Salem  Herald  Advocate,  the  oldest 
newspaper  in  Marion  county,  the  history  of 
which  dates  from  1853.  The  paper  origin- 
ally was  established  by  John  W.  Merritt, 


and  since  the  above  year  has  been  the  best 
patronized  and  most  successful  sheet  in  Ma- 
rion county,  and  one  of  the  most  influential 
in  Southern  Illinois,  being  the  official  organ 
of  the  local  Democracy,  and  a  power  in  the 
political  affairs  of  this  part  of  the  state.  Un- 
der the  management  of  Mr.  Hull  it  has 
steadily  grown  in  public  favor,  and  now  has 
a  large  and  continually  increasing  subscrip- 
tion list,  a  liberal  advertising  patronage,  and 
with  an  office  well  equipped  with  the  latest 
machinery  and  devices  used  in  the  art  pre- 
servative, and  its  columns  teeming  with  the 
news  of  the  day  as  well  as  with  able  discus- 
sions of  the  leading  questions  and  issues 
upon  which  men  and  parties  are  divided,  it 
promises  to  continue  in  the  future  as  it  has 
been  in  the  past,  a  strong  influence  in  politi- 
cal affairs  and  a  power  in  moulding  and  di- 
recting opinion  on  matters  of  general  in- 
terest to  the  people. 

Aside  from  the  various  enterprises  enu- 
merated, Mr.  Hull  for  a  number  of  years 
was  quite  extensively  interested  in  the  San- 
doval  Coal  and  Mining  Company,  of  which 
he  was  general  manager  until  disposing  of 
his  shares  in  the  concern,  and  he  is  now  and 
long  has  been  one  of  the  largest  holders  of 
real  estate  in  Marion  county,  being  an  en- 
terprising and  up-to-date  agriculturist.  In 
the  midst  of  his  numerous  and  pressing  du- 
ties, he  finds  time  to  devote  to  other  than 
his  individual  affairs,  being  interested  in  the 
community  and  its  advancement  and  in  all 
worthy  enterprises  for  the  good  of  his  fel- 
low men.  Ever  since  arriving  at  the  years 
of  manhood  he  has  been  a  leading  factor  in 


BIOGKAIMIICAl.    AND    RKM  I  N  ISC  K  XT    HISTORY    OF 


public  matters,  and  in  a  material  way  has 
been  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  promote  the 
prosperity  of  Salem  and  Marion  county,  tak- 
ing an  active  interest  in  all  movements  and 
measures  with  this  object  in  view  besides  in- 
augurating and  carrying  to  successful  issue 
many  enterprises  which  have  tended  greatly 
to  the  general  welfare  of  the  community.  In 
political  matters  and  kindred  subjects  he  has 
not  only  been  interested  but  has  risen  to  the 
position  of  leader.  He  has  been  a  life-long 
Democrat,  and  since  his  twenty-first  year 
has  exercised  a  strong  influence  in  the  polit- 
ical affairs  of  Marion  county,  and  became 
widely  and  favorably  known  in  party  circles 
throughout  the  state,  a  prominent  figure  in 
local,  district  and  state  conventions,  he  has 
borne  a  leading  part  in  making  platforms, 
formulating  policies ;  as  a  campaigner,  he  is 
a  judicious  adviser  in  the  councils  of  his 
party,  a  successful  worker  in  the  ranks,  and 
to  him  as  much  if  not  more  than  to  any 
other  man  in  Marion  county,  is  the  party  in- 
debted for  its  success  in  a  number  of  ani- 
mated and  exciting  political  contests. 

In  1896  Mr.  Hull  was  elected  to  repre- 
sent the  Forty-second  Senatorial  District, 
composed  of  the  counties  of  Clay,  Washing- 
ton, Marion  and  Clinton,  in  the  Upper 
House  of  the  State  Legislature,  in  the  cam- 
paign of  which  memorable  year  he  ran  far  in 
advance  in  his  home  town  of  any  other  can- 
didate on  the  Democratic  ticket,  receiving 
more  votes  than  were  polled  for  William 
Jennings  Bryan,  the  popular  head  of  the  na- 
tional ticket,  and  the  idol  of  Democracy. 
Mr.  Hull's  career  in  the  General  Assembly 


was  eminently  honorable,  and  he  took  high 
rank  as  an  industrious  and  useful  member, 
who  spared  no  effort  in  behalf  of  his  con- 
stituents, besides  laboring  earnestly  and 
faithfully  for  the  general  good  of  his  state. 
In  1904  he  was  renominated  by  his  party, 
and  in  the  ensuing  election  his  Republican 
competitor  withdrew  from  the  race,  it  being 
evident  that  he  would  be  overwhelmingly  de- 
feated. The  district  that  year  was  com- 
posed of  the  counties  of  Marion,  Clay,  Clin- 
ton and  Effingham.  In  the  senate  he  be- 
came the  minority  leader,  and  in  addition 
to  serving  on  a  number  of  important  com- 
mittees, took  an  active  part  in  the  general 
deliberations  of  the  chamber,  participating 
in  the  discussions  and  debates,  and  to  him 
belongs  the  credit  of  leading  in  the  fight  for 
a  direct  primary,  also  of  being  the  only  mi- 
nority leader  who  ever  succeeded  in  holding 
his  party  together  on  minority  legislation. 
Mr.  Hull's  senatorial  experience  is  replete 
with  duty  ably  and  faithfully  performed, 
and  such  was  the  interest  he  manifested  for 
his  district  that  he  won  the  confidence  and 
good  will  of  the  people  irrespective  of  po- 
litical alignment,  all  of  whom  speak  in 
praise  of  his  honorable  course  and  the  broad 
enlightenment  spirit  which  he  displayed 
throughout  his  legislative  career.  As  already 
stated  he  is  a  familiar  figure  in  the  conven- 
tions of  his  party,  both  local  and  state,  and 
for  a  period  of  twenty-eight  years  he  has 
not  missed  attending  a  Democratic  national 
convention. 

For  several  years  Mr.  Hull  owned  and 
occupied  the  place  where   Mr.   Bryan  was 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


39 


born,  but  after  the  campaign  of  1896  he  sold 
it  to  Mr.  Bryan,  between  whom  and  himself 
the  warmest  friendship  has  ever  prevailed. 
The  two  were  classmates  when  they  at- 
tended high  school,  since  which  time  they 
have  labored  for  each  other's  interests,  and 
as  stated  above,  their  attachment  is  stronger 
and  more  enduring  than  the  ordinary  ties 
by  which  friends  are  bound  together.  Mr. 
Hull  has  served  the  people  of  his  city  as 
School  Director,  and  for  a  period  of  two 
years  he  was  president  of  the  Inter-State  In- 
dependent Telephone  Association,  besides 
being  for  a  number  of  years  a  member  of 
the  executive  committee.  He  also  served  for 
a  series  of  years  on  the  executive  commit- 
tee for  the  operators  on  the  scale  of  agree- 
ment, with  the  United  Mine  Workers  of 
America,  a  position  of  great  responsibility 
and  delicacy,  as  is  indicated  by  the  fact  of 
his  having  devoted  one  hundred  and  twelve 
days  in  one  year  to  the  settlement  of  wage 
scales  and  of  disputes  between  the  contend- 
ing parties,  besides  having  been  called  upon 
repeatedly  to  adjust  differences  and  har- 
monize conflicting  interests,  which  arose 
from  time  to  time,  between  the  two  organi- 
zations. 

The  domestic  chapter  in  the  life  of  Mr. 
Hull  dates  from  May  10,  1883,  when  he 
was  happily  married  to  Miss  Lulu  Ham- 
mond, the  accomplished  and  popular  daugh- 
ter of  Hon.  J.  E.  W.  Hammond,  the 
latter  a  prominent  merchant  and  influential 
politician  of  Marion  county,  Illinois,  who 
served  in  the  Legislature,  on  the  County 
Board  of  Supervisors,  and  for  many  years 


was  one  of  the  public  spirited  men  and  rep- 
resentative citizens  of  Salem.  On  her 
mother's  side  Mrs.  Hull  traces  to  the  Lov- 
ells  and  Hensleys,  who  were  among  the 
earliest  settlers  of  Marion  county,  as  is  men- 
tioned elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Senator 
Hull's  beautiful  and  attractive  home  on 
North  Broadway,  the  finest  and  most  de- 
sirable private  dwelling  in  the  city,  is 
brightened  and  rendered  doubly  attractive 
by  the  presence  of  two  intelligent  and  in- 
teresting daughters,  namely:  Lovell,  born 
January  8,  1888,  and  Louise,  whose  birth 
occurred  on  the  3ist  day  of  May,  1897, 
these  with  their  parents  constituting  a  happy 
and  almost  ideal  domestic  circle. 

Senator  Hull's  fraternal  association  rep- 
resents the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks',  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Red  Men,  and  the  Modern 
Woodmen,  in  all  of  which  he  has  been  an 
active  and  influential  worker,  besides  being 
honored  with  important  official  positions 
from  time  to  time.  In  the  midst  of  his 
many  strenuous  duties  as  a  business  man 
and  public  servant,  the  Senator  has  not  neg- 
lected the  higher  obligations  which  man 
owes  to  his  Maker,  nor  been  unmindful  of 
the  claims  of  the  Christian  religion — to 
which  deep  and  absorbing  subject  he  has 
devoted  much  profound  study  and  investi- 
gation, and  in  the  light  of  which  he  has 
been  led  into  the  straight  and  narrow  way 
which  leads  to  a  higher  state  of  being  here, 
and  to  eternal  felicity  beyond  death's  mys- 
tic stream.  Subscribing  to  no  human 
creeds  or  man-made  doctrines,  he  takes  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Holy  Scriptures  alone  for  his  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  and  as  an  humble  and  consist- 
ent member  of  the  Christian,  or  Disciple, 
church,  demonstrates  by  his  daily  life  the 
beauty  and  value  of  the  faith  which  he  pro- 
fesses. He  has  been  identified  with  the  re- 
ligious body  since  his  young  manhood,  and 
for  more  than  twenty  years  has  been  the  able 
and  popular  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
school,  besides  filling  other  official  stations. 
Mrs.  Hull  is  also  a  faithful  and  devout 
Christian,  an  active  member  of  the  church, 
and  deeply  interested  in  all  lines  of  good 
work  under  the  auspices  of  the  same.  Since 
her  fourteenth  year  she  has  been  the  accom- 
plished organist  of  the  congregation  in  Sa- 
lem, as  well  as  an  efficient  and  enthusiastic 
teacher  in  the  Sunday  school.  Senator  Hull 
is  a  liberal  contributor  to  benevolent  enter- 
prises, and  it  was  through  his  initiation  and 
influence  that  the  present  handsome  temple 
of  worship  used  by  the  Christian  church, 
was  erected,  his  contributions  to  the  build- 
ing fund  being  twenty-five  dollars  for  every 
one  hundred  dollars  contributed  by  the  con- 
gregation. In  addition  to  his  munificence 
already  noted,  the  Senator  has  given  largely 
to  various  worthy  objects  of  which  the 
world  knows  nothing,  in  this  way  exempli- 
fying the  spirit  of  the  Master,  by  not  letting 
the  left  hand  know  what  the  right  hand 
doeth,  or  in  other  words,  doing  good 
in  secret  in  the  name  of  the  Father  who 
hath  promised  to  reward  such  actions 
openly. 

Senator  Hull  is  a  splendid  specimen  of 
well  rounded,  symmetrically  developed,  vi- 


rile manhood,  with  a  commanding  presence 
and  a  strong  personality,  being  six  feet  in 
height,  weighing  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  pounds,  and  moving  among  his  fellows 
as  one  born  to  leadership.  He  is  a  notice- 
able figure  in  any  crowd  or  assemblage,  and 
never  fails  to  attract  attention,  not  only  by 
his  powerful  physique,  but  by  the  amiable 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  which  show  in 
his  face,  and  always  make  his  presence  pleas- 
ing to  all  beholders.  He  has  directed  his 
life  along  lines  which  could  not  fail  to  ef- 
fect favorably  the  physical  as  well  as  the 
mental  man,  having  from  his  youth  been 
singularly  free  from  thoughts  which  lower 
and  degrade  self-respect,  and  from  those  in- 
siduous  habits  which  pollute  the  body  and 
debase  the  soul,  and  which  today  are  prov- 
ing the  destruction  of  so  many  young  men 
of  whom  better  things  have  been  expected. 
Mr.  Hull  is  a  total  abstainer  in  all  the  term 
implies,  having  never  tasted,  much  less  taken 
a  drink  of  any  kind  of  intoxicants,  nor  used 
tobacco  in  any  of  its  forms;  neither  has  he 
ever  taken  the  name  of  God  in  vain.  He  is 
pleasing  and  companionable,  a  favorite  in 
the  social  circle,  and  a  hale  and  hearty  spirit, 
whose  presence  inspires  good  humor,  and 
who  believes  in  legitimate  sports  and  pas- 
times and  in  the  idea  that  fret  and  worry 
are  among  the  greatest  enemies  of  happi- 
ness. With  duties  that  would  crush  the  ordi- 
nary man,  he  has  his  labors  so  systematized 
that  he  experiences  little  or  no  inconveni- 
ence in  doing  them.  He  believes  in  rest  and 
recreation  and  is  an  advocate  of  vacations, 
and  he  invariably  takes  one  every  summer, 


HIGHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    CO1/XTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


but  not  in  the  manner  that  many  do,  by 
locking  his  office  and  hieing  away  to  the 
seaside,  lake  or  forest,  to  spend  the  season 
in  tiresome  sports.  His  vacations,  which 
are  always  enjoyable,  are  spent  in  the  hay- 
field,  where  he  finds  the  recreation  condu- 
cive to  good  health  and  a  contented  mind. 

Personally  Mr.  Hull  is  a  gentleman  of 
unblemished  reputation,  and  the  strictest  in- 
tegrity and  his  private  character  and  im- 
portant trusts  have  always  been  above  re- 
proach. He  is  a  vigorous  as  well  as  an 
independent  thinker,  a  wide  reader,  and  he 
has  the  courage  of  his  convictions  upon  all 
subjects  which  he  investigates.  He  is  also 
strikingly  original  and  fearless,  prosecutes 
his  researches  after  his  own  peculiar  fash- 
ion, and  cares  little  for  conventionalism  or 
for  the  sanctity  attaching  to  person  or  place 
by  reason  of  artificial  distinction,  tradition 
or  the  accident  of  birth.  He  is  essentially 
cosmopolitan  in  his  ideas,  a  man  of  the  peo- 
ple in  all  the  term  implies,  and  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  word  a  representative  type  of 
that  strong  American  manhood,  which 
commands  and  retains  respect  by  reason  of 
inherent  merit,  sound  sense  and  correct  con- 
duct. He  has  so  impressed  his  individuality 
upon  his  community  as  to  win  the  confidence 
and  esteem  of  his  fellow-citizens  and  be- 
come a  strong  and  influential  power  in  lead- 
ing them  to  high  and  noble  things. 
Measured  by  the  accepted  standard  of  ex- 
cellence, his  career,  though  strenuous,  has 
been  eminently  honorable  and  useful,  and 
his  life  fraught  with  great  good  to  his  fel- 
lows and  to  the  world. 


WILLIAM  H.  DILLMAN. 

William  H.  Dillman,  the  well  known 
president  of  the  Clay  County  State  Bank  at 
Louisville,  Illinois,  was  born  in  Oskaloosa 
township,  on  the  family  homestead,  where 
he  grew  to  manhood.  The  date  of  his  birth 
was  July  14,  1867.  He  is  the  son  of  Louis 
Dillman,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  who  came 
to  Illinois  when  fourteen  years  old  and  set- 
tled in  Oskaloosa  township  on  a  farm, 
where  he  lived  for  many  years.  He  is  now 
retired,  making  his  home  in  Louisville.  He 
was  formerly  president  of  the  State  Bank 
and  is  well  known  in  the  county  as  a  man 
of  much  ability.  Vachel  Dillman,  grand- 
father of  the  subject,  was  also  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  who  came  to  this  state  at  an 
early  day  and  developed  a  good  farm.  The 
subject's  mother  was  Harriett  B.  Smith, 
whose  people  were  natives  of  Tennessee, 
where  she  was  born.  She  is  still  living. 
Eleven  children  were  born  to  the  subject's 
parents,  namely:  Dr.  Asa  E.,  of  Steuben, 
Wisconsin;  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Graham,  of  Os- 
kaloosa township;  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Burdick, 
of  Oskaloosa  township;  William  H.,  our 
subject;  Dr.  J.  V.,  at  Ingraham,  Illinois; 
Lillie  M.,  now  deceased;  Mrs.  Ida  Steeley, 
a  i  Louisville,  this  county ;  Mrs.  Delia  Mont- 
gomery, also  of  Louisville;  Dora,  deceased; 
Polly  Ann,  deceased;  Henry,  deceased. 

William  H.  Dillman  was  united  in  mar- 
riage in  1898  to  Cora  P.  Brown,  the  refined 
r.nd  accomplished  daughter  of  P.  P.  Brown, 
of  Louisville,  Illinois,  and  two  children  have 
been  born  to  this  union,  namely :  Howard  B. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    KK.M  IN  ISCKNT     HISTORY    OF 


and  Robert  V.,  ten  and  five  years  old  re- 
spectively at  this  writing,  1908,  both  bright 
and  interesting  lads. 

Mr.  Dillman  acquired  a  good  common 
school  education,  and  after  spending  three 
years  at  the  State  Normal,  at  the  Union 
Christian  College  of  Merom,  Indiana,  and 
at  the  Orchard  City  College  at  Flora,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  graduated  with  honors,  Mr. 
Dillman  entered  the  law  office  of  Hagle  & 
Shriner  in  that  city,  and  in  1896  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  since  which  time  he  has 
been  ranked  as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of 
Clay  county,  and  has  built  up  an  excellent 
business,  practicing  in  all  the  courts  in  this 
and  adjoining  counties  with  great  success. 

When  Judge  Farmer,  now  one  of  the  Su- 
preme Judges  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  was  on 
the  bench  of  this,  the  Forty-second  Senato- 
rial District,  he  selected  Mr.  Dillman  as  the 
Master  in  Chancery  of  this  county.  Later 
on,  upon  the  death  of  William  H.  Hudelson, 
Mr.  Dillman,  by  the  terms  of  the  will,  was 
made  the  executor,  the  will  conveying  to 
him  in  trust  for  twenty  years  money  and 
property  representing  over  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  No  better  testimony  of 
confidence  in  a  man's  integrity  has  ever 
been  paid  to  a  citizen  of  this  county.  Mr. 
Dillman  was  Master  in  Chancery  for  six 
years.  The  directors  of  the  Clay  County 
State  Bank  elected  him  president  of  that 
institution  in  the  summer  of  1908. 

He  was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  Rep- 
resentative from  this  district  in  1908,  but 
was  defeated.  He  has  always  been  a  stanch 
Democrat  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in 


his  county's  affairs.  Fraternally  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Home 
Circle.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dillman  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  Dillman,  busy  with  the  management 
of  the  bank,  which  he  gives  the  most  care- 
ful attention  and  which  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  solidest  banks  of  the  southern  part 
of  the  state,  finds  insufficient  time  to  carry  on 
his  law  practice,  although  it  is  not  entirely 
abandoned.  Mr.  Dillman  throughout  his  ca- 
reer has  been  very  active,  progressive  and  de- 
termined, carrying  forward  in  successful 
completion  whatever  he  has  undertaken  in  a 
business  way.  Mr.  Dillman  attributes  a 
very  large  measure  of  his  success  to  his 
many  and  faithful  friends.  He  is  clearly 
entitled  to  be  classed  among  the  leading  citi- 
zens of  Clay  county — a  man  whose  strong 
individuality  is  the  strength  of  integrity,  vir- 
tue and  deep  human  sympathy  and  no  one 
has  more  friends  than  he  throughout  the 
district. 


H.  T.  PACE. 

A  happy  combination  of  characteristics  is 
possessed  by  the  honorable  gentleman  of 
whom  the  biographer  now  essays  to  write. 
for  he  has  shown  during  his  long  residence 
in  Salem,  Marion  county,  Illinois,  that  he  is 
a  man  of  rare  business  acumen,  foresight  and 
sagacity,  at  the  same  time  possessing  lauda- 
ble traits  of  character  such  as  integrity,  in- 
dustry, sobriety  and  kindliness;  these,  com- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


bined  with  his  public  spirit  and  model  home 
life,  have  resulted  in  winning  for  Mr.  Pace 
the  unqualified  esteem  of  all  who  know  him. 

H.  T.  Pace  was  born  one  and  one-half 
miles  south  of  Salem  on  a  farm,  February 
3,  1850,  and,  believing  that  better  opportu- 
nities awaited  him  right  here  at  home,  he 
early  decided  to  cast  his  lot  with  his  own 
people  rather  than  seek  uncertain  success  in 
other  fields,  and,  judging  from  the  pro- 
nounced success  which  has  attended  his  sub-- 
sequent efforts,  one  must  conclude  that  he 
made  a  wise  decision. 

The  subject's  father  was  George  W.  Pace, 
a  native  of  Kentucky,  who  came  to  Jefferson 
county,  Illinois,  when  a  young  man,  but 
soon  after  locating  here  he  moved  to  Marion 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming,  later 
in  the  furniture  business,  having  spent  many 
years  in  this;  he  also  learned  the  tailor's 
trade  and  conducted  a  tailor  shop  for  a  time 
soon  after  coming  here.  He  was  a  man  of 
considerable  force  and  influence,  honest, 
hard  working  and  hospitable,  who  spared  no 
pains  in  rearing  his  family  in  the  best  pos- 
sible manner,  always  holding  out  high  ideals 
and  lofty  aims.  He  was  noted  as  a  great 
story  teller  as  well  as  a  kindly,  neighborly 
man.  He  was  born  December  18,  1806,  and 
passed  to  his  rest  June  i,  1867.  He  was  one 
of  the  oldest  pioneers  of  Marion  county,  be- 
ing one  of  the  best  known  and  most  beloved 
men  in  the  county  and  familiarly  called  "Un- 
cle George." 

The  mother  of  the  subject,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred oh  the  same  day  of  the  month  as  that 
of  her  husband,  December  i8th,  in  the  year 


1808,  was  known  in  her  maidenhood  as  Ta- 
bithia  J.  Rogers,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  the 
representative  of  a  fine  old  Southern  fam- 
ily, and  she  "crossed  over  the  mystic  river" 
to  join  her  worthy  life  companion  on  the 
other  shore  February  26,  1881,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-three  years,  after  closing  a  serene 
and  beautiful  life  of  the  noblest  Christian  at- 
tributes and  wholesome  influence.  One  of 
the  most  commendable  traits  in  our  subject 
was  his  devotion  to  his  mother,  with  whom 
he  lived  until  her  death,  joyfully  administer- 
ing to  her  every  want  and  sacrificing  much 
in  his  own  life  that  she  might  be  comfortable 
and  happy.  Nine  children  were  born  to  the 
parents  of  the  subject,  only  three  of  whom 
are  living  at  this  writing,  1908.  The  living 
are:  O.  H.  Pace,  of  Mount  Vernon,  Illinois, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years;  Mrs.  O.  E. 
Tryner,  living  at  Long  Beach,  California,  at 
the  age  of  sixty  years;  H.  T.,  our  subject. 
The  parents  of  the  subject  were  married 
May  13.  1830. 

H.  T.  Pace  remained  under  his  parental 
roof-tree  during  the  lifetime  of  his  parents. 
He  attended  the  common  schools  in  Salem, 
where  he  diligently  applied  himself  and  re- 
ceived a  good  education.  However,  thirst- 
ing for  more  knowledge,  he  attended  college 
at  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  for  a  short  time.  The 
stage  having  allurements  and  he  having  nat- 
ural talents  as  a  comedian,  he  traveled  for 
three  years  with  some  of  the  best  companies 
on  the  road  as  a  black-face  comedian,  win- 
ning wide  notoriety  through  this  medium. 

Tiring  of  the  stage,  he  went  to  Denver  in 
1880,  where  he  clerked  for  a  while  in  a  jew- 


44 


I!IO<;i<AI'IIICAI.    A.VI)    KKMIMSCKXT     HISTOUY    OF 


«lry  store,  later  worked  as  a  Pullman  con- 
ductor between  Denver  and  Leadville  over 
the  South  Park  Railroad.  In  1884  Mr.  Pace 
came  back  to  Salem  and  has  remained  here 
•ever  since  prospering  in  whatever  he  has  un- 
dertaken. 

The  harmonious  domestic  life  of  the  sub- 
ject dates  from  1884,  when  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Alice  H.  Andrews,  the  ac- 
complished and  popular  daughter  of  Samuel 
Andrews,  who  sacrificed  his  life  for  his 
country,  having  met  death  in  the  Union  lines 
while  fighting  in  defense  of  the  flag.  At  the 
time  of  their  marriage  Mr.  Pace  was  sup- 
posed to  be  on  his  death  bed  from  a  sudden 
and  serious  illness.  The  married  life  of  this 
couple  has  been  a  most  ideal  one  and  has  re- 
sulted in  the  birth  of  seven  children,  five  of 
whom  are  living.  Their  names  follow: 
Claude  S.,  of  Salem,  engine  foreman  at  the 
Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  shops;  Erne 
Jenella,  Lynn  Harvey,  Ned  R.,  Gladys  D., 
Lowell  died  in  infancy,  as  did  also  the  last 
child,  Mona. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Pace  went  into 
the  piano  business,  which  he  has  since  con- 
ducted for  twenty-five  years,  the  greatest 
success  attending  his  efforts,  his  house  being 
known  throughout  Marion  county,  and  his 
trade  extending  many  miles  in  every  direc- 
tion, as  a  result  of  his  skill  in  managing  this 
line  and  his  uniform  fairness  and  courteous- 
ness  to  customers.  His  piano  parlor  is  one 
of  the  popular  business  houses  of  Salem.  Mr. 
Pace  keeps  a  modern  and  up-to-date  line  of 
musical  instruments,  talking  machines  and 
similar  goods. 


Fraternally  Mr.  Pace  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  order,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the 
Woodmen  and  the  Eastern  Star,  being  the 
Worthy  Patron  in  the  latter  order. 

Mr.  Pace  is  now  the  only  member  of  this 
worthy  family  in  Marion  county,  and  he  is 
one  of  the  oldest  native  bom  residents  of 
Salem.  Among  his  interesting  collection  of 
relics  and  curios  is  an  old  clock  which  his 
father  and  mother  bought  when  they  first 
went  to  housekeeping. 

In  all  the  relations  of  life  our  subject  has 
been  found  worthy  of  the  trust  imposed  in 
him,  being  a  man  of  rare  business  ability, 
force  of  character  and  possessing  praise- 
worthy qualities  of  head  and  heart  which. 
make  him  popular  with  all  whom  he  meets, 
and  he  is  today  regarded  by  all  classes  as  be- 
ing one  of  the  staunchest,  most  upright  and 
representative  citizens  of  Marion  county. 


D.  D.  HAYN1E. 

For  the  high  rank  of  her  bench  and  bar 
Illinois  has  always  been  distinguished,  and 
it  is  gratifying  to  note  that  in  no  section  of 
the  commonwealth  has  the  standard  been 
lowered  in  any  epoch  of  its  history.  To  the 
subject  of  this  review,  who  is  at  the  time  of 
this  writing,  1908,  the  popular  and  influen- 
tial Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  at  Salem, 
Marion  county,  we  may  refer  with  propriety 
and  satisfaction  as  being  one  of  the  able  and 
representative  members  of  the  legal  profes- 
sion of  the  state.  He  prepared  himself  most 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


45 


carefully  for  the  work  of  his  exacting  pro- 
fession and  has  ever  been  ambitious  and 
self-reliant,  gaining  success  and  securing  his 
technical  training  through  his  own  deter- 
mination and  well  directed  efforts.  He  not 
only  stands  high  in  his  profession  but  is  a 
potent  factor  in  local  politics,  his  advice 
being  often  relied  upon  in  the  selection  of 
candidates  for  county  offices  and  he  has  led 
such  a  career,  one  upon  which  not  the 
shadow  or  suspicion  of  evil  rests,  that  his 
counsel  is  often  sought  and  heeded  in  im- 
portant movements  in  the  county,  with  grati- 
fying results. 

D.  D.  Haynie  was  born  in  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  November  22,  1848.  His  father 
was  William  D.  Haynie,  a  native  of 
Norfolk,  Virginia,  where  he  was  born 
August  29,  1798.  He  came  with  his  mother 
to  Winchester,  Tennessee,  when  he  was  ten 
years  old,  and  remained  there  until  -  he 
reached  young  manhood.  He  was  a  soldier 
in  the  War  of  1812,  having  performed  gal- 
lant service  in  the  same,  after  which  he  re- 
turned to  Kentucky,  settling  near  Hopkins- 
ville,  where  he  married  Elizabeth  B.  Frost, 
and  where  he  lived  for  several  years,  finally 
in  1832  moving  to  Salem,  Illinois,  bringing 
three  slaves  with  them,  which  they  later  lib- 
erated. They  lived  in  Salem,  developing 
the  primitive  conditions  which  they  found, 
for  many  years,  rearing  eleven  children, 
namely:  Abner  F.,  deceased,  having  died 
in  1850;  General  Isham  N.,  who  died  in 
1868,  having  been  adjutant  general  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  formerly  colonel  of  the 
Forty-eighth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry; 


William  M.,  died  in  1855 ;  Rebecca  was  the 
wife  of  James  Marshall,  who  moved  to 
Texas  and  died  there  about  1857;  George 
W.,  quartermaster  of  the  Forty-eighth  Illi- 
nois Volunteer  Regiment,  who  died  in  1891, 
when  seventy  years  old;  Mary  and  John  B., 
both  died  in  infancy ;  Elizabeth  is  the  widow 
of  Hon.  B.  B.  Smith,  who  was  one  of 
the  first  and  best  lawyers  in  southern  Illi- 
nois, and  who  died  in  1884,  his  widow  now 
residing  at  Mount  Vernon,  Washington : 
Martha  J.,  now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of 
Dr.  Thomas  Williams,  of  Jacksonville,  Flor- 
ida, dying  in  Philadelphia  in  1906;  Sarah 
C.  is  the  wife  of  L.  L.  Adams,  of  Spokane, 
Washington;  D.  D.,  our  subject,  was  the 
youngest  of  the  family. 

Our  subject  made  his  home  with  his 
father  until  he  died  in  1870,  the  subject's 
mother  surviving  until  1884.  They  were 
people  of  excellent  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart,  and  spared  no  pains  in  giving  their 
children  every  advantage  possible,  and  the 
wholesome  home  influence  in  which  they 
were  reared  is  reflected  in  the  characters  of 
the  subject  and  the  other  children. 

D.  D.  Haynie  attended  the  common 
schools  when  a  boy,  making  rapid  progress. 
Being  ambitious  and  thirsting  for  all  the 
book  learning  possible,  he  entered  the  State 
Normal  at  Bloomington,  Illinois,  after  a 
course  in  which  he  made  an  excellent  record, 
he  returned  home  and  clerked,  but  believing 
that  his  true  life  path  lay  along  the  higher 
lines  of  the  legal  profession,  he  begun  the 
study  of  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  Salem 
bar  in  1871.  His  success  was  instantaneous 


46 


lilOCKAI'IUCAL    AND    REMINISCENT     JIISTOKV    OF 


and  he  soon  built  up  a  good  practice.  His 
unusual  attributes  soon  attracted  attention 
and  he  was  appointed  clerk  in  the  Pension 
Agency  located  in  Salem,  which  position  he 
held  with  much  credit  for  a  period  of  six 
years.  He  then  devoted  some  of  his  time  to 
farming  with  gratifying  results,  at  the  same 
time  continuing  his  law  practice  which  had 
by  this  time  been  built  up  to  a  very  large 
practice.  He  has  continued  with  great  suc- 
cess ever  since  he  first  began  practice  in 
1885.  During  this  time  he  has  served  his 
county  and  city  in  many  official  capacities. 
He  was  twice  elected  president  of  the  City 
Board  of  Education,  and  afterward  was  a 
member  of  the  same  for  two  terms ;  during 
his  connection  with  the  same  the  educational 
interests  of  the  city  were  greatly  strength- 
ened. He  was  elected  Police  Magistrate  in 
1904  and  elected  Circuit  Clerk  as  a  Repub- 
lican and  is  serving  in  this  capacity  in  1908, 
making  one  of  the  best  clerks  the  court  has 
ever  had.  In  all  his  political  and  official 
career,  not  the  least  dissatisfaction  has 
arisen  over  the  manner  in  which  he  has 
handled  the  affairs  entrusted  to  him,  and  he 
has  by  this  consistent  record  gained  a  host 
of  admiring  friends  throughout  the  county. 

Mr.  Haynie's  happy  and  harmonious  do- 
mestic life  dates  from  August  26,  1875, 
when  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Emma 
J.  McMackin,  the  accomplished  and  cultured 
daughter  of  W.  E.  McMackin,  who  was 
lieutenant-colonel  of  Grant's  Twenty-first 
Illinois  Regiment,  and  a  well  known  and 
influential  man  in  his  community. 

One  bright  and  winsome  daughter    was 


born  to  the  subject  and  wife,  who  was  given 
the  name  of  May  E.,  and  who  is  now  the 
wife  of  William  W.  Morrow,  of  Oklahoma 
City.  The  subject's  wife  was  called  to  her 
rest  January  21,  1878,  and  he  was  married 
the  second  time,  this  wife  being  in  her 
maidenhood,  Maggie  Bobbitt,  daughter  of 
Joseph  J.  Bobbitt,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Eighth  Kentucky  Regiment.  She  proved  a 
worthy  helpmeet  and  to  this  union  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  children  were  born: 
Edith  M.,  now  living  in  Spokane,  Washing- 
ton; Donald  C.,  of  Salem,  Illinois,  is  clerk 
for  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  Rail- 
way Company.  The  subject's  wife  died  in 
April  1890.  The  subject  then  married  Rose 
M.  Haley,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  J.  L.  Haley, 
a  well  known  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
minister,  the  date  of  the  wedding  falling 
on  July  14,  1891.  No  children  have  been 
born  to  this  union  which  has  been  a  most 
harmonious  one. 

Fraternally  the  subject  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows for  thirty-seven  years,  having  occupied 
the  chairs  of  the  same,  and  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  since 
1879,  a  chapter  member. 

The  subject  in  his  political  activity  had 
occasion  to  become  intimately  acquainted 
with  Governor  Oglesby,  Gen.  John  A.  Lo- 
gan, Col.  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  Governor 
Tanner  and  most  of  the  noted  men  of  the 
state. 

Mr.  Haynie  delights  to  recall  reminis- 
cences of  his  great  grandfather  on  his 
father's  side,  who  was  named  Donald  Camp- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


bell,  who  migrated  from  Scotland  to  Nor- 
folk, Virginia,  where  he  bought  up  all  the 
land  between  what  was,  then  Norfolk  and 
the  wharf,  which  is  now  known  as  Campbell 
wharf.  Mr.  Campbell  died  in  February, 
1795.  Mr.  Haynie  has  in  his  possession  a 
copy  of  Campbell's  will  executed  February 
2,  1795.  Donald  Campbell's  father  was 
Archibald  Campbell,  who  survived  his  son 
and  died  in  1802.  There  are  many  descen- 
dants of  the  Campbell  family  living  today 
in  Philadelphia  and  Virginia. 


AUGUSTIN  ROBERT  WILLIAMS. 

By  reason  of  numerous  rare  innate  quali- 
ties, together  with  his  pleasing  personal 
qualities,  together  with  his  pleasing  personal 
address,  his  honesty  of  purpose  and  his 
loyalty  to  his  native  community,  Mr.  Wil- 
liams has  reached  a  conspicuous  round  in 
the  ladder  of  success  in  his  chosen  field  of 
endeavor  and  justly  merits  the  high  esteem 
in  which  he  is  held  by  all  who  know  him. 

A.  R.  Williams,  the  popular  and  well 
known  teller  of  the  Salem"  State  Bank, 
Salem,  Illinois,  is  a  native  of  Marion  county, 
having  first  seen  the  light  of  day  in  the  city 
of  Salem  on  December  15,  1875,  the  son  of 
Rowland  H.  Williams,  a  native  of  New 
York  City,  who  was  born  near  Delaney 
street.  He  early  decided  to  leave  the  con- 
gested metropolis  and  seek  his  fortune  in 
the  freer  and  less  trammeled  West,  and 
consequently  in  casting  about  for  an  oppor- 
tunity to  properly  get  his  initial  start  in  the 
business  world  he  decided  to  try  Ohio  and 


soon  set  out  for  Columbus  and  finally  lo- 
cated near  that  city,  then  in  about  1870  he 
came  to  Salem,  Illinois,  where  he  elected  to 
remain,  being  impressed  with  the  superior 
prospects  of  the  place.  He  was  proprietor  of 
the  Salem  Marble  Works  for  a  number  of 
years  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred on  December  10,  1890,  he  was  post- 
master of  Salem,  this  important  appoint- 
ment having  been  made  in  recognition  of 
his  valuable  services  and  his  unflagging 
loyalty  to  the  principles  of  the  party  then 
in  power.  He  also  showed  his  loyalty  to 
the  Union  by  enlisting  in  the  Eighty-fifth 
Ohio  Volunteer  Regiment,  serving  with 
credit  throughout  the  war  between  the 
states. 

The  grandfather  of  the  subject  on  the 
paternal  side  of  the  house  was  Robert  Wil- 
liams, a  native  of  Wales,  he  and  his  good 
wife  having  settled  in  New  York  and  later 
coming  to  Ohio.  His  wife,  late  in  life,  came 
to  Salem  where  she  died.  The  grandmother 
of  the  subject  on  his  maternal  side  was  a 
native  of  Tennessee.  She,  too,  died  in 
Salem  where  she  had  lived  only  a  few  years, 
having  been  called  to  her  eternal  sleep 
shortly  after  the  war. 

The  mother  of  the  subject  was  known  in 
her  maidenhood  as  Margaret  Keeney,  a  na- 
tive of  near  old  Foxville,  Illinois,  this 
county,  the  daughter  of  A.  W.  Keeney,  who 
moved  from  Indiana  to  Marion  county 
where  he  settled  on  a  farm,  but  moved  to 
Salem  during  the  Civil  war.  He  had  a  son 
killed  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh  and  this  caused 
him  to  desert  the  old  farm  homestead  and 
move  to  Salem.  He  was  associated  with 


48 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


Seth  Andrews  in  the  Salem  Milling  Com- 
pany of  Salem  for  many  years.  The  last  few 
years  of  his  life  he  lived  in  retirement.  He 
passed  away  July  2,  1890.  The  mother  of 
the  subject,  a  woman  of  many  praise- 
worthy traits,  is  still  living  in  1908. 

Three  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Rowland  H.  Williams,  one  having  died 
'in  infancy.  Frank  L.  Williams,  the  living 
brother  of  the  subject,  was  born  in  Salem 
May  25,  1881,  and  is  a  well  known  con- 
tractor. 

A.  R.  Williams,  our  subject,  spent  his 
boyhood  in  Salem  attending  the  local 
schools,  having  graduated  from  the  Salem 
high  school  in  1893,  after  making  a  splen- 
did record  for  scholarship.  Mr.  Williams 
was  with  Cutler  &  Hays  in  the  mercantile 
business,  during  which  time  he  added  very 
much  to  the  prestige  of  the  firm  and  won 
scores  of  customers  from  all  over  the  county 
by  reason  of  his  courteous  treatment  and 
conscientious  work,  and  the  fact  that  his  ser- 
vices were  so  long  continued  by  this  firm 
is  a  criterion  that  they  were  eminently  satis- 
factory in  every  particular.  Desiring  to  bet- 
ter fit  himself  for  a  business  career  which 
he  soon  determined  should  be  his  life's  chief 
aim,  he  entered  Brown's  Business  College 
at  Centralia,  from  which  he  graduated  with 
distinction  in  1906. 

The  unusual  ability  of  Mr.  Williams  was 
soon  known  to  the  business  people  of  Salem 
and  when  the  State  Bank  became  in  need 
of  an  efficient  and  reliable  teller,  no  one 
worthier  of  the  place  could  be  found  than 
our  subject,  consequently  he  was  en- 


treated to  accept  this  important  post,  which 
he  did  on  December  26,  1906,  after  resign- 
ing his  position  with  Cutler  and  Hays, 
much  to  their  regret,  for  they  well  knew 
that  they  would  have  much  difficulty  in  fill- 
ing the  place  of  such  a  valuable  man. 

Mr.  Williams  has  shown  rare  business 
ability  in  handling  his  new  position  and  has 
given  entire  satisfaction  to  his  employers 
from  the  first,  having  become  known  as  one 
of  the  most  trusted  and  thoroughly  efficient 
bank  tellers  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

A.  R.  Williams  was  married  to  Miss 
Olive  M.  Peters,  of  Sandoval,  Illinois, 
October  25,  1908.  She  is  a  daughter  of  D. 
M.  and  Lydia  (Neff)  Peters.  Fraternally 
Mr.  Williams  is  a  member  of  the  ancient 
and  honorable  order  of  Masons,  a  member 
of  Cyrene  Commandery  No.  23,  Knights 
Templar,  of  Centralia,  also  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at 
Salem;  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Wood- 
men and  the  Modern  American  Fraternal 
Order. 

Mr.  Williams  is  strong  in  his  religious 
convictions,  being  a  faithful  member  of  the 
Presbvterian  church. 


CHARLES  H.  HOLT. 

The  biographical  annals  of  Marion  Coun- 
ty, Illinois,  would  be  incomplete  were  there 
failure  to  make  specific  mention  of  the  hon- 
orable gentleman,  whose  name  introduces 
this  review,  who  is  one  of  the  county's 


CHARLES  H.  HOLT. 


Of   rwr 


UCHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


49 


ablest  and  rnpst  distinguished  native  sons, 
for  he  had  the  sagacity  early  in  youth  to 
see  that  better  opportunities  waited  for  him 
right  here  on  his  native  heath  than  other- 
where, consequently  his  life  labors  have 
been  confined  to  this. locality  rather  than  in 
distant  and  precarious  fields,  and  judging 
from  the  eminent  success  he  has  here  at- 
tained he  was  fortunate  in  coming  to  this 
decision — to  remain  at  home.  Judge  Holt 
has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  in- 
dustrial, material  and  civic  progress  of  the 
community,  having  ever  stood  for  loyal  and 
public-spirited  citizenship,  having  been  a 
potent  factor  in  bringing  about  the  wonder- 
ful development  in  this  favored  section,  con- 
tributing his  influence  and  energy  in  the 
transformation  which  has  made  this  one  of 
the  leading  counties  of  the  state,  with  its 
highly  cultivated  farms,  thriving  towns  and 
villages,  its  school-houses,  churches  and  all 
other  evidences  of  progress  and  culture,  and 
he  is  today  not  only  one  of  the  leading  attor- 
neys and  among  the  most  highly  honered 
citizens  of  Salem,  the  beautiful  and  thriving 
county  seat,  but  is  recognized  as  one  of  the 
foremost  men  at  the  bar  in  the  state.  In  all 
the  relations  of  life  he  has  been  faithful  to  all 
the  trusts  reposed  in  him,  performing  his 
duty  conscientiously  and  with  due  regard 
for  the  welfare  of  others  often  at  the  sacri- 
fice of  his  own  best  interests  and  pleasures. 
Charles  H.  Holt  was  born  near  Vernon, 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  October  i,  1868,  the 
only  child  of  William  H.  Holt,  and  Sarah 
(Parsons)  Holt,  the  former  a  native  of 
Union  county,  and  the  latter  a  native  of  the 
4 


state  of  Ohio.  They  were  married  in  Ma- 
rion county.  The  mother  of  the  subject  was 
called  to  her  rest  in  November,  1892.  Wil- 
liam H.  Holt  is  living  in  1908,  and  making 
his  home  with  the  subject  in  Salem.  The 
father  was  a  soldier  is  the  One  Hundred 
and  Eleventh  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry, 
having  enlisted  under  Col.  James  S. 
Martin,  who  afterward  became  a  general. 
Mr.  Holt  served  gallantly  for  three  years, 
or  until  his  enlistment  expired,  his  princi- 
pal services  being  with  Sherman  on  his 
march  to  the  sea,  and  his  campaigns  around 
Atlanta.  William  H.  Holt  has  been  a  use- 
ful and  industrious  man,  scrupulously  honest 
and  he  yet  exercises  considerable  influence 
in  his  community.  He  and  his  worthy  life 
companion  spared  no  pains  in  giving  their 
son,  our  subject,  every  possible  advantage 
and  encouragement  to  make  the  most  of  life. 
and  many  of  his  sterling  attributes  and 
noble  traits  of  character  may  be  traced  to 
the  wholesome  home  influence  and  uplifting 
environment  in  which  he  was  reared.  Henry 
Holt,  grandfather  of  the  subject,  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  Marion  county,  having 
come  here  from  Tennessee,  and  participated 
in  organizing  the  county  and  many  of  the 
county  offices  were  indebted  to  his  sound 
judgment  for  their  early  development.  He 
was  a  public-spirited  man  and  did  an  incal- 
culable amount  of  good  in  furthering  the 
interests  of  his  community.  Like  many  of 
the  hardy  pioneers  of  those  early  times,  he 
possessed  many  sterling  qualities  and  won 
the  admiration  of  all  who  knew  him. 
Charles  H.  Holt,  our  subject,  attended 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    RKM  IN  JSCKNT    HISTORY    OK 


the  country  schools  during  the  winter 
months  while  living  on  his  father's  farm 
and  later  the  Salem  high  school,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  the  class  of  1889.  Being 
an  ambitious  lad  from  the  first  he  applied 
himself  most  assiduously  and  outstripped 
many  of  the  less  courageous  plodders  of  his 
day,  making  excellent  grades.  After  leaving 
the  high  school  he  engaged  in  teaching  with 
marked  success  for  one  year,  then,  thirsting 
for  more  knowledge,  he  entered  Northwest- 
ern University  at  Chicago,  taking  a  prepara- 
tory course  the  first  year.  Believing  that 
his  true  life  work  lay  along  legal  lines,  he 
spent  three  years  in  a  law  office  in  Chicago 
and  then  located  at  Kinmundy,  this  county, 
and  while  living  here,  where  his  success  was 
instantaneous,  he  became  popular  with  his 
party,  which  nominated  him  for  the  respon- 
sible position  of  county  judge,  and  he  was 
subsequently  elected  by  a  handsome  majority 
in  1898,  serving  two  terms  with  entire  sat- 
isfaction to  his  constituents  and  all  con- 
cerned and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  reflect 
great  credit  upon  his  ability,  manifesting 
from  the  first  that  he  had  unmistakable  judi- 
cial talent  and  a  profound  knowledge  of 
law  in  its  variegated  phases. 

In  1904  Judge  Holt  removed  to  Salem 
and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office 
resumed  the  practice  of  law,  with  a  well 
equipped  and  pleasant  suite  of  rooms  in  the 
Stonecipher  building.  He  has  one  of  the 
largest  and  best  selected  libraries  to  be  found 
in  Southern  Illinois.  Not  only  does  the 
Judge  keep  posted  on  all  the  late  judicial  de- 
cisions and  court  rulings,  but  he  is  a  well 


read  man  on  scientific,  literary  and  current 
topics,  so  that  his  conversation  is  at  once 
animated  and  learned. 

The  Judge  is  a  strong  and  influential  ad- 
vocate of  the  principles  embodied  in  the 
Democratic  party  and  is  well  fortified  in  his 
convictions,  always  ready  to  lend  his  influ- 
ence and  time  to  the  furtherance  of  his  par- 
ty's interests  and  assist  in  placing  the  best 
men  obtainable  in  the  county  offices.  He 
has  served  as  chairman  of  the  Democratic 
Central  Committee  of  Marion  county,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  displayed  rare  acumen 
and  sagacity  in  the  management  of  the  par- 
ty's affairs. 

Although  Mr.  Holt's  extensive  legal  prac- 
tice occupied  the  major  part  of  his  time,  he 
has  considerable  business  interests  which  he 
manages  with  uniform  success.  He  is  a 
stockholder  in  the  Salem  National  Bank, 
and  also  in  the  Farmers'  and  Merchants' 
Bank  of  St.  Peter,  Illinois. 

Judge  Holt's  happy  and  harmonious  do- 
mestic life  dates  from  1897,  when  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Frances  W.  Fox,  the 
accomplished  and  cultured  daughter  of  Dr. 
Jesse  D.  Fox,  of  Kindmundy,  this  county. 
Doctor  Fox  was  one  of  the  county's  most 
noted  physicians  and  best  known  citizens, 
who  died  about  1881.  The  following  chil- 
dren have  blessed  the  home  of  the  subject 
with  their  cheer  and  sunshine:  Dorothy  F.. 
who  was  born  in  May,  1898;  Ward  P.,  born 
in  October,  1900;  Frances  S.,  who  was  born 
in  October,  1904;  Charlotte,  whose  date  of 
birth  occurred  September  29,  1906.  These 
children  are  all  bright  and  winsome,  giving 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


promise  of  successful  future  careers.  The 
Holt  home  is  a  model  one,  the  residence 
being  modern,  commodious,  well  furnished 
and  invaded  with  the  most  wholesome  at- 
mosphere. 

Our  subject  in  his  fraternal  relations  is 
affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
having  occupied  the  chairs  in  both.  He  is 
truly  a  strong  and  prominent  character,  and 
owing  to  his  individual  personal  traits, 
which  are  highly  commendable,  his  past 
record,  which  is  unmarred  by  a  shadow,  his 
pleasing  address,  kindly  disposition,  upright- 
ness and  public  spirit,  the  future  augurs  still 
greater  honors  for  the  subject,  for  he  has 
gained  the  undivided  esteem  and  confidence 
of  his  fellow  citizens  throughout  Marion 
and  adjoining  counties,  and  such  a  worthy 
character  is  seldom  left  alone  by  the  public 
when  services  of  a  high  order  are  constantly 
being  sought. 


HON.  ELBERT  ROWLAND.  M.  D. 

Prominent  in  the  professional  life  of  Ol- 
ney,  Richland  county,  pre-eminently  distin- 
guished for  carrying  to  completion  impor- 
tant public  enterprises  and  enjoying 
marked  prestige  in  many  things  far 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  community 
honored  by  his  citizenship,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  stands  out  a  clear 
and  conspicuous  figure  among  the  success- 
ful men  of  a  part  of  the  great  Prairie  state 


noted  throughout  the  commonwealth  for  its 
high  order  of  intelligence  and  business  and 
professional  talent.  Characterized  by  breadth 
of  wisdom  and  strong  individuality,  his 
achievements  but  represent  the  utilization  of 
innate  talents  in  directing  efforts  along  lines 
in  which  mature  judgment,  rare  discrimina- 
tion, and  a  resourcefulness  that  hesitates  at 
no  opposing  circumstances,  pave  the  way 
and  ultimately  lead  to  great  achievements. 
It  is  not  the  intention  of  the  biographer  to 
give  in  this  connection  a  detailed  history  of 
the  subject's  life,  but  rather  to  note  incident- 
ally his  connection  with  various  public  offices 
and  his  long  and  worthy  practice  of  medi- 
cine, and  to  show  the  marked  influence  he 
has  wielded  in  advancing  the  material  in- 
terests of  Richland  county  and  in  promoting 
the  general  welfare  of  its  populace. 

Dr.  Elbert  Rowland  was  born  in  New 
York  City,  April  28,  1832,  the  son  of  Town- 
send  and  Eliza  (Sands)  Rowland,  natives 
of  Long  Island,  where  they  were  reared 
and  married.  The  subject's  father  learned 
the  tailor's  trade  and  conducted  a  tailor 
shop  in  the  city  of  New  York  for  a  number 
of  years.  In  1840  he  came  to  Richland 
county  and  entered  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  land  in  Bonpas  township.  It  was 
wild  and  in  the  wilderness,  there  being  but 
few  settlers  there  at  that  time.  He  erected 
a  log  cabin  and  began  to  make  a  home. 
There  was  plenty  of  wild  game  of  all  kinds 
in  the  forests  round  about,  and  the  wolves, 
foxes  and  other  animals  gave  some  trouble. 
The  early  settlers  of  those  days  had  many 
exciting  fox  chases.  The  family  lived  in 


lilOGRArillCAL    AND    KKMIN1SCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


a  log  cabin  for  a  number  of  years.  They 
improved  a  good  farm  in  due  course  of  time. 
The  father  of  the  subject  died  in  Olney  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four  years  in 
1896,  his  life  companion  having  preceded 
him  to  the  silent  land  in  1876,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-four  years.  They  were  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity, eight  of  the  number  living  at  this 
writing  (1908),  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
being  the  eldest  of  the  family.  He  was  only 
seven  years  old  when  he  r^me  to  what  is 
now  Richland  county,  where  he  was  reared 
on  a  farm  in  Bonpas  township.  There  were  a 
few  subscription  schools  at  that  time,  which 
our  subject  attended  during  the  winter 
months  for  a  few  terms.  As  usual,  the  old- 
est of  the  children  worked  hard  to  help  sup- 
port the  family,  such  was  the  lot  of  El- 
bert  Rowland.  When  sixteen  years  old  he 
went  to  Lancaster,  Wabash  county,  where 
he  became  clerk  in  a  general  store  where  he 
continued  for  three  years.  He  then  bought 
an  interest  in  a  traveling  daguerreotype  gal- 
lery and  visited  various  sections  of  southern 
Illinois,  finally  selling  his  interest  after  ar- 
riving in  Olney.  In  1855  he  went  to  Law- 
rence county  and  began  the  study  of  medi- 
cine under  Dr.  J.  L.  Flanders,  who  lived 
on  a  farm,  and  who  was  at  that  time  one  of 
the  leading  physicians  and  surgeons  in 
Southern  Illinois.  He  studied  two  years  and 
in  1857  went  to  New  York  and  entered  the 
New  York  Medical  College,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  chemistry  in  1858,  and  in  med- 
icine in  1859,  having  made  a  brilliant  rec- 
ord in  that  institution. 


After  leaving  school,  the  subject  prac- 
ticed in  the  hospitals  of  New  York  for  a 
year.  When  the  Civil  war  began,  he  deemed 
it  his  duty  to  do  something  for  his  coun- 
try and  he  applied  for  an  appointment  and 
was  commissioned  first  assistant  surgeon  of 
the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  New 
York  Volunteer  Infantry  with  the  rank  of 
captain,  serving  three  years.  He  remained 
with  this  regiment,  was  present  in  all  the 
engagement  in  which  it  participated  ex- 
cept one,  having  then  been  absent  on  a  ten 
days'  leave  to  go  home.  Among  the  impor- 
tant battles  in  which  he  participated  were 
Gettysburg,  Bascom  Bridge,  siege  of 
Charleston,  etc.  He  was  active  in  field 
work  and  escaped  with  one  slight  wound  in 
the  hand. 

After  the  war  he  returned  to  Illinois  and 
located  at  Noble,  where  he  engaged  in  gen- 
eral practice  and  soon  built  up  a  lucrative 
business,  continuing  here  until  1880,  when 
he  located  at  Olney  and  continued  practice 
with  his  usual  great  success  until  1905,  when 
he  retired  and  has  since  been  leading  a 
quiet  life. 

In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  for  many 
years  was  quite  active  and  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  his  party.  He  was  elected  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  Central  Committee 
of  Richland  county  in  1865,  and  so  well  did 
he  manage  its  affairs  that  he  was  annually 
re-elected  for  nineteen  consecutive  years  and 
has  been  a  member  of  the  same  for  thirty- 
five  years.  During  this  time  he  served  as 
chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  for 
two  terms,  and  Literarv  Committee  for  two 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


terms.  He  served  as  chairman  of  the  Con- 
gressional Committee  one  term,  and  was 
chairman  of  the  Senatorial  and  Legislative 
Committees  for  two  terms.  He  has  been 
delegate  to  the  county,  state,  legislative,  dis- 
trict and  national  conventions  and  chairman 
of  various  committees.  He  was  regarded 
as  one  of  the  "wheel-horses"  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  this  locality  for  many  years 
and  he  wielded  a  powerful  influence  in  its 
councils.  In  1882  he  was  a  candidate  for 
nomination  as  representative  from  the  Forty- 
fourth  District.  There  were  four  candidates 
and  in  the  convention  he  received  the  entire 
vcte  on  the  first  ballot.  His  election  fol- 
lowed by  a  majority  of  one  thousand  two 
hundred  and  ninety-six  in  a  district  which 
at  that  time  was  about  six  hundred  Repub- 
lican. This  shows  his  great  popularity  with 
the  masses,  and  his  splendid  work  in  that 
body  showed  the  wisdom  of  his  constituents 
in  their  selection.  He  has  always  taken 
an  active  interest  in  whatever  tended  to  pro- 
mote the  general  interest  of  his  community. 
When  a  resident  of  Noble  he  was  a  member 
of  the  school  board  for  seventeen  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  the  schools  of  that  place 
were  built  up  to  excellent  proportions,  hav- 
ing been  president  of  the  board  of  trustees 
for  two  terms  and  one  term  as  treasurer.  HP 
was  appointed  health  officer  of  Olney  in 
1882  and  served  in  a  most  efficient  manner 
for  seventeen  years.  He  served  as  president 
of  the  Board  of  United  States  Pension  Ex- 
aminers for  ten  years,  and  as  president  of 
the  Richland  County  Board  of  Charities  for 
seven  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Board 


of  Censors  in  Evansville  Hospital  Medical 
College  for  three  years.  In  all  these  capaci- 
ties he  gave  the  greatest  satisfaction  and 
always  looked  after  such  business  with  the 
same  care  as  if  it  had  been  his  own. 

The  happy  domestic  life  of  the  subject  be- 
gan January  23,  1862,  when  he  married  Kate 
Mallary,  a  native  of  New  York  City,  the 
daughter  of  Sherland  and  Judah  (Elliott) 
Mallary,  natives  of  Connecticut.  The  father 
was  in  the  real  estate  and  rental  agency 
business  and  died  there  of  cholera.  His  wife 
survived  a  number  of  years  and  died  at  the 
home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Rowland,  at  Xo- 
ble,  this  state. 

Five  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  four  of  whom  are  living,  as 
follows:  Kate  Elbertine,  the  wife  of  I.  A. 
Phillips,  of  Waterbury,  Connecticut;  The- 
ressa,  the  wife  of  E.  E.  Edwards,  of  Olney; 
Charles  Townsend,  a  druggist,  of  Streator, 
Illinois:  Elbert  M.,  an  attorney  and  Master 
in  Chancery,  owner  and  editor  of  The  Olney 
Times.  These  children  received  good  educa- 
tions and  are  all  well  situated  in  reference 
to  this  world's  affairs. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  the  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  order  at  Olney,  also 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  having 
served  as  surgeon  of  the  latter  for  many 
years. 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  citizen  of  this  part  of 
the  state  has  achieved  more  honorable  men- 
tion or  occupied  a  more  conspicuous  place 
before  the  public  than  he  whose  name  ap- 
pears at  the  head  of  these  paragraphs. 


54 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


H.  D.  EVANS. 


H.  D.  Evans  was  bom  in  Marion  county, 
this  state,  September  30,  1866,  the  son  of  O. 
F.  Evans,  Police  Magistrate,  and  a  native  of 
this  county.  The  mother  of  Mr.  Evans  was 
Lucy  J.  Tingle,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  who 
came  here  in  1850.  The  subject's  parents 
are  still  living  in  1908.  They  became  the 
parents  of  nine  children,  four  sons  and  five 
daughters. 

H.  D.  Evans  attended  school  in  Salem,  re- 
maining under  his  parental  roof  until  he  was 
twenty-two  years  old.  He  then  went  to  To- 
peka,  Kansas,  in  1888,  and  learned  the  car- 
penter's trade,  at  which  he  worked  twelve  or 
fourteen  years,  remaining  in  Topeka  three 
years.  He  finally  returned  to  Salem  and 
worked  at  his  trade  for  two  years,  when  he 
went  near  Terre  Haute  and  continued  at 
this  trade,  and  was  there  married  to  Nannie 
Haddock,  the  daughter  of  William  Mad- 
dock,  of  Atherton,  Indiana,  on  March  7, 
1894.  Two  interesting  and  winsome  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  the  subject  and  wife, 
as  follows:  Gladys  Marie,  whose  date  of 
birth  occurred  June  24,  1895,  and  Gretchen 
Irene,  who  first  saw  the  light  of  day  on  Au- 
gust 19,  1899. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Evans  came  to 
Salem.  Moving  on  a  farm,  he  remained 
there  one  and  one-half  years,  when  he  moved 
to  Salem  and  engaged  in  contracting  and  the 
lumber  business  for  four  years,  after  which 
he  went  on  the  road  for  two  and  one-half 
years,  selling  paints  and  varnishes.  He  is 
now  a  member  of  the  drug  firm  of  Evans  & 


Harmon,  which  owns  stores  at  luka,  Illinois, 
and  Moorhouse,  Missouri. 

Mr.  Evans  is  a  wide  awake,  energetic 
business  man  of  sound  judgment  and  mod- 
ern business  principles,  and  he  has  always 
succeeded  at  whatever  he  undertook.  He 
faithfully  served  the  city  of  Salem  as  Alder- 
man several  years  ago.  He  is  a  Mason,  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  and  are  well  and  favorably 
known  to  a  host  of  friends  in  this  commun- 
ity. 


T.  W.  WILLIAMS. 

Among  the  strong  and  influential  citizens 
of  Marion  county,  the  record  of  whose  lives 
have  become  an  essential  part  of  the  history 
of  the  section,  the  gentleman  whose  name 
appears  above  occupies  a  prominent  place, 
and  for  many  years  has  exerted  a  beneficial 
influence  in  the  community  in  which  he  re- 
sides. 

T.  W.  Williams,  the  well  known  Justice 
of  the  Peace  at  Salem,  Illinois,  was  born  in 
Silver  Springs,  Wilson  county,  Tennessee, 
May  22,  1837,  the  son  of  W.  G.  Williams, 
a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  influence,  who 
was  born  and  reared  at  Silver  Springs.  He 
came  to  Illinois  in  1845,  locating  in  the 
northern  part  of  Marion  county  which  is 
now  embraced  in  Kinmundy  township, 
where  he  developed  a  farm,  making  a  com- 
fortable home  and  a  good  living  during  his 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND.  MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


55 


residence  there.  Thomas  Williams,  father 
of  W.  G.  Williams  and  grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  came  to  Illinois  with 
the  family  in  1845.  He  was  a  North  Caro- 
linian by  birth  and  a  fine  type  of  the  true 
Southern  gentleman.  He  followed  farming 
all  his  life.  He  died  in  Kinmundy.  W.  G. 
Williams  died  in  1904,  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-seven  years.  The  mother  of  the 
subject  was  Mary  Morning,  a  native  of  old 
Virginia  and  a  woman  of  many  estimable 
traits.  She  passed  to  her  rest  in  1852.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  W.  G.  Williams  were  the  parents 
of  nine  children  as  follows:  Elizabeth, 
widow  of  R.  G.  Williams,  who  now  lives  in 
Foster  township,  Marion  county;  T.  W., 
our  subject;  Othnial,  who  is  living  at 
Raleigh,  Saline  county,  Illinois,  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Civil  war;  Joseph  died  while 
in  the  Union  army;  G.  H.  also  died  in 
the  Union  army;  George  M.  was  killed 
while  in  the  Federal  ranks;  Henry  N.  also 
died  in  the  Union  army;  Carroll  died  in  in- 
fancy; Mary  Jane  is  the  wife  of  John  Car- 
man, living  at  Kinmundy,  this  county. 

The  subject's  father  married  the  second 
time,  his  last  wife  being  Martha  Boczkie- 
wicz,  and  by  this  union  five  children  were 
born  as  follows :  Piety  Smith,  now  de- 
ceased, who  lived  in  Hamilton  county,  Illi- 
nois; W.  G.,  Jr.,  who  is  living  in  Hamilton 
county;  F.  O.,  who  is  also  a  resident  of 
Hamilton  county ;  John  V.,  is  a  Baptist  min- 
ister, living  at  Galitia,  Saline  county,  Illi- 
nois; Priscilla  died  at  the  age  of  ten  years. 

T.  W.  Williams,  our  subject,  was  raised 
on  the  farm  and  attended  the  common 


schools  where  he  diligently  applied  himself 
and  received  a  fairly  good  education.  After 
he  reached  maturity  he  bought  and  sold  live 
stock,  making  this  business  a  success  from 
the  start,  having  much  natural  ability  as  a 
trader.  He  lived  on  the  farm  for  twenty- 
five  years.  He  also  made  a  marked  success 
later  dealing  in  live  stock  and  grain,  becom- 
ing widely  known  not  only  as  a  man  of 
unusual  industry  but  also  of  scrupulous 
honesty. 

Having  taken  a  lively  interest  in  politics 
and  becoming  well  known  throughout  the 
county  he  was  sought  out  by  his  political 
friends  for  positions  of  public  trust,  having 
first  served  as  Deputy  Sheriff  in  1890  of  Ma- 
riorr  county  for  a  period  of  two  years,  with 
the  greatest  satisfaction  to  all  concerned  and 
reflecting  much  credit  upon  his  innate  ability 
as  an  official.  In  1893  he  became  Deputy 
Circuit  Clerk,  in  which  capacity  he  ably 
served  for  five  years.  Mr.  Williams  was 
postmaster  at  Kinmundy,  Illinois,  in  1885, 
during  Cleveland's  first  administration.  He 
had  previously  been  living  on  his  farm,  but 
he  then  moved  to  Kinmundy  and  from  that 
town  to  Salem  in  1900  for  the  purpose  of 
assuming  the  duties  of  Deputy  Sheriff.  In 
all  of  his  official  career  not  the  shadow  of 
suspicion  of  wrong  has  rested  upon  him,  and 
he  has  given  uniform  satisfaction  to  all  con- 
cerned in  whatever  place  he  has  filled.  He 
was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  Sheriff  in 
1894,  but  was  defeated  by  a  Republican  can- 
didate. 

Mr.  Williams'  early  life  was  devoted  very 
largely  to  school  teaching,  having  won  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


lasting  reputation  throughout  Marion 
county  as  an  able  instructor  and  his  services 
were  always  in  great  demand.  He  followed 
this  line  of  work  from  the  time  he  was 
twenty-one  until  he  was  forty  years  old, 
having  taught  not  only  in  Marion  but  also 
Hamilton  and  Saline  counties.  He  has 
given  his  time  to  the  duties  of  the  office  of 
.Justice  of  the  Peace,  to  which  he  was  elected 
in  1900.  -He  is  also  engaged  in  the  hotel 
business,  being  the  present  proprietor  of  the 
Williams  House,  which  he  has  managed  for 
ten  years.  Owing  to  the  courteous  treat- 
ment and  excellent  accommodations  which 
the  traveling  public  finds  at  this  house,  it 
has  a  liberal  patronage  and  has  become  well 
known  to  those  finding  it  convenient  to  stop 
at  a  well  kept  hostelry. 

The  domestic  life  of  Mr.  Williams  began 
when  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Juliet 
Boczkiewicz  on  March  27,  1859.  She  was 
a  representative  of  a  highly  respected  and 
well  known  family  of  this  county.  By  this 
union  the  following  interesting  children 
have  been  born:  Henrietta,  the  wife  of 
George  M.  Hargrove,  of  Fayette  county,  Il- 
linois ;  Annetta,  deceased ;  Alfe,  the  wife  of 
W.  W.  Newis,  of  Salem;  W.  W.,  of  Cen- 
tralia,  this  state;  Walter,  of  Ashland,  Cass 
county,  Illinois;  T.  S.,  of  Salem. 

These  children  have  received  good  edu- 
cations and  careful  home  training  which  is 
clearly  reflected  in  their  lives. 

Mrs.  Williams  was  called  to  her  rest  in 
1 88 1,  and  Mr.  Williams  was  married  again 
in  1884  to  Nannie  L.  Williams,  a  daughter 
of  T.  C.  Williams,  of  Kinmundy,  a  well 


known  family  of  that  place.     There  have 
been  no  children  by  this  union. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Williams  is  affiliated 
with  the  Masonic  order,  having  belonged  to 
this  lodge  since  he  was  twenty-five  years 
old.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church, 
and  judging  from  his  sober,  upright,  well 
ordered  daily  life  one  would  conclude  that 
he  believes  in  carrying  out  the  sublime  pre- 
cepts and  doctrines  embraced  in  both  the 
lodge  and  the  church  to  which  he  belongs. 
Mr.  Williams  is  a  man  of  striking  personal- 
ity, portly  with  a  proper  poise  of  dignity  to 
his  military  bearing  which  makes  him  a  con- 
spicuous figure  wherever  he  goes.  He  is  a 
pleasant  man  to  meet,  always  kind,  affable, 
well  mannered  and  congenial;  these  com- 
mendable traits  coupled  with  his  industry 
and  genuine  worth  make  him  a  favorite  in 
Marion  county  and  wherever  he  is  known, 
and  lie  justly  merits  the  high  esteem  of 
which  he  is  the  recipient. 


JAMES  B.  LEWIS. 

Few  men  in  Marion  county  occupy  as 
prominent  position  in  public  and  political 
affairs  as  the  well  known  and  deservedly 
popular  gentleman  whose  name  introduces 
this  article.  His  has  indeed  been  a  busy  and 
successful  life  and  the  record  is  eminently 
worthy  of  perusal  by  the  student  who  would 
learn  the  intrinsic  essence  of  individuality 
and  its  influence  in  moulding  opinion  and 
giving  character  and  stability  to  a  commu- 
nity. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION*    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


57 


James  B.  Lewis,  editor  and  publisher  of 
The  Marion  County  Democrat,  and  one  of 
the  leading  journalists  of  southern  Illinois, 
is  a  native  of  Nicholas  county,  Kentucky, 
where  his  birth  occurred  on  the  I4th  day  of 
November,  1852.  His  father,  O.  M.  Lewis, 
who  was  born  and  reared  to  manhood  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  migrated  about  1835  to 
Ohio  where  he  spent  the  ensuing  ten  years, 
and  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  removed 
to  Kentucky  where  he  made  his  home  until 
his  death  in  the  year  1862.  O.  M.  Lewis 
was  a  man  of  fine  mind  and  superior  intel- 
lectual atainments,  having  enjoyed  excellent 
educational  advantages  in  his  native  state, 
graduating  when  a  young  man  from  Alfred 
Center  College.  After  finishing  his  educa- 
tion he  engaged  in  teaching,  which  profes- 
sion he  followed  with  marked  success  in 
Carlisle  and  Maysville,  Kentucky,  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Mexico,  when 
he  resigned  his  position  and  entering  the 
army  served  throughout  that  struggle  while 
still  in  his  minority.  Later  when  the  na- 
tional sky  became  overcast  with  the  ominous 
clouds  of  approaching  Civil  war  he  was 
among  the  first  men  of  Nicholas  county  to 
tender  his  services  to  the  national  govern- 
ment, enlisting  in  1861  in  Company  H, 
Eighteenth  Kentucky  Volunteer  Infantry, 
in  which  he  soon  rose  to  the  position  of  cap- 
tain, and  as  such  served  with  a  brilliant 
record  until  August,  1862,  when  he  was 
killed  while  bravely  leading  his  men  in  the 
battle  of  Richmond,  Kentucky.  This  was 
one  of  the  bloodiest  of  the  war,  the  Eight- 
eenth Kentucky,  a  veteran  regiment,  losing 


two-thirds  of  its  men,  while  the  losses  of 
several  other  regiments  were  almost  if  not 
quite  as  great.  Mr.  Lewis  is  said  to  have 
been  the  most  popular  man  in  his  regiment, 
and  was  almost  idolized  by  his  own  com- 
pany, during  his  entire  period  of  service. 
The  Grand  Army  Post  at  Carlisle,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  enlisted,  is  called  the 
O.  M.  Lewis  Post  in  his  honor.  Although 
a  man  of  scholarly  tastes  and  habits,  and  for 
many  years  devoted  to  his  books  and  studies 
he  inherited  the  martial  instinct  also  being 
descended  from  fighting  stock  on  the  ma- 
ternal side,  his  mother  having  been  a  Law- 
ton,  a  relative  of  the  late  General  Lawton, 
one  of  America's  most  distinguished  heroes, 
who  lost  his  life  in  the  Philippines.  O.  M. 
Lewis  was  born  on  August  30,  1824,  mar- 
ried in  1850  to  Elizabeth  Mann,  of  Nicholas 
county,  Kentucky,  and  became  the  father  of 
eight  children,  only  three  now  survive, 
namely :  Mrs.  Louisa  L.  Davidson,  of  Pa- 
toka,  Illinois,  James  B.,  of  this  review  and 
Mrs.  Anna  J.  Burns  who  lives  in  Fresno, 
California.  In  September  following  her 
husband's  death,  1863,  Mrs.  Lewis,  with  her 
three  children,  moved  to  Marion  county,  Il- 
linois, and  located  about  two  miles  east  of 
Patoka,  on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  which  had  been  purchased  by  Mr. 
Lewis  some  years  previously.  In  1865  she 
became  the  wife  of  George  Binnion,  of  Mar- 
ion county,  who  was  also  a  soldier  during 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion  and  the  son  of 
Francis  Binnion,  the  second  marriage  result- 
ing in  the  birth  of  two  sons,  Daniel  H.,  and 
Frank.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  which 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AXI)    RKM 1 X ISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


occurred  in  the  month  of  July,  1907,  at  the 
remarkable  age  of  one  hundred  and  seven 
years,  Francis  Binnion  was  the  oldest  man 
in  Marion  county,  if  not  in  the  state. 

James  B.  Lewis  spent  his  childhood  in  the 
state  of  his  birth,  and  when  eleven  years  old 
was  brought  by  his  mother  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  with  the  subsequent  history 
and  progress  of  which  his  life  has  been  very 
closely  interwoven.  At  the  proper  age  he 
entered  the  public  schools  of  Patoka,  where 
he  pursued  his  studies  until  completing  the 
common  and  high  school  branches,  the 
training  thus  received  was  in  Milton,  Wis- 
consin, where  he  earned  an  honorable  record 
as  a  close  and  painstaking  student.  On  quit- 
ting college  he  turned  his  attention  to  teach- 
ing, but  after  devoting  several  years  to  this 
field  of  work  and  finding  it  not  altogether  to 
his  liking  he  discontinued  it  and  took  up  the 
study  of  medicine.  After  a  course  of  read- 
ing under  the  direction  of  competent  local 
talent  he  entered  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute at  Cincinnati,  where  he  continued  his 
studies  and  researches  until  receiving  his  de- 
gree in  the  year  1878,  following  which  he 
opened  an  office  in  Patoka  and  in  due  time 
built  up  an  extensive  practice  which  proved 
as  successful  financially  as  professionally, 
and  which  earned  for  him  an  honorable 
reputation  among  the  leading  physicians  and 
surgeons  of  Marion  and  neighboring  coun- 
ties. 

Dr.  Lewis  brought  to  his  chosen  calling 
a  mind  well  disciplined  by  intellectual  and 
professional  training,  and  it  was  not  long 
until  his  practice  took  a  very  wide  range, 


embracing  not  only  the  town  and  a  large 
area  of  adjacent  country,  but  not  infre- 
quently were  his  services  sought  at  other  and 
remote  points  for  treatment  of  difficult  and 
critical  cases  in  which  a  high  degree  of  ef- 
ficiency and  skill  were  required.  He  con- 
tinued his  professional  business  with  encour- 
aging success  until  the  fall  of  1884  when  he 
was  elected  Clerk  of  the  Marion  Circuit 
Court,  and  the  better  to  attend  to  his  official 
functions  here  moved  within  a  short  time  to 
Salem  where  he  has  since  resided.  Doctor 
Lewis  discharged  the  duties  of  the  clerkship 
with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  people,  and  during  his  incum- 
bency of  four  years  won  the  esteem  and 
confidence  of  all  who  had  business  to  trans- 
act in  his  office,  proving  a  most  capable,  ju- 
dicious and  obliging  public  servant.  In 
February,  1889,  shortly  after  the  expiration 
of  his  official  term  he  established  "The  Mar- 
ion County  Democrat,"  which  he  has  since 
conducted,  and  which  under  his  able  busi- 
ness and  editorial  management  is  now  one 
of  the  best  and  most  influential  local  papers 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  in  many 
respects  comparing  favorably  with  the  more 
pretentious  sheets  of  the  larger  metropolitan 
centers.  The  political  creed  of  The  Demo- 
crat is  indicated  by  its  title,  and  as  a  party 
organ  it  has  had  much  to  do  in  moulding 
opinion,  formulating  policies  and  directing 
public  affairs,  the  doctor  being  an  elegant 
and  forceful  writer,  a  courteous  but  fearless 
antagonist  and  in  discussing  the  leading 
questions  and  issues  of  the  day  he  wields  a 
trenchant  pen  and  makes  his  influence  felt 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


59 


not  only  on  these  but  on  all  other  matters 
which  the  enterprising  journalist  is  supposed 
to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the  public. 

The  Democrat  office  is  well  equipped  with 
the  latest  modern  machinery  and  appliances 
for  first  class  work  in  the  art  preservative, 
and  in  its  mechanical  make  up  the  paper  is 
fully  abreast  of  the  times,  all  that  constitutes 
a  first  class  newspaper  being  systematically 
arranged  and  a  model  of  neatness  and  typo- 
graphical art.  Aside  from  its  political  phase 
it  is  designed  to  vibrate  with  the  public  pulse 
and  in  addition  to  the  news  of  the  day,  its 
columns  teem  with  much  of  the  best  current 
literature  and  it  has  also  became  the  medium 
through  which  the  productions  of  a  number 
of  rising  local  writers  are  given  publicity. 

In  brief  The  Democrat  is  a  clean  and  dig- 
nified and  interesting  family  paper  as  well 
as  a  popular  and  influential  political  organ, 
and  its  steady  growth  in  public  favor  be- 
speaks for  it  a  future  of  still  greater  prom- 
ise and  usefulness.  Not  only  as  an  editorial 
moulder  of  opinion  does  Mr.  Lewis  make 
his  influence  felt  in  directing  the  affairs  of 
his  town  and  county,  but  as  an  enterprising 
public  spirited  citizen,  with  the  welfare  of 
the  community  at  heart,  he  has  ever  been 
interested  in  whatever  makes  for  the  benefit 
of  his  fellow  men,  encouraging  to  the  extent 
of  his  ability  all  worthy  measures  and  takes 
the  lead  in  movements  having  for  their  ob- 
ject the  social,  intellectual  and  moral  ad- 
vancement of  those  with  whom  he  mingles. 

On  the  1 2th  day  of  September,  1877,  Mr. 
Lewis  was  united  in  the  bonds  of  wedlock 


with  Mona  I.  Quoyle,  daughter  of  Capt.  T. 
H.  and  Rebecca  Quoyle,  of  Salem,  the  mar- 
riage being  blessed  with  six  children,  four 
of  whom  are  living,  the  other  two  dying  in 
infancy.  Anna  L.,  the  oldest  of  the  family, 
is  the  wife  of  E.  H.  Barenfauger,  a  con- 
tractor of  Salem.  Orin  M.,  the  second  in 
order  of  birth  is  associated  with  his  father 
in  The  Democrat  office  and  has  achieved 
honorable  repute  as  an  enterprising  and 
capable  newspaper  man.  Before  entering 
the  field  of  journalism  he  served  four  years 
in  the  United  States  navy,  having 
visited  nearly  every  country  of  the  old 
and  new  world,  and  completely  encircled 
the  globe  while  with  the  squadron  under  the 
command  of  Robley  D.  Evans  or  "Fighting 
Bob,"  one  of  the  most  distinguished  admir- 
als of  his  time.  Thomas  O.,  the  second  son, 
is  a  locomotive  fireman  at  the  Chicago  & 
Eastern  Illinois  yards  in  Salem,  while  Owen 
W.,  the  youngest  of  the  number  is  also  con- 
nected with  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois 
Railway,  holding  the  position  of  store 
keeper  at  Salem.  In  his  fraternal  relations 
Mr.  Lewis  is  a  Mason  and  an  Odd  Fellow, 
belonging  to  the  lodges  of  those  organiza- 
tions in  Salem  and  manifesting  a  lively  in- 
terest in  their  deliberations.  While  not 
actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession he  is  fully  abreast  of  the  times  on  all 
matters  relating  to  medical  science,  being  a 
close  and  diligent  student  and  an  untiring 
investigator,  and  by  keeping  in  touch  with 
the  trend  of  modern  thought  maintains  not 
only  his  interest  in  the  healing  art,  but  the 


6o 


lUOGKAlMIICAL    AND    KKMIXLSCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


honorable  position  to  which  he  attained 
while  devoting  his  entire  time  and  attention 
to  the  ills  of  suffering  humanity. 

During  the  entire  period  of  his  residence 
in  Salem  as  a  physician,  public  official,  edi- 
tor, as  the  center  of  his  family  circle  and 
as  a  citizen  he  has  made  good  his  title  to 
the  honored  name  inherited  from  his 
ancestors,  besides  adding  to  its  luster  by  a 
strict  adherence  to  duty  in  every  relation  to 
which  he  has  been  called. 


FRANK  A.  ROGERS. 

In  touching  upon  the  life  history  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  the  writer  aims 
to  avoid  fulsome  encomium  and  extrava- 
gant praise,  yet  he  desires  to  hold  up 
for  consideration  those  facts ,  which  have 
shown  the  distinction  of  a  true,  useful  and 
honorable  life — a  life  characterized  by  per- 
severance, energy,  broad  charity  and  well 
defined  purpose.  To  do  this  will  be  but  to 
reiterate  the  dictum  pronounced  upon  Mr. 
Rogers  by  the  people  who  have  known  him 
so  long  and  well. 

Frank  A.  Rogers,  the  present  popular 
County  Treasurer  of  Marion  county,  was 
born  in  Omega,  this  county,  April  i,  1871, 
and  while  still  a  young  man  has  left  the  in- 
delible imprint  of  his  strong  personality 
upon  the  locality  where  he  has  spent  his 
life.  The  father  of  the  subject  was  William 
A.  Rogers,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  who  came 
to  this  county  in  1854.  He  was  engaged  all 


his  life  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  he  was  a 
man  of  great  influence  in  his  community, 
and  was  Supervisor  of  his  township  for  fif- 
teen years,  also  Justice  of  the  Peace  for 
twenty  years,  and  he  was  chairman  of  the 
County  Board  at  the  time  of  his  death,  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1891.  The  subject's  mother  was 
Rebecca  Chapman  in  her  maidenhood.  She 
was  born  in  Omega  township,  this  county, 
November  25,  1846,  and  is  still  living  in 
1908  on  the  old  homestead.  She  is  a  woman 
of  refinement  and  gracious  personality 
which  has  won  hosts  of  friends.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  William  A.  Rogers  the  following 
children  were  born :  Leva,  who  died  in 
infancy;  the  second  in  order  of  birth  was 
our  subject;  Luther  A.,  living  at  Welling- 
ton, Kansas;  Giles  N.,  of  luka,  Illinois; 
Danael  C,  deceased;  Leo  Delbert,  of  Poca- 
hontas,  Iowa ;  Paul,  of  Omega  township. 

The  subject's  father  was  twice  married. 
His  first  wife  was  Minerva  Jane  Craig. 

Frank  A.  Rogers  lived  at  home  until  he 
was  twenty-one  years  old,  assisting  with  the 
work  about  the  farm  until  he  had  acquired 
sufficient  education  to  begin  teaching.  Be- 
ing an  ambitious  lad  he  always  applied  him- 
self diligently  to  his  text-books  and  conse- 
quently outstripped  most  of  the  common 
plodders  that  made  up  the  roll  of  contem- 
poraneous school-fellows  in  his  neighbor- 
hood, and  he  has  since  greatly  added  to  his 
early  foundation  in  educational  matters  by 
coming  in  contact  with  the  world  and  by  sys- 
tematic home  study.  But  few  men  are  to  be 
met  with  in  the  state  of  Illinois  who  are  any 
better  informed  on  current  topics  of  a  gen- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


6r 


eral  nature  than  Mr.  Rogers,  for  he  has  al- 
ways been  a  close  student  of  the  trend  of 
events,  politically,  scientifically  and  in  other 
leading  issues.  He  followed  teaching  for  a 
period  of  seventeen  years  in  Marion  county, 
during  which  time  he  established  an  envied 
reputation  as  an  instructor  and  his  services 
were  in  great  demand.  He  was  not  only 
popular  for  his  superior  text-book  learning, 
but  his  kind  and  pleasing  personality,  his 
peculiar  insight  in  the  characters  of  his  pu- 
pils, which  made  it  easy  for  him  to  control 
and  properly  direct  each  pupil,  made  him 
popular  with  all  classes  of  people. 

Mr.  Rogers  always  took  a  deep  interest  in 
political  movements,  being  a  stanch  advo- 
cate of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the 
Democratic  party,  with  which  he  has  been 
affiliated  from  the  time  of  attaining  his  ma- 
jority, and  he  has  ever  lent  his  aid  in  fur- 
thering the  party's  cause  and  is  well  forti- 
fied in  his  political  convictions,  while  he  is 
essentially  public-spirited  and  progressive. 
Being  animated  with  the  laudable  ambition 
for  political  preferment  and  his  general 
popularity  having  been  long  ago  well  estab- 
lished, it  is  not  strange  that  his  fellow  citi- 
zens singled  him  out  for  offices  of  public 
trust,  and  he  held  the  office  of  Supervisor  of 
Omega  township  for  two  terms.  He  was  also 
chairman  of  the  County  Board  and  County 
Board  of  Review  in  1903.  He  was  nomi- 
nated for  County  Treasurer  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket  August  4,  1906,  by  a  majority 
of  eight  hundred  and  was  easily  elected  over 
a  strong  opponent  the  following  November, 
and  is  serving  the  duties  of  the  office  with 


great  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  not  only  his 
constituents  but  members  of  other  parties 
as  well,  being  generally  regarded  as  one 
of  the  best  officials  the  county  has  ever  had, 
especially  in  the  Treasurer's  office.  The 
subject  has  made  his  home  in  Salem  since 
December,  following  the  election. 

The  subject's  happy  and  harmonious  do- 
mestic life  dates  from  September  25,  1892, 
when  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Lillie  M. 
Kagy,  who  was  born  April  7,  1875,  the 
daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  B.  Kagy, 
a  well  known,  highly  respected  and  influ- 
ential family  of  Marion  county.  Mrs. 
Rogers  is  a  highly  cultured  and  accom- 
plished tady  of  pleasing  manner  and  many 
commendable  attributes  of  mind  and  heart 
and  she  presides  over  their  comfortable  and 
cozy  home  with  grace  and  dignity  and  she  is 
popular  among  the  best  class  of  Marion 
county's  estimable  women. 

The  following  bright  and  interesting  chil- 
dren have  come  into  the  home  of  our  subject 
and  wife,  thereby  adding  cheer  and  sunshine 
to  the  family  circle:  Herschell,  born  June 
28,  1894;  Hazel,  born  October  5,  1897;  Ver- 
non  V.,  born  April  15,  1902,  surviving  only 
till  October  4th,  the  same  year ;  Rolla,  who 
was  born  August  5,  1904. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rogers  are  consistent  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
They  are  both  held  in  high  esteem  for  their 
friendly  manners,  wholesome  domestic  life 
and  upright  public  lives  which  have  resulted 
in  winning  and  retaining  the  friendship  of 
all  who  know  them. 


IHOC.KAPIIICAL    AND    RK.MIX  ISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


CARLOS  A.  FELTMAN,  M.  D. 

He  whose  name  initiates  this  paragraph  is 
a  representative  of  one  of  the  old  and 
honored  families  of  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
where  he  has  lived  from  the  time  of  his 
birth  and  where  he  has  gained  personal 
prestige  and  success  in  one  of  the  most  noble 
and  exacting  of  all  vocations  to  which  a  man 
may  devote  himself,  being  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Salem  and  con- 
trolling a  large  business  as  physician  and 
surgeon,  while  he  has  gained  precedence  by 
reason  of  his  devotion  to  his  profession  and 
his  marked  ability  as  an  exponent  of  ad- 
vanced and  practical  medical  science,  at  the 
same  time  establishing  a  record  of  honor. 

Dr.  Carlos  A.  Feltman  was  born  in 
Salem,  Illinois,  September  u,  1856,  the  son 
of  Charles  Feltman,  a  man  of  much  sterling 
worth  and  influence  in  his  community  who 
was  born  in  Strausburg,  Germany,  and  was 
one  of  the  earliest  German  settlers  in  Marion 
county,  Illinois.  He  was  a  successful  baker 
for  many  years  and  later  was  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business  at  which  he  was 
equally  successful,  having  built  up  an  ex- 
cellent trade  with  the  surrounding  country 
districts.  He  spent  nearly  his  entire  life  in 
Salem  and  passed  to  his  reward  in  1875. 
The  subject's  mother,  who  was  a  woman  of 
many  admirable  attributes,  was  known  in 
her  maidenhood  as  Mary  Appel.  She  was 
born  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Germany, 
and  she  passed  to  her  rest  in  1888.  The 
parents  of  the  subject  were  married  in  St. 
Louis,  Missouri.  They  received  a  fairly 


good  education  and  were  people  of  refine- 
ment and  high  character,  having  reared  their 
children,  of  whom  there  were  eight  in  num- 
ber, in  a  wholesome  atmosphere  which 
modified  and  deeply  influenced  their  subse- 
quent careers.  Following  are  the  names  of 
their  children :  Emil,  deceased ;  Ellen,  who 
married  R.  E.  Fletcher  and  who  died  in 
Grand  Junction,  Colorado;  H.  C.,  deceased, 
was  a  prominent  attorney  at  law  and  was 
grand  scribe  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  at  the  time  of  his  death ;  Wil- 
liam W.  is  deceased;  the  next  in  order  of 
birth  was  Carlos  A.,  our  subject;  Lenora, 
deceased;  C.  E.,  who  is  with  the  Eli  Walker 
Dry  Goods  Company,  of  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri; R.  B.,  who  is  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness at  Grand  Junction,  Colorado. 

Doctor  Feltman  remained  a  member  of 
the  home  circle  until  he  reached  manhood, 
having  attended  the  common  schools  in 
Salem  until  he  finished  the  prescribed  course. 
Being  a  diligent  student  he  made  excellent 
grades  and  received  a  good  education.  He 
went  into  newspaper  work,  believing  that 
journalism  offered  peculiar  attractions.  He 
worked  as  a  printer  for  three  years.  In  the 
meantime  he  felt  that  his  calling  was  in 
another  direction,  the  more  praiseworthy 
art  of  medicine,  consequently  he  began 
studying  during  spare  moments  and  finally 
entered  the-  Louisville  Medical  College  at 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  he  remained 
one  term,  after  which  he  attended  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute  at  Cincinnati, 
from  which  he  graduated  with  high  honor 
in  1882  in  the  same  class  with  Dr.  M.  D. 


R1CHLAND,    CLAY    AXU    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


Foster,  the  present  Congressman  from  this 
district.  Our  subject  showed  from  the  time 
he  first  entered  medical  college  that  he  had 
a  peculiar  aptitude  and  unusual  talents  for 
this  line  of  endeavor  and  his  subsequent  life, 
which  has  been  remarkably  successful, 
shows  that  he  would  have  made  a  grave 
mistake  had  he  adopted  any  other  profes- 
sion as  a  life  work. 

Doctor  Feltman  returned  to  his  native 
community  after  graduation,  beginning 
practice  at  Salem.  His  success  was  in- 
stantaneous and  his  ability  became  so  gen- 
erally known  that  he  was  selcted  to  the  im- 
portant post  of  United  States  Indian  Physi- 
cian at  Fort  Apache,  Arizona,  during  Presi- 
dent Cleveland's  first  administration.  He 
was  eminently  successful  in  this  new  field, 
but  he  finally  desired  to  return  to  his  native 
state,  and  in  1888  began  practice  at  Beards- 
town,  Illinois,  which  he  carried  on  with  the 
greatest  success  for  a  period  of  fourteen 
years,  building  up  a  very  large  practice  and 
becoming  City  Health  Officer,  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Education.  He  was 
also  Secretary  of  the  Pension  Board  under 
Cleveland's  second  administration,  also  Cor- 
oner of  Cass  county  from  1896  to  1900; 
later  County  Physician  of  Cass  county.  Af- 
ter filling  all  these  positions  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  all  concerned,  showing  pro- 
nounced innate  executive  ability  as  well  as 
superior  medical  skill,  in  1900,  greatly  to 
the  regret  of  his  large  patronage,  Doctor 
Feltman  moved  away  from  Beardstown,  lo- 
cating at  his  old  home,  in  Salem.  Useless 
to  say  that  his  practice  was  large  from  the 


first,  for  he  had  long  ago  firmly  established 
a  reputation  here.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Education  at  Salem,  and  is  County 
Physician.  He  was  nominated  by  his  party 
for  Coroner  in  1908  and  his  nomination  was 
regarded  by  not  only  the  Democrats,  but 
members  of  other  party  affiliations  as  well, 
to  be  a  most  fortunate  on.  He  was  elected 
at  the  ensuing  election  by  a  large  majority 
over  his  opponent. 

The  domestic  life  of  Doctor  Feltman 
dates  from  January  i,  1888,  when  he  was 
happily  married  at  Salem  to  Mayme  E. 
Fulks,  the  refined  and  accomplished  daugh- 
ter of  T.  Charles  Fulks.  She  received  a 
fairly  good  educational  training  and  is  a 
representative  of  a  well  known  and  influ- 
ential family. 

Two  interesting  children,  who,  in  their 
youth,  give  promise  of  successful  and  happy 
future  careers,  have  added  cheer  and  sun- 
shine to  the  cozy  home  of  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Feltman.  Their  names  are  Blanche  and 
Mabel,  nineteen  and  seventeen  years  old, 
respectively,  in  1908.  They  are  both  apt 
students  and  of  winsome  personalities. 

Fraternally  our  subject  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  Order,  the  Woodmen  and  the 
Independent  Order  of  Foresters,  and  his 
daily  life  would  indicate  that  he  believes  in 
carrying  out  the  sublime  precepts  of  each. 
He  is  a  strict  Presbyterian  in  religious  faith. 
However,  he  is  not  a  member  of  any  church, 
although  all  his  family  subscribes  to  the 
church  in  Salem. 

Doctor  Feltman  is  of  a  public-spirited  na- 
ture, genial  personality,  uprightness  of  prin- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCKNT     HISTORY    OF 


ciple  and  habits  of  industry.  He  is  re- 
garded by  the  people  of  Marion  county  as 
one  of  their  ablest  and  most  eminent 
citizens. 


WILLIAM  KELL  BUNDY. 

The  life  of  the  early  settlers  in  any  com- 
munity has  ever  contained  much  to  interest 
and  entertain  us.  There  is  something  ro- 
mantic about  the  ruggedness  of  their  lives 
and  the  uncertainties  they  had  to  face  which 
holds  a  fascination  for  us  today.  The  family 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were  among  the 
earliest  inhabitants  of  the  county  in  which 
they  lived,  and  the  hardworking  lives  they 
lived  were  much  more  eventful  than  the  life 
of  the  average  farmer  of  today. 

William  K.  Bundy  was  born  in  section 
No.  i,  Centralia  township,  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  on  May  4,  1827,  and  was  the  son  of 
Frederick  and  Mary  Bundy.  His  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Wilson,  was  bom 
in  North  Carolina,  coming  from  the  region 
of  the  famous  Blue  Ridge  Mountains.  Fred- 
erick Bundy  was  the  son  of  Jonathan 
Bundy,  of  Tennessee,  who  came  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  as  early  as  1825  or  1826, 
settling  near  Walnut  Hill,  where  he  soon 
afterward  died.  His  wife  belonged  to  a  well 
known  family  of  Tennessee  named  Dorcas. 
They  had  four  children,  all  sons — Robert, 
John  and  William,  who  settled  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Walnut  Hill,  and  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  our  sketch,  Frederick  Bundy,  who 
settled  in  section  No.  i,  Centralia  township. 


Frederick  Bundy's  father-in-law,  John 
Wilson,  married  in  his  native  state  of  North 
Carolina.  He  was  a  farmer  who  on  becom- 
ing attacked  with  the  western  fever,  went 
westward  to  Illinois.  There  he  settled  north- 
east of  Salem.  On  the  death  of  his  first 
wife  he  married  a  widow  named  Jones. 
Their  married  years  must  have  been  happy 
ones,  for  upon  a  third  matrimonial  venture 
he  espoused  another  widow  named  Kelley. 
After  a  long  and  active  life  he  died  on  the 
farm.  The  children  by  his  first  wife  num- 
bered seven.  In  regular  order  they  were: 
Mary,  Nancy,  Jane,  Margaret,  Samuel, 
Dorrington,  and  Sylvester.  Mary,  the  eld- 
est daughter,  was  the  mother  of  the  subject 
of  our  sketch.  The  children  born  to  John 
Wilson's  second  wife  numbered  three. 

Frederick  Bundy,  living  in  a  different 
period  from  ours,  had  no  chance  to  go  to 
school.  His  education  had  to  be  self-ob- 
tained. He  did  not  fail  to  sieze  the  oppor- 
tunities which  came  his  way,  and  so  became 
a  remarkably  well  informed  man.  At  the 
time  the  family  came  to  Illinois  the  journey 
was  made  in,  the  old  time  cumberous  team 
wagons.  The  family  of  the  mother  of  our 
sketch  also  arrived  by  means  of  the  same 
mode  of  travel. 

Centralia  township  at  the  time  Frederick 
Bundy  settled  there  in  1826,  was  as  yet  in 
its  original  wild  state.  As  may  be  supposed, 
wild  game  and  beasts  of  prey  of  many  varie- 
ties abounded  there,  particularly  wolves. 
He  remembered  the  howls  and  blood-cur- 
dling "ki-yiings"  of  the  timber-wolves,  to 
which  he  lay  awake  listening  on  many  a 


WILLIAM  BUNDY. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


night  inside  of  the  rough  log-cabin  which  he 
had  built  with  his  own  hands.  In  time  he 
cleared  the  land  and  erected  for  himself  a 
suitable  home,  and  otherwise  much  im- 
proved the  property  which  embraced  four 
hundred  acres.  For  years  he  carried  on  an 
active  farming  business  and  raised  consid- 
erable amount  of  stock.  Frederick  Bundy 
was  politically  a  staunch  Democrat,  and  in 
those  days  he  had  to  go  over  to  Salem  at 
election  times  to  record  his  vote.  In  reli- 
gious life  he  was  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church.  His  wife  died  in  February,  1848, 
and  the  demise  of  the  inseparable  companion 
of  his  life's  journey  was  a  great  loss.  He 
died  in  the  fall  of  1849,  having,  however, 
married  secondly  Elizabeth  Walker,  and 
leaving  a  son  by  that  marriage.  He  had 
eight  children  by  his  first  wife,  the  eldest 
of  which  was  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
William  K.  The  others  were:  Alexander, 
who  married  first  Margaret  Breeze,  and 
afterwards  another  member  of  that  family, 
and  who  is  a  farmer  in  Washington ;  Nancy 
Jane,  deceased,  first  married  James  Harper, 
and  afterwards  Reuben  Alderson;  Dorcas 
married  Sydney  Harmon,  both  of  whom 
are  dead;  Jeanette,  who  married,  also  died; 
John  joined  the  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh 
Regiment,  Company  H,  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war  and  died  while  in  the  service 
of  his  country ;  Robert  was  also  in  the  Civil 
war,  enlisting  in  Jefferson  county,  Illinois, 
and  died  of  small  pox  during  his  term  of 
service;  Sallie,  another  daughter,  married 
Thomas  J.  Hollowell  and  lives  in  Washing- 
ton with  her  husband. 


The  life  of  William  Kell  Bundy,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  has  been  an  adventurous 
one.  In  early  life  he  received  the  limited 
education  afforded  at  the  only  available  local 
institutions  of  learning — the  subscription 
schools.  He  remained  at  home  doing  nec- 
essary work  on  the  farm  until  1847,  when  at 
that  martial  period  he  enlisted  in  Company 
C,  No.  i,  United  States  army  for  the  Mexi- 
can war.  His  military  career  began  by  his 
being  sent  to  Alton,  Illinois,  and  later  to 
Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  and  later  par- 
ticipated in  the  march  across  the  desert  to 
Santa  Fe.  He  was  on  the  march  sixty  days, 
which  was  a  tedious  one.  Later  he  took 
part  in  the  advance  upon  old  Albuquerque, 
the  Mexican  capital.  Here  he  remained 
until  1848,  where  he  did  guard  duty,  and 
finally  marched  back.  On  his  return  he  re- 
mained with  his  father  superintending  the 
old  homestead  until  the  latter's  death,  at 
which  time  he  bought  forty  acres  of  it,  on 
which  he  lived  for  fifteen  years.  In  1863 
he  changed  to  his  present  abode  in  section 
No.  6,  Raccoon  township.  At  different  times 
the  area  of  his  land  increased  until  he  had  at 
one  time  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres;  the 
greater  part  of  which  he  has  since  divided 
among  his  children.  All  the  improvements 
on  the  place  have  been  the  fruits  of  his 
labor  and  supervision.  He  has  principally 
raised  stock  on  the  farm,  cattle,  horses, 
sheep  and  hogs,  and  has  also  evinced  an 
interest  in  the  fancy  and  finer  breeds. 

William  K.  Bundy  married  first  Eliza- 
beth, the  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Sarah  Mc- 
Clelland. Isaac  was  an  early  settler  in  Ma- 


66 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


rion  county,  Illinois,  near  Walnut  Hill.  He 
followed  the  occupation  of  farmer  and  stock 
dealer.  On  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr. 
Bundy  married  a  second  time  on  October 
20,  1887,  Mildred  Annie  Gaines,  of  Sumner 
county,  near  Nashville,  Tennessee.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Henry  Gaines.  Her  mother's 
own  name  was  Marian  Bradley,  of  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee.  They  came  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1850,  and  settled  in  Ste- 
venson township.  There  Henry  Gaines  and 
his  wife  farmed  during  the  remainder  of 
their  lives.  He  died  in  1850,  and  his  wife 
in  1856.  They  had  eight  children,  of  which 
Mildred  Annie,  the  second  wife  of  William 
K.  Bundy,  was  the  seventh.  Of  the  others, 
Hazel  married  C.  Tracy;  P.  D.  is  a  farmer 
in  Stevenson  township ;  Josephine,  the  third, 
is  dead;  Martha  is  also  dead;  Henrietta  E., 
the  widow  of  Sidney  Charlton,  lives  in  Odin 
township;  Agnes  is  still  on  the  farmstead 
and  is  single;  Z.  T.  lives  in  Jefferson 
county.  The  second  marriage  of  William 
K.  Bundy  has  given  him  the  following  chil- 
dren, seven  in  number.  Mary  Rebecca,  the 
wife  of  John  French;  Sarah  Jane,  who  is 
Mrs.  Robinson,  living  at  Sedalia,  Washing- 
ton; Elizabeth,  who  married  John  Lament, 
since  deceased,  lives  in  Oklahoma;  Joseph- 
ine, who  married  George  West,  of  Odin 
township;  Isaac  M.,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Rac- 
coon township  married  Sarah  Johnson; 
Fred,  who  lives  at  home  and  is  unmarried, 
went  through  the  Spanish-American  war  as 
a  member  of  Company  G,  Third  Regiment 
U.  S.  another  child,  Catherine  died  young. 
Though  now  in  his  eighty-second  year, 
William  Kell  Bundy  possesses  a  mind  of  un- 


usual transparency.  He  is  still  well  able  to 
review  in  detail  the  memories  and  exploits 
of  a  long  and  varied  career. 

In  politics  the  subject  of  our  sketch  is  a 
life-long  follower  of  the  Democracy.  His 
first  vote  for  a  presidential  candidate  was 
recorded  years  ago  when  it  went  to  James 
K.  Polk,  who  figured  in  an  eventful  election. 
In  religion  he  is  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church,  in  the  interests  of  which  he  has  ever 
been  active.  He  is  now  in  the  mellow  period 
of  a  long  life  which  has  always  been  at  the 
service  of  home  and  country.  He  has  ful- 
filled the  duties  of  a  long  life;  he  is  sur- 
rounded by  an  affectionate  circle  of  sons  and 
daughters;  he  has  the  friendship  and  good 
wishes  of  a  host  of  friends.  Is  not  this  as 
much  as  any  of  us  can  hope  for  in  the  even- 
ing of  life. 


CRAWFORD  S.  ERWIN. 

No  man  in  Clay  county  occupies  a  more 
enviable  position  in  civic  and  business  af- 
fairs than  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is 
the  well  known  and  popular  ex-Circuit 
Clerk  of  the  county,  not  alone  on  account 
of  the  success  he  has  achieved,  but  also  on 
account  of  the  honorable,  straightforward 
business  policy  he  has  ever  followed  both  in 
public  and  private  life.  He  possesses  un- 
tiring energy,  is  quick  of  perception,  forms 
his  plans  readily  and  executes  them  with 
alacrity  so  that. he  stands  today  one  of  the 
leading  representatives  of  a  county  widely 
known  for  its  men  of  force  and  business 
acumen. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


<v 


Crawford  S.  Erwin  was  born  in  Hoosier 
township,  Clay  county,  October  9,  1866,  the 
son  of  David,  the  son  of  William  Erwin, 
a  native  of  Indiana,  who  was  a  cabinet 
maker  by  trade,  having  come  from  Indiana 
to  Illinois  in  an  early  day  and  engaged  in 
the  cabinet  making  business,  also  in  farm- 
ing. He  was  called  to  his  rest  August  7, 
1866,  six  weeks  before  our  subject  was  born. 
William  Erwin,  the  subject's  grandfather, 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Clay  county,  hav- 
ing come  to  America  from  Scotland,  his  na- 
tive country,  when  a  young  man.  He  was 
the  first  person  buried  in  the  old  Hoosier 
cemetery  in  Hoosier  township.  The  mother 
of  the  subject  was  known  in  her  maiden- 
hood as  Eliza  A.  Fitzgerald,  whose  people 
were  originally  from  Scotland.  She  passed 
to  her  rest  in  Hoosier  township  in  the  spring 
of  1890.  Five  children  were  born  to  the 
subject's  parents  as  follows:  Mayberry  P., 
living  in  Henrietta,  Texas;  David  S.,  liv- 
ing in  Clay  county,  Illinois ;  Joseph,  in  Hen- 
rietta, Texas;  W.  G.,  who  is  also  a  resi- 
dent of  Clay  county;  Crawford  S..  the  sub- 
ject. 

Mr.  Erwin  spent  his  early  life  on  the 
farm,  attending  the  country  schools  during 
the  winter  months,  and  assisting  with  the 
work  at  home  in  the  summer.  He  was  left 
to  be  reared  by  a  widowed  mother,  who  was 
too  poor  to  aid  in  her  son's  education,  and 
thus  our  subject  was  compelled  to  begin  his 
fight  with  the  world  early  in  life  practically 
unaided  and  the  admirable  way  he  has  suc- 
ceeded in  the  face  of  seemingly  insurmount- 
able obstacles,  deserves  the  commendation 
of  all.  When  he  was  nine  vears  old,  the 


family  moved  to  Texas,  where  they  remained 
four  years.  During  this  time  the  children 
were  deprived  of  the  advantages  of  a  good 
school.  Desiring  to  return  to  the  Illinois 
home,  the  family  made  the  trip  overland  in 
a  wagon,  a  distance  of  twelve  hundred  miles, 
in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1880,  having 
reached  Hoosier  township  shortly  after 
Christmas,  during  the  coldest  weather  that 
the  country  had  known  for  years.  Craw- 
ford S.  at  once  entered  school  at  Center* 
under  the  Rev.  John  F.  Harmon,  now  sta- 
tioned in  East  St.  Louis.  Three  terms  of 
school  were  attended  here  by  our  subject. 
He  was  an  excellent  student,  for  he  had  now 
reached  young  manhood  and  he  realized 
that  if  he  succeeded  in  life,  he  would  be 
compelled  to  prepare  himself  for  some  of 
the  professions  or  commercial  life,  for  he 
was  physically  unfit  to  follow  the  hard-work- 
ing life  of  a  farmer.  He  was  enabled  to 
gratify  his  ambition  to  become  an  educated 
man  by  working  out  on  the  farm  during 
the  summer  months,  and  with  the  money 
he  thus  secured  he  entered  the  Northern  In- 
diana Normal  School  at  Valparaiso,  Indi- 
ana, in  which  institution  he  made  a  splendid 
record  for  scholarship. 

He  decided  to  become  a  teacher  and  be- 
fore he  was  eighteen  years  old  had  secured 
his  first  certificate  and  had  taught  his  first 
school,  which  was  a  pronounced  success. 
His  services  were  then  in  great  demand  for 
the  ensuing  ten  years  which  he  devoted  to 
teaching  in  Clay  county,  becoming  generally 
known  as  an  able  educator.  Most  of  that 
time  he  taught  in  only  two  school  districts, 


68 


HHX1RAPIIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


meanwhile  devoting  the  summer  months  to 
farming. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Envin  secured  the 
appointment  of  government  mail  weigher  on 
the  Vandalia  line,  which  position  he  filled 
so  satisfactorily  that  he  was  within  two 
years  thereafter  re-appointed  government 
mail  weigher  on  the  main  line  of  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio  Southwestern  Railroad,  op- 
erating between  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis. 
His  official  reports  quickly  enabled  the  com- 
pany to  see  his  ability  in  this  line  and  he 
was  placed  part  of  his  time  in  the  office  of 
the  chief  clerk  to  assist  in  the  examination 
of  the  reports  sent  in  by  his  fellow-officers. 

Mr.  Erwin  was  called  home  in  1894  to 
fill  the  position  of  Deputy  County  Clerk, 
the  duties  of  which  he  discharged  in  such  a 
creditable  manner  that  he  became  candidate 
for  the  office  of  Circuit  Court  Clerk  in  1896, 
and  was  elected,  on  the  Republican  ticket, 
and  discharged  his  duties  to  the  entire  sat- 
isfaction of  all  concerned  and  was  re-elected 
in  1900,  and  again  in  1904,  his  term  having 
expired  December  7,  1908.  It  is  the  con- 
census of  opinion  that  he  has  been  the  best 
Circuit  Clerk  the  county  has  ever  had. 

The  official  and  private  life  of  Mr.  Er- 
win has  ever  been  an  open  book  to  all.  for 
it  has  been  led  along  conservative  lines, 
honest  and  without  blemish,  lacking  the 
faintest  shadow  or  suspicion  of  evil.  His 
donations  to  charitable  purposes  and  to  his 
needy  neighbors  and  fellow  citizens  since 
his  residence  in  Louisville  have  amounted  to 
several  hundred  dollars.  He  has  always 
been  ready  to  assist  in  aiding  any  worthy 
cause.  It  has  been  his  custom  for  a  number 


of  years  at  Christmas  time  to  gather  to- 
gether provisions,  and  quietly  boxing 
them  up  himself  and  employing  a  teamster 
to  deliver  the  same  to  the  unfortunate  and 
needy  in  his  community.  So  unostentatious 
has  this  charity  been  bestowed  that  the  do- 
nor is  known  to  but  few  of  his  beneficiaries 
to  this  day. 

Mr.  Erwin  was  united  in  marriage  De- 
cember 12,  1886,  to  Sarah  Belle  Conley, 
daughter  of  W.  A.  Conley,  of  Hoosier  town- 
ship. She  was  born  and  reared  in  Clay 
county,  and  is  a  woman  of  beautiful  per- 
sonal attributes.  The  following  children 
have  been  born  of  this  union :  May,  whose 
age  in  1908  is  twenty  years;  Jennie  is 
eighteen  years  old;  Wilbur  Esta  is  fifteen 
years  old;  Crawford  Leslie  is  eleven;  Le- 
land  is  seven  and  Kenneth  is  four. 

Upon  his  retirement  from  office,  Mr.  Er- 
win entered  the  real  estate  and  abstract  busi- 
ness in  December,  1908.  He  is  thoroughly 
familiar  with  abstracting,  having  followed 
this  while  in  office.  He  also  owns  a  farm 
in  Louisville  township,  and  one  in  Bible 
Grove  township,  and  also  a  half  interest  in  a 
farm  in  Hoosier  township,  and  another 
tract  of  land  in  Arkansas.  He  is  also  in- 
terested in  stock  raising  and  stock  trading. 

Mr.  Erwin's  land  is  well  improved  and 
ranks  well  with  any  in  the  county,  and  he  al- 
ways keeps  a  good  grade  of  stock.  He  is  inter- 
ested in  the  concrete  business,  manufactur- 
ing concrete  blocks  and  other  forms  of  con- 
crete work,  the  firm  name  being  Clark  & 
Erwin. 

Our  subject  is  Public  Administrator  of 
Clay  county.  In  his  fraternal  relations  he 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


belongs  to  the  Masonic  Order,  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the 
Knights  of  Pythias.  He  was  secretary  of 
the  local  Masonic  lodge,  at  Louisville,  No. 
196,  for  ten  consecutive  years.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  has  always  been  a  loyal  Republican, 
born  and  bred  in  the  principles  of  that  party,- 
but  the  most  partisan  Democrat  was  ever 
treated  with  the  same  courtesy  by  him  as 
the  most  pronounced  Republican.  During 
his  term  in  office  Mr.  Erwin  has  never  been 
too  busy  to  accommodate  anyone  seeking  in- 
formation on  any  subject  whether  pertaining 
to  the  matters  of  the  office  of  Circuit  Clerk 
or  legal  advice  on  any  foreign  subject,  and 
no  one  ever  went  away  from  him  wrongly 
advised,  or  feeling  that  what  he  had  obtained 
had  been  grudgingly  given.  Hundreds  of 
people  in  Clay  county,  having  no  regular 
attorney  to  attend  to  their  legal  business, 
and  wishing  an  agreement,  a  contract,  or 
an  affidavit  drawn  up,  have  found  our  sub- 
ject ever  willing  to  assist  as  best  he  could. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Erwin  have  a  beautiful 
home,  where  hospitality  and  good  cheer  are 
ever  unstintingly  dispersed  to  their  many 
friends  and  admirers. 


J.  T.  JONES,  M.  D. 

The  physician  who  would  succeed  in  his 
profession  must  possess  many  qualities  of 
head  and  heart  not  included  in  the  curricu- 
lum of  the  schools  and  colleges  he  may 


have  attended.  In  analyzing  the  career  of 
the  successful  practitioner  of  the  healing 
art  it  will  invariably  be  found  true  that  a 
broad-minded  sympathy  with  the  sick  and 
suffering  and  an  honest,  earnest  desire  to 
aid  his  afflicted  fellow  men  have  gone  hand 
in  hand  with  skill  and  able  judgment.  The 
gentleman  to  whom  this  brief  tribute  is 
given  fortunately  embodies  these  necessary 
qualifications  in  a  marked  degree  and  by 
energy  and  application  to  his  professional 
duties  is  building  up  an  enviable  reputation 
and  drawing  to  himself  a  large  and  re- 
munerative practice,  being  recognized  as  one 
of  the  leading  physicians  of  this  locality  and 
a  man  of  honor  and  integrity  at  all  times. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Jones  was  born  in  Foster  town- 
ship, Marion  county,  Illinois,  August  26, 
1 86 1,  and  "his  sober  wishes  never  learned 
to  stray,"  consequently  he  has  preferred  to 
remain  on  his  native  prairie  rather  than  seek 
uncertain  fortunes  elsewhere.  His  father  is 
Eli  W.  Jones,  a  native  of  the  same  township 
and  county.  Grandfather  James  Jones  was 
an  early  pioneer  of  Marion  county  and  a 
man  of  many  sterling  qualities  which  have 
outcropped  in  our  subject  to  a  marked  de- 
gree. He  was  a  Southerner  of  the  finest 
type.  His  residence  was  used  in  an  early 
day  for  the  purpose  of  holding  church  ser- 
vices, he  being  an  active  and  ardent  Metho- 
dist. He  is  living  at  this  writing,  1908,  in 
Foster  township  on  a  fine  farm  where  he 
has  become  influential  and  widely  known. 
He  was  Circuit  Clerk  from  1872  to  1876. 
He  makes  his  home  at  present  in  Vernon. 
He  was  a  soldier  in  Company  H,  Twenty- 


I'.IOGKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


sixth  Regiment,  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry, 
and  he  served  through  the  war,  having 
marched  with  Sherman  to  the  sea  and  lost 
a  leg  in  the  final  battle  at  Bentonville,  North 
Carolina,  the  last  battle  fought  by  Sherman. 
He  was  in  many  hard  fought  battles  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  being  in  the  Fif- 
teenth Army  Corps,  and  in  all  he  took  part 
in  about  thirty  engagements.  After  the 
war  he  returned  to  his  farm.  The  maiden 
name  of  the  mother  of  the  subject  was 
Mary  Ryman,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania. 
Her  father  was  Dr.  J.  R.  Ryman,  who  was 
an  early  Methodist  minister,  later  becoming 
a  physician.  He  came  to  Marion  county 
when  a  young  man,  and  was  at  one  time 
Circuit  Clerk  of  the  county  and  also  School 
Commissioner,  being  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Western  Christian  Advocate  at  St. 
Louis,  Missouri.  He  died  about  1877. 
The  mother  of  the  subject  is  living  at  this 
writing.  Three  children  were  born  to  these 
parents,  our  subject  being  the  only  one  now 
living.  The  subject's  maternal  grandmother 
was  Martha  Dickens,  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Dickens,  a  pioneer  Baptist  minister. 

Doctor  Jones  spent  his  boyhood  on  his 
father's  farm,  attending  the  country 
schools  at  Fosterburg,  and  when  the  family 
came  to  Salem  in  1872  he  attended  school  in 
in  Salem  in  1872  he  attended  school  in 
Salem  from  1872  to  1878,  graduating  from 
the  high  school  here  in  1878  with  high 
honor.  After  leaving  school  he  clerked  one 
year  in  a  store  at  Vernon,  but  believing  that 
his  true  calling  lay  along  medical  lines 
rather  than  the  mercantile,  he  began  the 


study  of  medicine,  making  rapid  progress 
from  the  first.  He  entered  the  St.  Louis 
Medical  College  in  1880  from  which  he 
graduated  in  March,  1884,  having  made  a 
brilliant  record  for  scholarship.  He  lo- 
cated first  at  Warsaw,  Missouri,  practicing 
there  with  eminent  success  until  1889,  when, 
much  to  the  regret  of  his  many  friends  and 
patients,  he  left  that  town  and  came  to  Ver- 
non, Illinois,  where  he  remained,  building  up 
a  lucrative  practice,  until  1907,  in  which 
year  he  came  to  Salem,  having  moved  his 
family  here  a  year  previous.  Doctor  Jones 
took  a  post-graduate"  course  in  the  medical 
department  of  the  University  of  St.  Louis  in 
1906.  He  has  been  very  successful  in  his 
practice  in  Marion  county,  having  a  large 
business  at  present  and  he  is  often  called  to 
other  localities  on  serious  and  important 
cases  where  his  superior  medical  advice  is 
sought  by  local  practitioners  whose  skill  has 
been  baffled,  and  his  counsels  are  always 
followed  by  gratifying  results. 

The  domestic  life  of  our  subject  dates 
from  April  25,  1891,  when  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Carrie  E.  Bennett,  who 
was  born  and  reared  in  Salem,  the  accom- 
plished and  refined  daughter  of  J.  J.  Ben- 
nett, an  early  pioneer  of  Marion  county  and 
was  the  first  president  of  the  Salem  Na- 
tional Bank,  which  position  he  held  until 
within  a  few  years  of  his  death.  Mary 
Oglesby  was  the  maiden  name  of  the  sub- 
ject's mother,  who  was  the  first  girl  baby 
born  in  Salem.  Her  great-grandfather, 
Mark  Tully,  entered  land  on  which  the  city 
of  Salem  is  built.  He  gave  the  site  where 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


7  ' 


the  court  house  stands.  This  -family  was 
one  of  the  best  known  in  the  early  history 
of  the  county. 

Our  subject  and  wife  have  two  children,  a 
bright  boy  and  a  winsome  girl,  the  former, 
Don  Paul,  having  been  born  January  28, 
1892,  and  the  latter,  Nellie,  was  born  May 
22,  1895. 

Doctor  Jones  has  been  thrifty  and  has 
accumulated  a  fair  competence  as  a  result 
of  his  well  directed  energies.  He  owns  a 
valuable  and  highly  improved  farm  in  Fos- 
ter township,  and  has  numerous  real  estate 
holdings  in  Marion  county.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  county,  state  and  national  medical 
associations,  and  he  belongs  to  the  Masonic 
Fraternity,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Woodmen,  the  Sons  of  Vet- 
erans and  the  Yeomen. 

The  home  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Jones  is 
modern,  cozy,  nicely  furnished  and  is  pre- 
sided over  with  rare  grace  and  dignity  by 
the  latter  who  is  often  hostess  to  warm 
friends  who  hold  her  in  high  esteem.  This 
worthy  couple  is  regarded  by  all  classes  as 
meriting  the  confidence  and  regard  which 
are  unqualifiedly  proffered  to  them. 


O.  A.  JAMES. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  not  the 
example  of  a  man  whom  the  inscrutable 
caprice  of  fortune  or  fate  has  suddenly 
placed  in  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  busi- 
ness world  but  he  has  attained  to  the  same 


through  careful  preparation  during  long 
years  of  toil  and  endeavor,  for  he  realized 
early  in  his  career  that  success  comes  to 
the  deserving,  and  that  to  be  deserving,  one 
must  be  industrious  and  persistent,  so  he 
forged  ahead,  surmounting  obstacles  that 
would  have  daunted  and  diverted  the  course 
of  less  courageous  spirits. 

O.  A.  James,  the  popular  and  efficient 
assistant  cashier  of  the  Salem  State  Bank, 
who  has,  while  yet  a  young  man,  left  the 
indelible  imprint  of  his  personality  upon 
the  people  with  whom  he  has  come  in  con- 
tact, was  born  in  Salem,  Illinois,  in  1879. 

He  is  the  son  of  Joshua  L.  James,  a  native 
of  Middle  Tennessee  and  the  representative 
of  a  fine  old  Southern  family.  He  came  to  Il- 
linois in  1853,  settling  in  Williamson  county, 
where  he  lived  for  twenty-five  years,  having 
been  reasonably  prosperous  during  that  time 
and  becoming  known  as  a  hard  worker  and 
a  man  of  the  best  habits.  He  then  came  to 
Marion  county,  settling  near  Alma,  where 
he  also  remained  a  quarter  of  a  century,  de- 
veloping a  good  farm  and  making  a  com- 
fortable living  by  reason  of  his  habits  of 
industry  and  economy.  Desiring  to  spend 
the  remaining  years  of  his  life  in  the  city 
and  enjoy  a  respite  from  his  arduous  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  Mr.  James  moved  to 
Salem  in  1902  and  he  has  since  made  his 
home  here. 

The  grandfather  of  the  subject  on  his 
paternal  side  was  John  Wesley  James,  a 
native  of  Tennessee,  and  an  excellent  farmer 
who  passed  to  his  rest  about  1893  after  a 
long  and  honorable  life.  His  death  occurred 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


in  Williamson  county,  this  state,  where  he 
spent  the  major  part  of  his  life. 

Joseph  L.  Wnorowski,  the  subject's 
grandfather  on  his  mother's  side,  was  born 
in  Russia  and  received  his  education  in  the 
city  of  Moscow.  He  came  to  America  when 
thirty  years  old,  finally  settling  in  Salem, 
Illinois,  where  he  spent  his  remaining  years, 
dying  about  1890. 

The  subject's  mother  was  known  in  her 
maidenhood  as  Sophia  E.  Wnorowski,  who 
was  born  and  reared  in  Salem  where  she 
received  a  common  school  education  and 
developed  many  praiseworthy  character- 
istics. She  is  living  at  this  writing  (1908). 
Six  children  were  born  to  the  parents  of  the 
subject,  five  of  whom  are  still  living, 
named  in  order  of  birth  as  fol- 
lows :  Mrs.  Florence  Brasel,  of  Cartter,  Illi- 
nois; O.  A.,  our  subject;  Mrs.  Berdie  E. 
Stroment,  living  in  Salem,  this  county ;  Guy 
L.,  of  Wooden,  Iowa;  Mrs.  Jesse  Brasel, 
living  at  Terre  Haute,  Indiana. 

These  children  all  received  a  good  com- 
mon schooling  and  were  reared  in  a  home 
of  the  most  wholesome  atmosphere,  conse- 
quently they  have  developed  characters  of  a 
very  commendable  type. 

Our  subject  attended  the  common 
schools  of  Salem,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1897.  But  being  amibitious  for 
more  learning  and  to  become  a  teacher,  he 
later  attended  the  Carbondale  State  Normal 
School  for  some  time.  Not  yet  satisfied  he 
entered  Austin  College  at  Effingham;  then 
took  a  course  in  the  Eastern  State  Normal 
at  Charleston,  thus  gaining  a  splendid  edu- 


cation, for  he  made  a  brilliant  record  for 
scholarship  in  all  these  institutions. 

After  leaving  school  he  began  teaching, 
which  he  followed  in  a  most  successful  and 
praiseworthy  manner  for  a  period  of  five 
years,  having  taught  three  years  in  Marion 
county  public  schools,  one  year  as  principal 
at  Central  City,  Illinois,  and  one  year  as 
principal  of  the  high  school  at  Kinmundy, 
in  all  of  which  he  showed  that  he  not  only 
had  acquired  a  great  fund  of  serviceable 
knowledge  which  he  had  a  penchant  for 
readily  and  clearly  dispensing,  but  that  he 
possessed  the  other  necessary  prerequisites 
of  head  and  heart  to  make  a  first  class  and 
a  high  grade  educator,  and  his  reputation 
had  overspread  the  bounds  of  Marion 
county,  causing  his  services  to  be  in  great 
demand,  when,  much  to  the  regret  of  pupils 
and  school  boards  he  gave  up  his  teaching 
and  accepted  the  position  as  assistant  post- 
master at  Salem  the  duties  of  which  he  at- 
tended to  in  a  most  able  manner  for  a  period 
of  two  years,  when  he  resigned  to  become 
Deputy  Circuit  Clerk,  having  been  appointed 
for  a  period  of  four  years,  and  here  he 
again  displayed  his  great  innate  ability  as 
a  careful  and  painstaking  business  man  by 
handling  the  duties  devolving  upon  this  po- 
sition with  all  dispatch  and  alacrity  and  in 
a  most  satisfactory  manner  to  all  concerned, 
when  after  a  year  in  this  office  he  tendered 
his  resignation  to  become  assistant  cashier  in 
the  Salem  State  Bank,  which  very  respon- 
sible and  envied  position  had  been  proffered 
by  the  heads  of  that  institution  after  they 
had  carefully  considered  the  names  of  many 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY    AND    MARIOX    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


73 


young  and  talented  business  men  for  the 
place,  believing  that  Mr.  James  was  the 
best  qualified  to  handle  the  work  in  this  con- 
nection, and  the  praiseworthy  manner  and 
wonderful  technical  skill  he  has  displayed  in 
this  responsible  position  since  taking  up  the 
duties  of  the  same,  shows  that  the  man- 
agers of  this  institution  were  wise  in  their 
decision  and  selection.  Mr.  James  is  still 
thus  connected  with  the  Salem  State  Bank 
and  has  given  entire  satisfaction  and  in- 
creased the  popularity  and  prestige  of  this 
already  popular  and  sound  institution. 

Mr.  James  is  a  member  of  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Wood- 
men, in  his  fraternal  relations,  and  he  is  a 
faithful  and  consistent  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  He  is  known  to  be  scrupu- 
lously honest,  courteous  and  a  gentleman  of 
the  highest  address  and  honor  and  owing  to 
the  fact  that  our  subject  is  yet  quite  a  young 
man  and  has  achieved  such  a  place  of  honor 
and  trust  the  future  augurs  great  things 
for  him. 


J.  R.  QUAYLE. 

The  subject  has  always  sought  to  in- 
culcate in  the  minds  of  the  young  the  higher 
things  of  life,  the  beauties  of  mind  and  soul 
known  only  to  those  who  are  willing  to  de- 
vote themselves  to  a  career  of  self-sacrifice, 
hospitality,  persistency  and  uprightness,  and 
during  the  long  years  of  his  professional 
life  Mr.  Quayle  succeeded  in  carrying  out 


the  principles  in  his  daily  life  that  he  sought 
to  impress  upon  others. 

J.  R.  Quayle  was  born  in  Peoria  county, 
Illinois,  December  5,  1859,  the  son  of  Rob- 
ert Quayle,  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  a 
full  blooded  Manxman.  He  was  an  influ- 
ential and  high  minded  man,  whose  sterling 
traits  are  somewhat  reflected  in  the  life  of 
his  son,  our  subject.  He  migrated  to 
America  about  1856,  locating  first  in  Henry 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  farmed.  After 
living  there  for  a  short  time  he  moved  to 
Peoria  county,  later  to  Marion  county  in 
January,  1866.  He  was  a  hard  worker  and 
made  a  success  of  whatever  he  undertook. 
He  was  called  from  his  labors  in  Septem- 
ber, 1879,  while  living  in  Marion  county. 
He  was  a  great  Bible  student  and  he  read 
and  talked  the  Manx  language  fluently. 
James  Quayle,  grandfather  of  the  subject, 
was  born,  reared  and  spent  his  entire  life 
on  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  his  death  occurred 
there.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Harrison,  who 
reached  the  remarkable  age  of  ninety-six 
years. 

The  mother  of  the  subject  was  Ellen 
(Corlett)  Quayle,  also  a  native  of  the  Isle 
of  Man,  where  she,  too,  was  reared,  and 
where  she  married  Robert  Quayle.  She 
was  a  woman  of  many  estimable  traits,  hav- 
ing led  a  wholesome  life  and  in  her  old  age 
was  the  recipient  of  many  kindnesses  at  the 
hands  of  her  many  friends  and  neighbors. 

She  made  her  home  on  the  old  homestead 
near  Vernon,  Marion  county,  until  her 
death,  September  6,  1908,  where  the  Quayle 


I'.IOC.KAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


family  moved 'in  1866.  This  family  con- 
sisted of  the  following  children,  named  in 
order  of  their  birth:  Elizabeth,  who  died 
in  1880;  J.  R.,  our  subject;  Anna,  the  wife 
of  Nathan  Roberts,  of  Patoka,  this  county; 
Thomas  E.,  who  lives  in  section  12,  this 
county,  on  a  farm;  James  C,  also  a  farmer 
in  Patoka  township,  Marion  county;  Kate, 
who  is  the  wife  of  J.  C.  Bates,  of  Patoka 
township ;  Mollie,  who  makes  her  home  with 
her  mother ;  Mona,  the  wife  of  G.  I.  Arnold, 
of  Foster  township,  Marion  county. 

These  children  are  all  comfortably  situ- 
ated in  life  and  received  good  common 
school  education.  They  are  all  highly  re- 
spected and  lead  such  well  regulated  lives  as 
their  parents  outlined  for  them  in  their 
childhood. 

J.  R.  Ouayle,  our  subject,  attended  the 
country  schools  east  of  Vernon  until  1880, 
working  at  intervals  on  his  father's  farm. 
He  was  always  a  close  student  and  made  the 
most  of  his  opportunities.  After  complet- 
ing the  course  in  the  common  schools  he 
was  not  satisfied  with  the  knowledge  he  had 
gained  and  entered  school  in  the  University 
at  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  taking  the  teachers' 
course,  also  a  commercial  course.  He  made 
a  brilliant  record  at  this  institution  for 
scholarship  and  good  deportment. 

Believing  that  teaching  was  his  proper 
field  of  activity  Mr.  Quayle  began  his  first 
school  in  1878  and  he  taught  the  major  part 
of  the  time  up  to  1906  with  the  greatest 
success  attending  his  efforts,  during  which 
time  he  became  widely  known  not  only  in 
Marion  but  adjoining  counties  as  an  able 
instructor  and  his  services  were  in  great  de- 


mand. He  was  not  only  well  grounded  in 
the  text-books  employed  in  the  schools 
where  he  taught  but  his  pleasing  personality 
made  him  popular  with  his  pupils,  the  vari- 
ous phases  of  whose  natures  he  seemed  to 
understand  and  sympathize  with,  so  that  he 
inspired  each  one  to  do  his  best  in  the  work 
at  hand,  and  many  of  his  pupils  have  since 
won  distinction  in  various  lines  of  endeavor, 
all  freely  admitting  that  their  success  was 
due  in  a  large  measure  to  the  training  and 
influence  of  Mr.  Quayle.  The  teaching  of 
our  subject  was  confined  to  Marion  county 
with  the  exception  of  two  years  which  were 
spent  in  Fayette  county,  where  he  also  be- 
came popular. 

Mr.  Quayle  has  been  twice  married.  His 
first  wedding  occurred  January  8,  1889,  to 
Lyda  E.  Livesay,  the  accomplished  daughter 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alfred  Livesay,  a  well 
known  family  of  Patoka  township,  Marion 
county,  and  to  this  union  four  children  were 
born  as  follows :  Guy,  born  in  1891,  died  at 
the  age  of  seven  years;  Gladys  E.,  born  in 
1892;  Fanny,  now  deceased,  who  was  born 
in  1897;  Roberta,  who  was  born  in  1900. 

The  subject's  first  wife  was  called  to  her 
rest  in  June,  1906,  and  Mr.  Quayle  was 
married  December  15,  1907,  to  Ida  M. 
Quails,  daughter  of  Alfred  Quails.  She  is 
a  member  of  an  influential  family  of  Salem 
and  was  born  and  reared  there. 

Mr.  Quayle  has  been  an  influential  factor 
in  politics  in  his  county,  always  assisting  in 
placing  the  best  local  men  available  in  the 
county  offices  and  his  support  can  always 
be  depended  upon  in  furthering  any  worthy 
movement  looking  to  the  better  interest  of 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


75 


the  community  and  county.  In  1883,  1888 
and  1889  he  was  Tax  Collector  of  Patoka 
township,  having  been  easily  elected  to  this 
office  and  performed  the  duties  of  it  in  a 
most  satisfactory  manner.  He  was  chosen 
by  his  friends  to  the  responsible  position  of 
Supervisor  in  1901  and  1902  and  elected 
County  Clerk  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in 
1906,  and  is  now,  1908,  serving  his  first 
term.  He  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  ablest  men 
in  this  office  that  the  county  has  ever  had, 
being  careful  and  painstaking  as  well  as 
congenial  and  friendly  so  that  all  his  con- 
stituents are  very  highly  pleased  with  his 
record.  They  predict  that  he  will  become  a 
very  potent  factor  in  local  politics  in  the 
near  future. 

Mr.  Quayle  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Eastern  Star,  the  Rebekahs 
and  the  Woodmen.  He  takes  a  great  deal 
of  interest  in  lodge  work  and  his  daily  life 
would  indicate  that  he  believes  in  carrying 
out  the  noble  precepts  of  these  commendable 
orders. 

Mr.  Quayle  is  not  only  a  public-spirited 
and  honorable  man  in  his  official  and  busi- 
ness life,  but  he  leads  a  most  wholesome 
home  life  and  sets  a  worthy  example  for  his 
children  and  others,  delighting  in  the  higher 
ideals  of  life  as  embraced  in  educational, 
civic  and  religious  matters.  Both  he  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  no  people  in  Marion 
county  are  the  recipients  of  higher  respect 
and  genuine  esteem  from  their  many  friends 
than  they. 


HENRY  WARREN. 

Prominent  among  the  energetic,  far- 
sighted  and  successful  business  men  of 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  whose  life  history  most  happily  il- 
lustrates what  may  be  attained  by  faithful 
and  continued  effort  in  carrying  out  an  hon- 
est purpose.  Integrity,  activity  and  energy 
have  been  the  crowning  points  in  his  career 
and  have  led  to  desirable  and  creditable  suc- 
cess. His  connection  with  banking  institu- 
tions and  various  lines  of  business  has  been 
of  decided  advantage  to  the  entire  com- 
munity, promoting  its  welfare  along  various 
lines  in  no  uncertain  manner,  while  at  the 
same. time  he  has  made  an  untarnished  rec- 
ord and  unspotted  reputation  as  a  business 
man. 

Henry  Warren,  the  widely  known  bank 
president  and  gallant  Civil  war  veteran  of 
Kinmundy,  Marion  county,  Illinois,  was 
born  in  this  county  in  1845,  the  son  of  Asa 
Warren  and  his  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Sina  Howell.  Grandfather  Howell  was  sup- 
posed to  have  come  from  Virginia,  settling 
with  the  pioneers  in  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
in  a  very  early  day,  and  spending  his  life 
on  a  farm  doing  much  for  the  upbuilding 
of  the  community.  He  entered  land  from 
the  government  on  which  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  and  on  which  he  reared 
his  family.  He  lived  to  be  more  than 
eighty  years  of  age.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  old  Hardshell  Baptist  church,  as  was 
also  his  wife. .  One  of  the  first  log  churches 
built  in  this  community  was  erected  on  his 


I:K><;KAPHICAL  AND  RKMIXISCKXT   HISTORY  OF 


farm,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  principal 
supporters.  The  major  portion  of  his 
neighbors  were  Indians  when  he  first  came 
to  this  county,  and  the  woods  and  prairies 
teemed  with  wild  game  of  nearly  all  species 
and  varieties.  There  were  but  few  settle- 
ments in  the  county  at  that  time.  The 
green  flies  were  so  thick  and  aggressive  that 
people  could  not  cross  the  prairies  in  the 
day  time  during  part  of  the  year.  He  man- 
aged this  farm  until  his  death  which  then 
fell  to  his  heirs.  All  of  the  second  genera- 
tion of  Howells  have  passed  on  to  their 
rest. 

Asa  Warren,  father  of  our  subject,  came 
from  Tennessee  to  Illinois  when  a  young 
man  and  entered  land  from  the  government. 
He  sold  out  in  time  and  moved  to  Texas 
where  he  died  when  fifty-five  years  of  age, 
being  survived  by  four  children,  three  of 
whom  were  boys.  He  was  a  man  of  much 
influence,  integrity  and  force  of  character. 
He  was  a  gallant  soldier  in  the  Mexican 
war,  having  served  until  peace  was  declared 
after  which  he  returned  to  Illinois.  He  fol- 
lowed farming  all  his  life.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  belonged  to  the  old  school  Baptists. 
The  subject's  mother  was  called  to  her  rest 
at  about  the  age  of  forty  years.  She  was 
a  kindly  and  good  woman  in  every  respect. 

Henry  Warren,  our  subject,  was  reared  in 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  having  attended  the 
common  and  district  schools,  part  of  the 
time  in  old  log  school-houses  with  their 
primitive  furnishings.  He  worked  most  of 
the  year  on  his  father's  farm  during  his 
school  days.  He  was  about  twelve  years  old 


when  he  accompanied  his  father  to  Texas, 
and  he  returned  from  the  Lone  Star  state  to 
Illinois  one  year  after  his  father's  death, 
the  home  place  in  Texas  having  been  sold. 
Then  our  subject  worked  out  as  a  farm 
hand,  sometimes  receiving  only  eight  dol- 
lars a  month,  continuing  as  a  farm  hand  for 
twelve  years.  He  then  rented  land  for  two 
years.  Then  he  married  and  bought  eighty 
acres  of  land  which  he  improved  and  made 
into  a  good  farm  on  which  he  lived  for  about 
thirty-eight  years,  which  were  prosperous, 
in  the  main,  and  during  which  he  laid  up  a 
competency  for  the  future.  From  time  to 
time  he  added  to  his  original  eighty  until 
he  finally  had  eight  hundred  acres,  all  of 
which  was  in  cultivation  and  kept  in  a  high 
state  of  improvement  and  efficiency.  He 
drained  this  large  tract  of  land  and  securely 
fenced  it  with  wood  and  wire.  Substantial 
and  modern  buildings,  a  large  dwelling, 
two  barns  and  other  out  buildings  were 
erected,  and  the  place,  which  Mr.  Warren 
still  owns,  is  one  of  Marion  county's  model 
farms.  While  he  still  looks  after  the  farm 
he  keeps  it  rented.  When  our  subject  gave 
his  personal  attention  to  this  place  it  was 
in  somewhat  better  condition  and  he  devoted 
him  time  largely  to  grass  and  stock. 

Mr.  Warren  moved  to  Kinmundy  in  1896 
and  one  year  later  opened  under  the  most 
favorable  auspices  what  is  known  as  the 
Warren  Banking  Company's  establishment, 
which  met  with  instantaneous  success  and 
is  today  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial and  safest  institutions  of  its  kind 
in  this  part  of  the  state.  He  is  president 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


77 


of  the  same,  having  filled  this  position  with 
much  credit  to  his  ability  and  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  many  patrons  of  the  bank  since 
its  establishment.  His  son,  Henry  L.,  who 
was  made  cashier  at  the  organization  of 
the  concern,  is  still  ably  attending  to  these 
duties.  Mr.  Warren  owns  the  substantial 
building  in  which  the  business  of  the  firm 
is  conducted.  He  also  owns  a  large,  com- 
fortable, modern  and  elegantly  furnished 
dwelling  house  besides  other  buildings  on 
the  same  street  where  he  lives  in  Kinmundy. 
He  deserves  much  credit  for  the  wealth  he 
has  amassed  partly  because  of  the  fact  that 
he  started  life  empty  handed  and  has  made 
it  unaided,  and  partly  because  he  has  not  a 
single  dishonest  dollar  in  his  possession,  hav- 
ing always  been  scrupulously  honest  in  his 
dealings  with  his  fellow  men.  During  the 
last  panic  and  bank  depression  his  was  the 
only  bank  that  kept  open  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Warren  was  first  married  in  1867  to 
Mary  C.  Nichols,  a  native  of  this  county, 
the  accomplished  daughter  of  Robert 
Nichols,  and  to  this  union  the  following 
children  were  born :  William,  born  October 
6,  1868,  now  a  farmer  and  minister  in  Jef- 
ferson county,  Illinois,  to  whom  two  chil- 
dren were  born;  Harry  L.,  born  September 
i,  1871,  is  living  in  Kinmundy  associated 
with  his  father  in  the  banking  business,  and 
who  is  married  and  the  father  of  one  child ; 
Charley  W.,  born  March  21,  1874,  is  as- 
sistant cashier  in  the  bank,  being  married 
and  the  father  of  one  child,  Lowel  F.,  born 
October  27,  1897. 

Mr.  Warren's  first  wife  passed  to  her  rest 


in  1903,  and  the  subject  was  again  married 
in  1906,  his  last  wife  being  Ida  Shriver, 
a  native  of  Marion  county  and  the  daughter 
of  William  Schriver,  who  was  a  native  of 
Ohio.  One  child  has  been  born  to  this 
union,  May  Margaret,  whose  date  of  birth 
fell  on  January  14,  1908. 

Mr.  Warren  was  one  of  the  patriotic  de- 
fenders of  the  flag  during  the  dark  days  of 
the  sixties  when  the  fierce  fires  of  rebellion 
were  undermining  the  pillars  of  our  national 
government,  and  he  enlisted  in  Company  E, 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty-sixth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which  he  served  with 
credit  and  distinction  to  the  close  of  the  war 
and  was  honorably  discharged.  He  draws 
a  disability  pension  of  twelve  dollars.  One 
brother,  Larkin  A.  Warren,  was  also  a  sol- 
dier, having  been  a  member  of  Sixth  Mis- 
souri Cavalry.  He  died  at  New  Orleans 
while  in  the  army,  after  having  served  out 
his  first  enlistment  of  three  years,  and  it 
was  toward  the  close  of  the  struggle  when 
he  was  attacked  by  a  disease  while  in  line 
of  duty  from  which  he  did  not  recover. 

Our  subject  is  a  loyal  Republican  and  in 
religious  affiliations  is  a  liberal  subscriber 
and  supporter  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Mr.  Warren's  methods  are  progressive  and 
he  is  quick  to  adopt  new  ideas  which  he  be- 
lieves will  prove  of  practical  value  in  his 
work.  Indolence  and  idleness  are  entirely 
foreign  to  his  nature  and  owing  to  his  close 
application  to  his  business  and  his  honorable 
methods  he  has  won  prosperity  that  is  richly 
merited,  while  he  enjoys  the  friendship  and 
esteem  of  the  people  of  Marion  county. 


IHOC.KAPHICAL    AXI)    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


FRANK  A.  BOYNTON. 

Through  struggles  to  triumph  seems  to 
be  the  maxim  which  holds  sway  for  the  ma- 
jority of  our  citizens  and,  though  it  is  un- 
deniably true  that  many  a  one  falls  ex- 
hausted in  the  conflict,  a  few  by  their  in- 
herent force  of  character  and  strong  men- 
tality rise  above  their  environments  and  all 
which  seems  to  hinder  them  until  they 
reach  the  plane  of  affluence.  It  is  not  the 
weaklings  that  accomplish  worthy  ends  in 
the  face  of  opposition  but  those  with  nerve 
and  initiative  whose  motto  is,  "He  never 
fails  who  never  gives  up,"  and  with  this 
terse  aphorism  ever  in  view,  emblazoned  on 
the  pillar  of  clouds,  as  it  were,  before  them, 
they  forge  ahead  until  the  sunny  summits 
of  life  are  reached  and  they  can  breath  a 
breath  of  the  purer  air  that  inspires  the 
souls  of  men  in  respite.  Such  has  been  the 
history  of  Frank  A.  Boynton  and  in  his  life 
record  many  useful  lessons  may  be  gained. 

Mr.  Boynton  was  born  four  miles  east  of 
Salem  in  Stevenson  township,  April  18, 
1 86 1,  the  son  of  John  Boynton,  a  native  of 
Haverhill,  Scioto  county,  Ohio,  who  came  to 
Illinois  about  1859,  settling  on  the  farm  on 
which  his  widow  now  resides.  John  Boyn- 
ton was  a  prosperous  and  influential  farmer 
all  his  life.  He  ably  served  as  school  di- 
rector of  Stevenson  township  for  many 
years,  and  after  a  very  successful  and  useful 
life  he  passed  away  in  1900. 

The  grandfather  of  the  subject  on  his  pa- 
ternal side  was  Asa  Boynton,  who  was  a 


native  of  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  who  mi- 
grated to  Ohio  in  an  early  day  and  settled 
on  the  French  "grant"  in  Ohio,  and  the 
place  where  he  settled  was  named  Haverhill, 
after  the  Massachusetts  town  from  whence 
he  came.  He  was,  like  many  of  the  early 
pioneers,  a  man  of  sterling  qualities,  brave 
and  a  hard  worker. 

The  subject's  mother  was  Eliza  Copen- 
hagen, born  near  Ironton,  Ohio,  on  the  land 
where  the  town  is  situated.  Her  people 
came  from  Virginia,  having  been  among 
the  fine  old  Southern  families  who  migrated 
from  that  state  to  Ohio  in  the  early  days. 
She  has  made  her  home  on  the  old  home- 
stead in  Stevenson  township  from  that  time 
to  the  present  day,  and  there  she  is  held  in 
highest  esteem  by  a  host  of  acquaintances 
and  friends.  Eight  children  were  born  to 
Mr.  and  .Mrs.  John  Boynton,  six  of  whom 
are  living  at  this  writing  (1908).  Their 
names  are:  Asa  died  when  fourteen  years 
old;  Frank,  our  subject;  Elmer,  of  Salem, 
Illinois ;  Lucy  who  passed  to  her  rest  in 
1905;  Loren  K.,  of  Ruleville,  Mississippi; 
John  Ellis,  who  lives  with  his  mother  in 
Stevenson  township;  Delmont,  who  lives  in 
Stevenson  township  on  a  farm  joining  the 
parental  homestead ;  Ida,  who  lives  with  her 
mother. 

Frank  A.  Boynton,  our  subject,  spent  his 
boyhood  under  the  parental  roof  and  re- 
ceived his  primary  education  in  the  Bru- 
baker  school  in  Stevenson  township.  He 
worked  on  the  farm  during  his  young  man- 
hood and  he  has  ahvavs  been  identified  with 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


79 


farming  interests ;  he  now  owns  a  fine  farm, 
highly  improved  and  very  productive,  lo- 
cated in  the  northern  part  of  Stevenson 
township.  It  consists  of  over  five  hundred 
acres,  and  no  more  choice  land  is  to  be 
found  in  this  locality.  He  went  to  Wheeler, 
Jasper  county,  Illinois,  in  1891,  and  was  a 
storekeeper  and  gauger  there  where  he  re- 
mained for  two  years,  making  a  success  of 
his  enterprise,  but  he  returned  to  his  farm 
in  Stevenson  township  and  in  about  1903 
came  to  Salem  and  is  now  engaged  in  the 
real  estate  and  loan  business  with  offices  in 
L.  M.  Kagy's  law  office.  He  helped  organ- 
ize the  Salem  State  Bank  of  which  he  is  a 
heavy  stockholder  and  director.  He  operated 
a  threshing  machine  for  twelve  years  with 
great  success  in  Stevenson  township,  and  he 
has  been  a  stock  shipper  the  greater  part  of 
his  life. 

Thus  we  see  that  Mr.  Boynton  has  been 
a  very  busy  man,  and  also  one  that  had 
unusual  executive  ability  else  he  could  not 
have  carried  to  successful  issue  so  many  ex- 
tensive enterprises. 

Our  subject  was  married  in  1892  to  Anna 
Stevenson,  daughter  of  Samuel  E.  Steven- 
son, a  well  known  family  of  Stevenson 
township.  One  winsome  child  was  born  to 
this  union,  Gladys.  At  the  time  of  his  mar- 
riage Mr.  Boynton  was  living  on  his  farm. 
His  first  wife  was  called  to  her  rest  Febru- 
ary 1 6,  1897,  ar>d  our  subject  was  again 
married  May  17,  1906,  his  last  wife  being 
Ethel  Stevenson.  No  children  have  been 
born  to  this  union.  Mrs.  Boynton  presides 
over  their  modern,  commodious,  beautiful 


and  elegantly  furnished  home  on  South 
Broadway  with  rare  grace  and  dignity,  and 
she  is  frequently  hostess  to  numerous  ad- 
miring friends  of  the  family. 

Possessing  the  executive  skill  and  pleas- 
ing personality  that  our  subject  does,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  his  friends  should  have 
singled  him  out  for  political  preferment, 
consequently  he  has  been  honored  with  nu- 
merous local  offices,  all  of  which  he  has  ably 
and  creditably  filled  to  the  entire  satisfac- 
tion of  all  concerned.  He  has  served  as 
Clerk  of  Stevenson  township  and  later 
served  two  terms  as  Supervisor  of  that  town- 
ship. He  is  now  city  Alderman  from  the 
Second  ward  of  Salem.  Useless  to  say  our 
subject  is  a  loyal  Republican,  and  he  was  at 
one  time  the  nominee  of  his  party  for  Sher- 
iff, and  at  another  time  for  Treasurer,  but 
was  defeated.  He,  however,  made  a  most  ex- 
cellent race,  being  defeated  by  only  a  few 
votes,  although  the  county  is  strongly  Demo- 
cratic. He  is,  indeed,  a  public-spirited  citizen 
and  witholds  his  co-operation  from  no  move- 
ment which  is  intended  to  promote  public 
improvement.  What  he  has  achieved  in  life 
proves  the  force  of  his  character  and  illus- 
trates his  steadfastness  of  purpose.  He  is 
now  one  of  the  men  of  affluence  and  his 
advancement  to  a  position  of  credit  and 
honor  in  the  business  circles  of  Marion 
county  is  the  direct  outcome  of  his  own 
persistent  and  worthy  labors,  and  it  would 
be  hard  to  find  a  more  popular  or  congenial 
gentleman  in  this  section  of  the  state  than 
Mr.  Boynton. 


8o 


riOC.KAPIIICAL    AND    REMIX  ISCKXT     HISTORY    OF 


JAMES  F.  HOWELL. 

Examine  into  the  life  records  of  the  self- 
made  men  and  it  will  always  be  found  that 
indefatigable  industry  forms  the  basis  of 
their  success.  True  there  are  other  elements 
that  enter  in — perseverance  of  purpose  and 
keen  discrimination — which  enable  one  to 
recognize  business  opportunities,  but  the 
foundation  of  all  achievement  is  earnest,  per- 
sistest  labor.  This  fact  was  recognized  at 
the  outset  of  his  career  by  the  worthy  gen- 
tleman whose  name  forms  the  caption  of  this 
article  and  he  did  not  seek  to  gain  any  short 
or  wondrous  method  to  the  goal  of  prosper- 
ity. He  began,  however,  to  work  earnestly 
and  diligently  in  order  to  advance  himself 
in  the  business  world,  at  the  same  time  do- 
ing what  he  could  for  the  welfare  of  the 
community  at  large,  and  as  a  result  of  his 
habits  of  industry,  public  spirit,  courteous 
demeanor  and  honorable  career  he  enjoys 
the  esteem  and  admiration  of  a  host  of 
friends  in  Marion  county,  where  he  has  long 
maintained  his  home  and  where  he  is  known 
as  one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  the 
great  state  of  Illinois. 

James  F.  Howell  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  this  state,  March  25,  1840,  and  he 
has  elected  to  spend  his  entire  life  on  his  na- 
tive heath,  believing  that  better  opportuni- 
ties were  to  be  found  at  home  than  in  other 
and  distant  fields  of  endeavor.  He  is  the 
son  of  Jackson  D.  and  Agnes  (Gray)  How- 
ell.  Grandfather  Howell  came  to  Illinois 
from  Tennessee  in  1825,  settling  in  this 
county,  having  taken  up  land  from  the  gov- 
ernment, eighty  acres  at  the  time  of  his  com- 


ing. He  afterward  bought  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  more  from  the  government,  a 
part  of  which  was  timbered  and  a  part  was 
on  the  prairie.  He  cleared  the  timber  land, 
this  being  the  part  he  first  purchased,  clear- 
ing and  farming  the  timbered  land  first. 
There  were  not  any  settlements  on  the  prai- 
rie at  that  time,  all  the  settlements  there 
were  then  being  in  the  timbered  lands.  The 
first  Monday  in  May  each  year  was  wolf 
day.  All  the  settlers  gathered  on  that  day 
and  made  a  general  drive,  often  taking  large 
numbers  of  prairie  wolves.  There  were  also 
large  numbers  of  deer  at  that  time  and  our 
subject  has  helped  kill  as  many  as  forty  or 
fifty  at  one  time.  Grandfather  Howell  lived 
on  the  land  he  secured  from  the  government 
during  the  rest  of  his  life,  being  known  as 
one  of  the  strongest  characters  of  those 
pioneer  times.  He  reached  the  age  of 
eighty-five  years,  his  wife  having  been  called 
to  rest  at  the  age  of  fifty.  There  were  ten 
children  in  this  family,  all  of  whom  lived  to 
maturity  and  reared  families  of  their  own. 
The  subject's  grandfather  was  the  fifth  in 
order  of  birth.  Two  of  these  children  lived 
to  be  over  eighty  years  of  age.  The  others 
lived  to  be  about  seventy. 

The  subject's  father  obtained  what  little 
education  he  could  in  the  district  schools  of 
this  county;  however,  there  was  but  little  op- 
portunity for  schooling  at  that  time.  He 
worked  on  his  father's  farm  until  after  he 
reached  maturity,  then  he  pre-empted  land, 
and  lived  on  it,  finally  owning  three  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  mostly  prairie  land,  on 
which  he  carried  on  general  farming.  He 
made  his  home  on  this  land  during  the  rest 


RICHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


8l 


of  his  life,  owning  it  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  died  while  on  the  road  home  from  Cali- 
fornia. His  remains  were  brought  to  Kin- 
mundy  and  laid  to  rest.  He  was  a  man  of 
fine  personal  traits  and  exercised  much  in- 
fluence in  the  upbuilding  of  his  community. 
There  were  ten  children  in  this  family,  six 
of  whom  lived  to  maturity.  Mr.  Howell's 
first  wife  was  called  to  her  rest  at  the  age  of 
forty-one,  and  he  was  again  married.  To 
this  union  two  children  were  born,  one  liv- 
ing, in  1908.  The  mother  of  the  subject  was 
born  in  Tennessee  and  was  brought  to  Illi- 
nois by  her  parents  when  about  six  years 
old. 

James  F.  Howell,  our  subject,  was  born 
about  one  and  one-half  miles  from  where 
he  now  lives.  The  home  he  owns  and  oc- 
cupies is  the  fourth  one  in  which  he  has 
lived  since  leaving  his  father's  old  home- 
stead. Our  subject  now  owns  twenty-six 
acres  of  the  original  purchase  by  his  father 
from  the  government.  He  has  always  de- 
voted his  time  to  agricultural  pursuits,  own- 
ing at  this  writing  one  hundred  and  six 
acres  of  as  good  farming  land  as  may  be 
found  in  the  county,  being  kept  in  a  high 
state  of  productiveness,  general  farming  be- 
ing carried  on  in  a  manner  that  stamps  the 
subject  as  one  of  the  foremost  farmers  in 
this  locality. 

Mr.  Howell  was  married  in  1858  to  Isabel 
J.  Robb,  who  was  born  in  the  township 
where  she  has  always  lived,  being  a  repre- 
sentative of  a  well  known  and  highly  re- 
spected people.  Her  people  came  from  Ten- 
nessee, being  among  the  earliest  settlers  in 
6 


this  county.  Mrs.  Howell  was  called  to  her 
reward  February  3,  1907,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-six  years,  after  a  harmonious  and 
beautiful  Christian  life. 

The  children  born  to  this  union  are  named 
in  order  of  birth  as  follows:  Arminda  H., 
born  June  18,  1859,  is  the  wife  of  H.  A. 
Brown,  and  the  mother  of  eight  children: 
Reufinia  E.,  born  February  24,  1861,  is  the 
wife  of  Benjamin  Garrett  and  the  mother  of 
five  children;  Leander,  born  April  24,  1863, 
who  became  the  father  of  four  children,  is 
deceased ;  Ida  M.  and  Nettie,  twins,  were 
born  September  23,  1866,  the  latter  dying 
when  four  years  old,  the  former  becoming 
the  wife  of  G.  C.  Warner;  Charles  H.,  born 
January  24,  1869,  is  married  and  has  three 
children  :  Samuel  E.,  born  January  12,  1871, 
is  married  and  has  one  child;  Ellis  M.,  born 
January  12,  1875,  is  married;  Eva  M.,  born 
November  14,  1877,  became  the  wife  of 
Lloyd  Perrill  and  is  the  mother  of  two  chil- 
dren:  James  E.,  born  August  5,  1880,  is 
married  and  has  one  child.  He  now  lives 
in  Roumania,  in  the  employ  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Company. 

The  subject  has  been  twice  married,  hav- 
ing been  united  in  the  bonds  of  wedlock  with 
his  second  wife  February  20,  1908,  his  last 
wife  being  Martha  Anglin,  a  native  of  this 
county,  her  people  having  come  from  Ten- 
nessee in  1839.  The  maternal  grandfather 
of  the  subject's  wife  came  from  Ireland  and 
her  father's  people  from  Scotland,  first  set- 
tling in  Alabama,  later  moving  to  Tennessee 
and  then  to  Illinois,  where  they  spent  the 
remainder  of  their  lives. 


82 


MIOGKAIMIICAI.    AM)    KKM  I  N  ISCKNT     HISTORY    (IK 


Minerva  Howell,  an  aunt  of  the  subject 
by  marriage,  was  born  in  Tennessee  in  1829. 
Her  people  were  from  old  Virginia,  who  lat- 
er came  to  Illinois  when  she  was  one  year 
old,  her  father  settling  in  Marion  county, 
later  moving  to  Williamson  county,  Illinois, 
where  he  died  when  about  seventy  years  old. 
Mrs.  Howell  remarried.  She  became  the 
mother  of  eleven  children,  four  of  whom 
lived  to  maturity,  two  of  them  living  in 
1908.  Her  husband  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six.  He  was  also  born  in  Tennes- 
see. 

James  F.  Howell  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity  and  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  and  in  his  political  relations 
he  affiliates  with  the  Democratic  party.  The 
subject's  first  wife  was  a  member  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church. 

In  matters  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  his 
township,  county  and  state,  Mr.  Howell  is 
deeply  interested,  and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of 
the  general  progress  have  been  far-reaching 
and  beneficial.  His  name  is  indelibly  asso- 
ciated with  progress  in  the  county  of  his 
birth,  and  among  those  in  whose  midst  he 
has  always  lived  he  is  held  in  the  highest 
esteem  by  reason  of  an  upright  life  and  of 
fidelity  to  principles  which  in  every  land  and 
clime  command  respect. 


BENJAMIN  M.  SMITH. 

In  studying  the  interesting  life  histories  of 
manv  of   the  better  class  of  men,    and   the 


ones  of  unquestioned  merit  and  honor,  it 
will  be  found  that  they  have  been  compelled, 
very  largely,  to  map  out  their  own  career 
and  furnish  their  own  motive  force  in  scal- 
ing the  heights  of  success,  and  it  is  such  a 
one  that  the  biographer  is  pleased  to  write 
in  the  paragraphs  that  follow. 

Benjamin  M.  Smith,  the  well  known 
cashier  of  the  Salem  State  Bank,  was  born 
in  Central  City,  Illinois,  December  n,  1877, 
the  son  of  Samuel  J.  Smith,  a  native  of  St. 
Clair  county,  Illinois,  and  a  gentleman  of 
many  sterling  traits  who  became  a  man  of 
considerable  influence  in  his  community, 
some  of  whose  commendable  characteristics 
are  inherited  by  his  son,  our  subject.  Samuel 
J.  Smith  came  to  Marion  county  when  a 
young  man  and  was  engaged  in  the  milling 
business  of  which  he  made  pronounced  suc- 
cess, having  been  in  the  county  several  years 
when  the  Civil  war  began,  and  he  continued 
in  this  business  during  the  progress  of  the 
Rebellion.  He  took  much  interest  in  public 
affairs.  He  was  County  Treasurer  and 
County  Clerk  for  twenty  years  and  Deputy 
County  Treasurer  for  four  years.  During 
his  long  official  record  he  conducted  the  af- 
fairs that  were  entrusted  to  him  in  a  manner 
that  reflected  great  credit  upon  his  ability 
and  in  a  way  that  elicited  much  favorable 
comment  but  no  criticism  from  his  con- 
temporaries and  constituents.  He  was 
called  to  his  rest  April  5,  1906,  after  an  emi- 
nently successful  and  useful  life. 

The  subject's  grandfather,  Benjamin  J. 
Smith,  who  was  a  native  of  the  old  Pine 
Tree  state  (Maine),  is  remembered  as  a 
man  of  unusual  fortitude  and  courage,  hav- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


ing  been  a  composite  of  the  usual  elements 
that  go  into  the  makeup  of  pioneers.  He 
came  west  in  early  life  and  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  St.  Clair  county,  Illinois,  of 
which  county  he  was  at  one  time  Sheriff, 
one  of  the  best,  in  fact,  that  the  county  ever 
had.  He  was  an  active  business  man  all  his 
life,  having  been  in  the  commission  busi- 
ness in  Chicago  for  a  number  of  years, 
where  he  became  well  known  in  the  business 
circles  of  the  city  in  those  days.  He  was 
born  in  1801,  and  after  a  remarkably  active 
career,  reaching  a  venerable  age,  passed  to 
the  silent  land  when  in  his  ninetieth  year. 

The  mother  of  the  subject  was  in  her 
maidenhood  Mary  E.  Martin,  who  was  born 
in  Ohio  on  a  farm  near  Wellsville.  She  is 
in  many  respects  a  remarkable  character, 
benign,  affable  and  her  influence  has  always 
been  wholesome  and  uplifting,  so  that  even 
in  the  golden  evening  of  her  life  she  is  a 
blessing  to  those  with  whom  she  comes  in 
contact.  She  is  the  mother  of  three  chil- 
dren, namely:  Irene,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Irma,  a  woman  of  fine  traits;  and  Benja- 
min M.,  our  subject. 

Thus  after  a  resume  of  the  subject's 
worthy  ancestors  we  are  not  surprised  that 
he  has  achieved  unusual  distinction  in  his 
community,  and  to  him  the  future  evidently 
has  much  of  good  in  store. 

Benjamin  M.  Smith  attended  school  in 
Salem,  graduating  from  the  high  school 
where  he  had  made  a  splendid  record  for 
scholarship  and  deportment.  Feeling  that 
he  was  destined  for  a  business  career,  and 
following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father  and 


grandfather,  he  early  began  preparations  to 
enter  the  industrial  field,  and  in  order  to 
prepare  himself  more  thoroughly  took  a 
course  in  the  Bryant  &  Stratton  Business 
College  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  standing  in 
the  front  rank  of  his  class  when  he  gradu- 
ated in  1900.  Mr.  Smith  has  been  actively 
engaged  in  business  since  he  was  sixteen 
years  old  and  he  showed  at  that  early  age 
that  he  was  destined  to  the  highest  success. 
He  seems  to  be  best  fitted  to  the  manage- 
ment of  banking  institutions,  although  he 
turns  everything  into  success  that  he  under- 
takes. He  has  been  cashier  of  banks  for 
seven  years  in  1908.  He  was  cashier  of 
the  Haymond  State  Bank,  now  the  First 
National  Bank  at  Kinmundy,  Illinois,  for 
two  years,  during  which  time  the  business  of 
this  institution  greatly  increased.  Then  he 
came  to  Salem  and  became  associated  with 
the  Salem  State  Bank  of  which  he  is  a 
stockholder  and  director  and  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers, in  fact,  one  of  the  moving  spirits 
of  the  institution.  Mr.  Smith  was  also  a 
director  in  the  bank  at  Kinmundy  and  is 
still  a  stockholder  in  the  same.  Both  these 
institutions  recognize  his  unusual  industrial 
ability  and  peculiar  aptitude  for  managing 
the  affairs  of  a  banking  concern  and  the  of- 
ficials are  not  reluctant  to  give  him  all  due 
credit  for  the  great  work  he  has  done  in 
placing  these  banks  on  a  firm  foundation  and 
making  them  among  the  solid  and  well 
known  institutions  of  their  kind  in  this  part 
of  the  state. 

Fraternally  Mr.   Smith    belongs    to    the 
Masonic  Order,  Knights  Templar;  also  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Woodmen  and  the 
Eagles,  and  one  would  judge  from  his  con- 
sistent daily  life  that  he  believes  in  carrying 
out  the  sublime  principles  and  doctrines  of 
these  worthy  orders.  In  politics  our  subject 
is  a  loyal  Democrat,  but  he  has  not  found 
time  to  take  an  active  part  in  political  af- 
fairs. However,  he  believes  in  placing  the 
best  men  possible  in  local  offices  and  his 
support  can  always  be  depended  upon  in 
the  advancement  of  any  cause  looking  to 
the  development  and  betterment  of  his  com- 
munity and  county. 

Mr.  Smith  has  preferred  single  blessed- 
ness and  has  never  assumed  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  married  state. 

Our  subject  is  a  very  strong  character  in 
every  respect  and  although  he  is  yet  quite  a 
young  man  he  has  shown  by  his  past  excel- 
lent and  praiseworthy  record  that  he  is  a 
man  of  unusual  industrial  ability  and  the 
future  will  doubtless  be  replete  with  honors 
and  success  for  him. 


HON.  JAMES  CAMERON  ALLEN. 

An  enumeration  of  the  representative 
citizens  of  Richland  county  who  have  won 
recognition  and  success  for  themselves  and 
at  the  same  time  have  conferred  honor  up- 
on the  community  would  be  decidedly  in- 
complete were  there  failure  to  make  men- 
tion of  the  popular  gentleman  whose  name 
initiates  this  review,  who  has  long  held 


worthy  prestige  in  legal  and  political  circles, 
and  has  always  been  distinctively  a  man  of 
affairs,  but  is  now  living  retired.  He  wields 
a  wide  influence  among  those  with  whom 
his  lot  has  been  cast,  ever  having  the  af- 
fairs of  his  county  at  heart  and  doing  what 
he  could  to  aid  in  its  development. 

James  Cameron  Allen  was  born  in  Shel- 
by county,  Kentucky,  January  29,  1822,  the 
son  of  Benjamin  and  Margaret  (Youel) 
Allen,  natives  of  Augusta  county,  Virginia, 
the  former  of  Irish  and  the  latter  of  Scotch 
descent.  Grandfather  John  Allen  was  born 
in  Ireland  on  the  famous  Shannon  river, 
and  when  about  twenty  years  old  he  came 
to  America  alone  and  settled  in  Xew  Jersey, 
where  he  married  and  later  moved  to  Rock- 
bridge  county,  Virginia,  and  engaged  in 
farming,  where  he  lived  and  died.  Grand- 
father William  Youel,  was  born  in  Scotland 
and  came  to  America  when  young,  located 
in  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  on  a  farm  and 
became  an  extensive  stock  raiser  for  that 
time.  He  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
being  slightly  wounded  at  the  battle  of 
Cowpens.  After  the  British  army  had  been 
driven  away,  he  picked  up  a  large  powder 
horn,  which  had  been  used  by  an  English 
soldier.  It  was  given  to  one  of  his  sons, 
and  became  a  valuable  historical  relic.  Our 
subject  used  the  same  when  a  boy,  while 
squirrel  hunting.  Grandfather  Youel  died 
in  Virginia,  at  an  advanced  age,  after  rear- 
ing a  large  family.  The  father  of  our  sub- 
ject was  a  farmer  and  when  young  learned 
the  trade  of  cycle  maker.  He  kept  a  set  of 
blacksmith  tools  as  long  as  he  lived.  Short- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


ly  after  his  marriage  he  emigrated  to  Shelby 
county,  Kentucky,  having  made  the  trip  on 
horseback,  carrying  all  his  earthly  posses- 
sions on  one  pack  horse.  This  was  in  1803, 
when  the  country  was  covered  with  primeval 
woods  and  overrun  by  Indians.  In  1830  he 
came  to  Parke  county,  Indiana,  and  located 
on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
having  bought  part  of  the  land  from  the 
man  who  had  entered  it  and  which  had  on 
it  a  small  cabin  and  a  few  acres  which  had 
been  cleared.  He  improved  the  place  and 
developed  a  good  farm,  which  he  later  sold 
and  retired.  He  died  in  Parke  county,  in 
1849,  his  wife  having  died  in  1832.  They 
were  people  of  much  sterling  worth,  typical 
pioneers.  To  them  were  born  ten  children, 
of  whom  our  subject  was  the  seventh  in 
order  of  birth,  all  now  deceased  except  the 
subject  and  one  sister,  Elvina,  who  is  living 
in  West  Liberty,  Iowa. 

The  subject  was  eight  years  old  when  the 
family  came  to  Indiana.  He  remained  at 
home  until  he  was  eighteen  years  old,  help- 
ing clear  the  farm  and  assisting  in  the  work 
about  the  place,  in  the  meantime  attending 
the  country  subscription  schools  during  the 
winter  months.  When  eighteen  years  old 
he  went  to  Rockville,  Indiana,  and  entered 
the  County  Seminary,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated three  years  later,  having  carefully  ap- 
plied himself  and  making  a  splendid  rec- 
ord. Being  out  of  money  at  that  time,  he 
returned  home  and  rented  his  father's  farm 
for  one  season,  having  realized  two  hundred 
and  eighty  dollars  as  his  share.  With  this 
he  went  to  Rockville  and  began  the  study 


of  law,  in  which  he  made  rapid  progress, 
and  was  licensed  to  practice  two  years  later, 
in  1843.  He  located  at  Sullivan,  Indiana, 
then  the  new  county-seat,  but  was  a  small 
village  in  the  woods.  Here  he  practiced 
with  much  success  attending  his  efforts  until 
1847.  He  held  the  office  of  Prosecuting  At- 
torney for  one  term  of  two  years,  and  was 
one  of  the  leading  young  attorneys  6f  that  lo- 
cality. He  then  located  at  Palestine,  Illinois, 
where  he  followed  his  profession  for  a  period 
of  twenty-nine  years,  becoming  known  as  one 
of  the  ablest  attorneys  in  the  county,  and 
having  a  very  extensive  clientele.  He  then 
located  in  Olney,  in  November,  1876,  and 
he  has  since  lived  at  this  place,  having  built 
up  a  very  large  practice.  He  retired  in  1907. 

While  living  in  Crawford  county,  Illinois, 
he  was  elected  to  the  Lower  House  of  the 
Legislature  in  1850,  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  and  served  with  great  credit.  Such 
a  splendid  record  did  he  make  that  he  was 
nominated  and  triumphantly  elected  two 
years  later  to  Congress  from  his  district,  at 
that  time,  the  Fifth  district,  and  was  re- 
elected  in  1854,  serving  two  terms,  making 
his  influence  felt  in  that  body  where  his 
counsel  was  always  respectfully  listened  to, 
and  often  followed  with  gratifying  results. 
During  his  first  term  the  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska fight  was  up.  During  the  second 
term  the  defeat  for  slavery  for  Kansas  was 
accomplished.  His  voice  was  heard  in  the 
debates  of  those  strenuous  times. 

In  1856  Mr.  Allen  was  not  a  candidate 
for  re-election,  but  he  became  Clerk  of  the 
House  during  that  session  of  Congress.  In 


86 


nilXIK.UMlICAL    AXI)    UKM  IN1SCKNT     HISTORY    OF 


March,  1860,  he  came  home  and  in  that  year 
was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor 
of  Illinois,  against  Yates.  He  made  a 
splendid  race  and  the  election  showed  that 
he  was  a  popular  man  throughout  the  state, 
notwithstanding  his  defeat.  In  April,  1861, 
he  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1863  resigned  as  Judge  to 
accept  tne  place  of  Congressman-at-large, 
to  which  he  had  been  elected  in  1862.  He 
was  a  candidate  for  re-election,  but  was 
defeated  by  Samuel  Moulton.  During  his 
terms  in  Congress  he  witnessed  stirring 
times  for  it  was  while  the  Civil  war  was 
in  progress. 

Returning  home  Mr.  Allen  practiced  law 
until  1873,  when  he  was  re-elected  Judge 
of  the  Circuit  Court,  and  after  the  passage 
of  the  law  establishing  appellate  courts,  he 
was  appointed  by  the  Supreme  Court  as  Ap- 
pellate Judge,  occupying  both  positions  un- 
til 1879.  He  then  engaged  in  practice  until 
his  retirement  in  1907,  having  liked  the 
practice  better  than  being  on  the  bench.  He 
has  been  United  States  Commissioner  since 
1896,  for  Southern  and  Eastern  Illinois. 

The  happy  and  harmonious  domestic  life 
of  our  subject  began  January  22,  1845, 
when  he  was  married  to  Ellen  Kitchell,  a 
native  of  Palestine,  Illinois,  the  representa- 
tive of  an  influential  family  of  that  place. 
To  this  union  three  children  were  born,  who 
died  in  infancy.  The  subject's  first  wife 
was  called  to  her  rest  in  1853  and  in  1857 
he  married  Julia  Kitchell,  cousin  of  his  first 
wife,  by  whom  seven  children  were  born, 
namely :  Harry,  who  was  court  reporter  for 


five  years,  is  deceased;  Frances  is  the  wife 
of  John  T.  Ratcliff,  of  Olney;  Caroline  is 
living  at  home  keeping  house  for  her  father ; 
James  H.  resides  in  Robinson,  Illinois; 
Frederick  W.  is  deceased;  William  Y.  is 
living  at  home;  Margaret  is  also  a  member 
of  the  home  circle.  The  second  wife  of  our 
subject,  a  woman  of  many  beautiful  at- 
tributes, passed  away  in  1901.  Mr.  Allen 
has  long  been  a  pillar  in  the  Presbyterian 
church,  having  been  the  ruling  elder  in  the 
same  since  1850. 

Thus  standing  out  distinctly  as  one  of 
the  central  figures  of  the  judiciary  of  the 
great  commonwealth  of  Illinois  is  the  name 
of  Hon.  James  Cameron  Allen.  Long 
prominent  in  legal  circles  and  equally  prom- 
inent in  public  matters  beyond  the  confines 
of  his  own  jurisdiction,  with  a  reputation 
in  one  of  the  most  exacting  professions  that 
has  won  him  a  name  for  distinguished  ser- 
vices second'  to  none  of  his  contemporaries, 
there  is  today  no  more  prominent  or  honored 
figure  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state  which 
he  has  long  dignified  with  his  citizenship. 
Achieving  success  in  the  courts  at  an  age 
when  most  young  men  are  just  entering  up- 
on the 'formative  period  of  their  lives,  wear- 
ing the  judicial  ermine  with  becoming  dig- 
nity and  bringing  to  every  case  submitted 
to  him  a  clearness  of  perception  and  ready 
power  of  analysis  characteristic  of  the 
learned  jurist,  his  name  and  work  for  half 
a  century  have  been  allied  with  legal  insti- 
tutions, public  enterprises  and  political  in- 
terests of  the  state  in  such  a  way  as  to  earn 
him  recognition  as  one  'of  the  distinguished 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


citizens  in  a  community  noted  for  the  high 
order  of  its  legal  talent.  A  high  purpose 
and  an  unconquerable  will,  vigorous  men- 
tal powers,  diligent  study  and  devotion  to 
duty  are  some  of  the  means  by  which  he 
has  made  himself  eminently  useful.  He  is 
honored  and  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him 
for  his  life  of  honor  and  usefulness,  his  in- 
tegrity, kindness  and  genial  manners  and 
the  good  he  has  accomplished  for  his  state 
cannot  be  adequately  expressed. 


JOHN  C.  MARTIN. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  native  son 
of  Marion  county,  Illinois,  and  a  represen- 
tative of  one  of  its  sterling  and  honored 
families.  He  is  known  as  a  young  man  of 
fine  intellectuality  and  marked  business 
acumen.  He  is  cashier  of  the  Salem  Na- 
tional Bank,  one  of  the  most  substantial  in- 
stitutions of  its  kind  in  this  part  of  the 
state. 

John  C.  Martin  was  born  in  Salem  April 
29,  1880,  the  son  of  B.  E.  Martin,  Sr.,  a 
sketch  of  whom  appears  upon  another  page 
of  this  volume. 

Our  subject  attended  the  schools  of  Salem 
in  his  early  youth  where  he  applied  himself 
in  a  most  assiduous  manner,  having  made 
excellent  records  for  scholarship  and  general 
deportment,  and  as  a  result  of  his  well  ap- 
plied time  to  his  text-books  he  received  a 
good  education  which  has  subsequently  been 
broadened  and  deepened  by  contact  with  the 
world  and  systematic  home  study.  After 


finishing  the  prescribed  course  in  the  home 
schools  he  spent  two  years  at  Jacksonville, 
Illinois,  one  year  at  the  Jacksonville  College, 
and  one  at  Brown's  Business  College,  hav- 
ing stood  high  in  his  classes  in  each. 

At  the  early  age  of  twenty-eight  years,  a 
period  when  most  men  are  just  launching 
into  a  career  or  tentatively  investigating  the 
world  that  lies  before  them  in  order  to  test 
their  potential  powers,  Mr.  Martin  had  al- 
ready shown  that  he  is  a  man  of  marked  ex- 
ecutive and  business  ability.  He  assumed 
the  responsible  and  exacting  position  of 
cashier  of  the  Salem  National  Bank  in  April 
1907,  whose  duties  he  is  faithfully  perform- 
ing to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  con- 
cerned. He  is  a  stockholder  in  this  institu- 
tion, which  is  popular  with  all  classes  of 
business  men  in  Salem  and  throughout  Mar- 
ion county,  where  it  has  long  maintained  a 
firm  reputation  for  soundness  owing  to  its 
careful  management  and  the  unquestioned 
integrity  and  scrupulously  honest  characters 
of  the  gentlemen  who  have  it  under  control. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Martin  is  a  loyal  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  Order,  the  Woodmen  and 
the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  The  daily 
life  of  the  subject  would  indicate  that  he 
believes  in  carrying  out  the  noble  precepts 
of  these  praiseworthy  orders. 


HON.  HARVEY  D.  McCOLLUM. 

Clay  county  figures  as  one  of  the  most 
attractive,  progressive  and  prosperous  divi- 
sions of  the  southern  part  of  Illinois,  justly 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    RKM  I  X  ISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


claiming  a  high  order  of  citizenship  and  a 
spirit  of  enterprise  which  is  certain  to  con- 
serve consecutive  development  and  marked 
advancement  in  the  material  upbuilding  of 
this  section.  The  county  has  been  and  is 
signally  favored  in  the  class  of  men  who 
have  controlled  its  affairs  in  official  capacity, 
and  in  this  connection  the  subject  of  this  re- 
view demands  representation,  as  he  is  serv- 
ing the  locality  faithfully  and  well  in  a  po- 
sition of  distinct  trust  and  responsibility,  be- 
ing the  Representative  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, having  been  elected  to  the  Lower  House 
in  the  fall  of  1908,  among  the  youngest 
members  of  that  body ;  but  while  the  young- 
est, he  is  far  from  the  least  important.  On 
the  contrary  he  is  an  active,  vigilant  and 
potent  factor  in  that  honored  body.  He 
has  achieved 'a  brilliant  record  at  the  bar, 
while  yet  a  young  man,  and  to  such  as  he  the 
future  augurs  much  in  the  way  of  success 
and  honor. 

Harvey  D.  McCollum  was  born  in  Louis- 
ville, Clay  county,  Illinois,  March  13,  1879, 
and  he  early  decided  to  try  his  fortune  with 
his  own  people,  rather  than  seek  uncertain 
fortune  in  other  fields,  as  so  many  of  his 
early  companions  have  done.  He  is  the  son 
of  James  C.  McCollum,  also  a  native  of  Clay 
county,  now  residing  in  Louisville,  retired, 
being  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Farmers' 
and  Merchants'  Bank  of  Louisville,  and  who 
is  now  one  of  its  directors.  James  C.  McCol- 
lum, grandfather  of  the  subject,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Kentucky,  and  the  subject's  great- 
grandfather, Alexander  McCollum,  was  one 
of  the  six  men  killed  at  the  battle  of  New 


Orleans  in  the  War  of  1812,  this  battle  hav- 
ing been  fought  in  1815,  and  his  name  is 
mentioned  in  President  Roosevelt's  history 
of  naval  battles.  Members  of  the  McCollum 
family  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Clay 
county  and  they  have  been  prominently  iden- 
tified with  its  history  ever  since  the  pioneer 
days,  having  always  taken  a  leading  part  in 
the  development  of  the  community  in  every 
way.  Robert  McCollum,  uncle  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  has  lived  in  this  county 
for  a  period  of  seventy-five  years,  is  one  of 
the  oldest  living  pioneers  of  the  county. 

The  mother  of  the  subject,  a  woman  of 
many  beautiful  attributes,  was  known  in 
her  maidenhood  as  Fanny  Long,  a  daughter 
of  Darling  Long,  an  old  settler  of  Clay 
county.  She  is  still  living.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  J.  C.  McCollum  four  children  were 
bom,  our  subject  being  the  only  survivor. 

Our  subject  was  reared  in  Louisville 
where  he  attended  the  high  school  from 
which  he  graduated,  having  gained  a  good 
common  school  education,  for  he  was  ambi- 
tious and  applied  himself  in  a  very  careful 
manner  to  his  studies,  outstripping  may  of 
the  less  ardent  plodders.  Not  being  satis- 
fied with  what  learning  he  had  acquired  up 
to  this  point,  he  attended  the  University  of 
Illinois,  taking  the  literary  and  law  courses, 
in  which  institution  he  remained  for  six 
years,  graduating  in  1901,  after  making  a 
splendid  record  for  scholarship. 

After  completing  his  course  in  the  univer- 
sity, Mr.  McCollum  returned  home  and  at 
once  began  the  practice  of  law,  his  success 
being  instantaneous.  He  at  once  attracted 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


the  attention  of  the  political  leaders  of  the 
county,  and  he  was  the  nominee  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  for  County  Judge  in  1902,  and 
while  he  headed  his  ticket,  was  defeated; 
however,  the  splendid  race  he  made  gave 
proof  of  his  high  standing  with  the  people 
of  Clay  county  and  forecasted  future  victo- 
ries. He  formed  a  law  partnership  that  year 
with  A.  M.  Rose,  which  continued  until  Mr. 
Rose  was  elected  to  the  circuit  bench. 

Mr.  McCollum  was  appointed  Master  in 
Chancery  for  two  terms,  serving  with  much 
credit  and  satisfaction  from  1904  until  1908. 
He  is  at  this  writing  practicing  law  with 
John  W.  Thomason,  having  formed  a  part- 
nership, which  still  exists,  in  January,  1907. 
It  is  generally  regarded  as  one  of  the  strong- 
est law  firms  in  this  or  adjoining  counties, 
and  their  office  is  always  a  busy  place,  their 
many  clients  coming  from  all  over  the  dis- 
trict. As  already  stated,  our  subject  made  a 
successful  race  for  the  Legislature  during 
the  last  election  (1908),  which  event  caused 
general  satisfaction  throughout  the  county, 
not  only  from  friends,  but  members  of  other 
parties,  for  everyone  recognized  Mr.  McCol- 
lum's  ability  and  fidelity  to  duty,  therefore 
they  know  their  interests  will  be  carefully 
guarded  by  him. 

Mr.  McCollum  is  unmarried.  In  his  fra- 
ternal relations  he  is  a  member  of  the  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  No. 
926,  at  Olney,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Woodmen,  and  Masonic  Order  at  Louisville. 

Mr.  McCollum  is  not  a  man  who  courts 
publicity,  yet  it  must  be  a  pleasure  to  him,  as 


is  quite  natural,  to  know  how  well  he  stands 
with  his  fellow  citizens  throughout  this  dis- 
trict. The  public  is  seldom  mistaken  in  its 
estimation  of  a  man,  and  had  Mr.  McCollum 
not  been  most  worthy  he  could  not  have 
gained  the  high  position  he  now  holds  in 
public  and  social  life.  Having  long  main- 
tained the  same  without  any  abatement  of 
his  popularity,  his  standing  in  the  county  is 
perhaps  now  in  excess  of  what  it  has  ever 
been.  He  has,  by  his  own  persistent  and 
praiseworthy  efforts,  won  for  himself  a  name 
whose  luster  the  future  years  shall  only  aug- 
ment. 


G.  H.  TRENARY. 

The  enterprise  of  the  subject  has  been 
crowned  by  success,  as  the  result  of  rightly 
applied  principles  which  never  fail  in  their 
ultimate  effect  when  coupled  with  integrity, 
uprightness  and  a  congenial  disposition,  as 
they  have  been  done  in  the  present  instance, 
judging  from  the  high  standing  of  Mr.  Tre- 
nary  among  his  fellow  citizens  whose  un- 
divided esteem  he  has  justly  won  and  re- 
tained. 

G.  H.  Trenary,  the  influential  and  popu- 
lar superintendent  of  the  Chicago  &  East- 
ern Illinois  Railroad  Company,  with  offices 
at  Salem,  Illinois,  was  born  February  9, 
1867,  at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  the  son  of  Ran- 
dolph B.  Trenary,  a  native  of  Ohio  who 
came  to  Indiana  when  a  boy.  He  was  a  lo- 
comotive engineer,  having  run  an  engine 


ilOCKAIMIICAL    AND    KKM  I  X  ISCKXT     HISTORY    OF 


during  the  Civil  war  and  he  followed  this 
profession  all  his  life,  becoming  one  of  the 
best  known  railroad  men  in  his  community. 
He  died  in  February,  1904,  at  Stone  Bluff, 
Indiana.  The  mother  of  the  subject  was 
known  in  her  maidenhood  as  Mollie  Nor- 
duft,  a  native  of  Williamsport,  Indiana,  and 
the  representative  of  a  well  known  and 
highly  respected  family  there.  She  passed 
to  her  rest  in  1873.  They  were  the  parents 
of  four  children,  three  boys  and  one  girl, 
namely:  Charles  W.,  of  Kansas  City,  Mis- 
souri; G.  H.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch; 
Evendar  H.,  who  died  in  1888;  Elizabeth, 
the  wife  of  Charles  Mallett,  of  Stone  Bluff, 
Indiana. 

Our  subject  attended  the  common  schools 
at  Urbana,  Illinois,  leaving  school  when  in 
the  eighth  grade  for  the  purpose  of  begin- 
ning the  study  of  telegraphy  at  Urbana. 
Becoming  an  exeprt  at  this  exacting  profes- 
sion he  followed  it  together  with  that  of 
agent  at  various  stations  for  thirteen  years 
with  great  satisfaction  to  his  employers  who 
regarded  him  as  one  of  the  most  efficient 
and  reliable  men  in  this  line  of  work  in 
their  employ.  He  spent  four  years  at  Og- 
den,  Illinois;  one  year  at  Urbana,  one  year 
at  Waynetown,  Indiana ;  one  year  at  Cham- 
paign, Illinois ;  two  years  at  LeRoy,  Illinois ; 
three  years  at  Veedersburg,  Indiana;  one 
year  at  Hoopestown,  Illinois.  From  1896 
to  1899  he  was  chief  clerk  to  the  general 
superintendent  of  the  Chicago  &  Eastern 
Illinois  Railroad  Company  at  Chicago.  For 
five  years  our  subject  held  the  responsible 
position  of  superintendent  at  Brazil,  In- 


diana, from  1899  to  1904,  since  which  time 
he  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Illinois 
division  of  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois 
road,  with  headquarters  at  Salem.  The 
offices  of  this  road  were  located  here  in  De- 
cember, 1906,  having  been  removed  from 
St.  Elmo,  this  state.  This  road  employs 
about  five  hundred  people  in  all  departments. 
The  local  offices  occupy  the  entire  third 
floor  of  the  Salem  State  Bank  building  and 
is  the  busiest  place  in  Salem.  Mr.  Trenary's 
private  office  is  also  on  this  floor.  Every- 
thing is  under  a  splendid  system. 

Mr.  Trenary  has  jurisdiction  over  all 
transportation,  a  very  responsible  position, 
indeed,  and  one  that  not  only  requires  a 
superior  talent  along  executive  lines,  but  a 
clear  brain,  sound  judgment  and  steady  hab- 
its, but  he  has  performed  his  duties  so  well 
that  the  company  deems  his  services  indis- 
pensable. This  road  has  a  departmental  di- 
vision system. 

Our  subject1  was  happily  married  in  De- 
cember, 1884,  to  Beulah  R.  Glascock,  the 
refined  and  accomplished  daughter  of  H.  J. 
Glascock,  an  influential  and  highly  respected 
citizen  of  Ogden,  Illinois. 

The  commodious,  modern,  cheerful  and 
model  home  of  the  subject  and  wife  has 
been  blessed  through  the  birth  of  the  six 
children  whose  names  and  dates  of  birth 
follow  in  consecutive  order:  G.  W.,  born 
April  12,  1886,  lives  in  Salem;  Nell,  born 
December  30,  1887;  Genevieve  F.,  born 
March  i,  1893 ;  Robert  F.,  born  October  22, 
1895;  H.  Kenneth,  born  January  29,  1901; 
Randolph  Bryant,  born  January  26,  1904. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


These  children  have  received  every  care 
and  attention,  been  given  good  educations 
and  each  gives  promise  of  bright  and  suc- 
cessful futures,  exemplifying  in  their  daily 
lives  what  a  wholesome  home  environment 
and  careful  parental  training  can  do  in  de- 
veloping well  rounded  and  highly  cultivated 
minds  and  bodies. 

Mr.  Trenary  moved  his  family  to  Salem 
in  December,  1906.  He  has  been  honored 
by  being  chosen  alderman  for  the  city  of 
Salem.  Although  a  loyal  Republican  and 
well  fortified  in  his  political  beliefs  and  anx- 
ious to  see  the  triumph  of  his  party's  prin- 
ciples, Mr.  Trenary  has  never  aspired  to 
positions  of  public  trust  at  the  hands  of  his 
fellow  voters.  However,  his  support  can  al- 
ways be  depended  upon  in  the  advancement 
of  all  movements  looking  to  the  public  weal 
in  his  community  whether  educational, 
moral  or  civic. 

In  his  fraternal  relations,  the  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Order  and  the  Mod- 
ern Woodmen,  and  one  would  soon  conclude 
by  a  knowledge  of  his  consistent  and  gen- 
tlemanly daily  life  that  he  believed  in  carry- 
ing out  the  sublime  precepts  of  these 
commendable  organizations.  Both  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Trenary  are  members  of  the  Christian 
church.  They  are  pleasant  people  to  meet, 
and  their  cozy  home  is  often  the  mecca  for 
numerous  admiring  friends  who  seek  the 
cheerfulness  and  hospitality  so  freely  and 
unstintingly  dispensed  here.  No  better  or 
more  popular  people  are  to  be  found  in  Mar- 
ion county  and  they  justly  deserve  the  high 
esteem  in  which  they  are  held. 


JOHN  A.  BATEMAN. 

There  is  much  in  the  life  record  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  worthy  of  commenda- 
tion and  admiration,  and  his  public  career 
is  especially  notable.  Like  many  other 
brainy,  energetic  young  men  who  have  left 
their  impress  upon  the  magnificent  develop- 
ment of  this  part  of  the  great  Prairie  state, 
he  did  not  wait  for  a  specially  brilliant  open- 
ing. Indeed,  he  could  not  wait,  for  his 
natural  industry  would  not  have  permitted 
him  to  do  so.  In  his  early  youth  he  gave 
evidence  of  the  possession  of  traits  of  char- 
acter which  have  made  his  life  exceptionally 
successful  and  he  is  today  admittedly  one  of 
Clay  county's  foremost  and  best  known 
citizens. 

John  A.  Bateman  was  born  in  Richlancl 
county,  Illinois,  September  20,  1863,  the 
son  of  Thomas  Bateman,  who  was  a  native 
of  Queenstown,  Ireland,  where  a  sister, 
aunt  of  our  subject,  still  resides.  He  came 
to  America  when '  he  was  eighteen  years  old, 
first  settling  in  Ohio,  near  Cincinnati,  where 
he  lived  about  three  years,  after  which  he 
came  to  Richland  county,  Illinois,  locating 
on  a  farm,  having  lived  in 'Richland  county 
two  years,  when  he  moved  near  Sailor 
Springs,  Clay  county,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death,  June  24,  1879.  He  was  a  man 
of  much  sterling  worth  and  many  of  his 
praiseworthy  traits  seem  to  have  been  in- 
herited by  our  subject.  Grandfather 
Michael  Bateman  was  a  native  of  Ireland, 
where  he  lived  and  died.  Our  subject's 
mother  was  Mary  A.  Mitchell,  whose  people 


r.lOOR.M'll  ICAI.      \NI>     RKMIMSCKNT     HISTORY     OK 


were  natives  of  North  Carolina.  She  was 
born  near  Bedford,  Indiana,  and  is  still  liv- 
ing at  Sailor  Springs,  Clay  county,  Illinois. 
She  is  a  fine  old  lady  of  beautiful  Christian 
character. 

The  following  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Thomas  Bateman:  Lucinda  Jane 
died  in  infancy;  John  A.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  William,  deceased;  Charles,  a 
well-to-do  farmer  at  Sailor  Springs,  this 
county;  Susanna,  deceased;  George  P.,  liv- 
ing at  Sailor  Springs;  Abraham,  deceased; 
Robert,  deceased. 

Mr.  Bateman  spent  his  early  life  on  the 
farm  and  received  his  primary  education 
in  the  schools  of  Sailor  Springs.  He  later 
attended  Hayward  College  at  Fairfield,  Il- 
linois, for  two  or  three  terms.  He  also  at- 
tended the  Teachers'  Normal  of  Clay  coun- 
ty, having  made  a  splendid  record  for  schol- 
arship in  all  these  institutions.  Not  being 
contented  to  leave  school  before  he  received 
a  high  education,  he  borrowed  money  of  old 
Uncle  Jim  McKinney,  and  attended  the 
Mitchell  College,  at  Mitchell,  Indiana,  com- 
pleting the  course. 

His  father  dying  when  he  was  fifteen 
years  old,  Mr.  Bateman  became  the  head 
and  support  of  the  family,  and  although  the 
struggle  was  hard,  it  merely  tended  to  de- 
velop the  sterner  side  of  his  nature  and 
spurred  him  to  achievements  that  he  other- 
wise would  never  have  known.  After 
leaving  school  he  taught  for  five  years  in 
the  country  with  great  success,  becoming 
known  as  one  of  the  leading  educators  of 
the  county  and  his  services  were  in  great 


demand.  After  his  experience  in  teaching 
he  went  into  the  real  estate  and  insurance 
business  at  Sailor  Springs,  also  buying  and 
shipping  wool  and  grain.  He  also  opened 
the  first  furniture  store  in  that  town  and 
while  there  he  was  elected  the  first  Mayor  of 
the  town,  having  become  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  community  and  who  did  a  great 
deal  for  the  town's  development.  This  was 
in  1893.  He  remained  there  for  ten  years, 
making  a  success  of  whatever  business  he 
engaged  in. 

In  1898  Mr.  Bateman  was  elected  Coun- 
ty Clerk  on  the  Republican  ticket,  living  at 
the  time  in  Sailor  Springs.  On  June  22, 
1899,  he  moved  to  Louisville.  He  was 
elected  to  this  office  by  twenty-four  major- 
ity. He  was  counted  out,  but  was  finally 
seated  by  the  Supreme  Court.  He  was  re- 
nominated  in  1902,  and  re-elected  by  a  ma- 
jority of  three  hundred  and  fifteen.  Having 
made  such  a  splendid  record  he  was  re- 
nominated  in  1906  and  re-elected  by  a  ma- 
jority of  four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  in 
the  face  of  a  strong  fight.  The  Democratic 
party  took  their  regular  nominee  off  the 
ticket  and  placed  the  strongest  man  they 
could  in  the  race  against  him.  He  is  now 
(1908)  serving  his  third  term,  and  is  re- 
garded by  everyone  concerned  as  an  excep- 
tionally good  officer,  being  careful  and 
painstaking,  courteous  to  all  and  giving  his 
attention  to  the  duties  of  the  same  with  the 
same  keen  discernment  that  characterizes 
his  own  business  affairs:  in  fact,  he  is  said 
by  his  many  friends  to  be  the  best  County 
Clerk  Clav  ever  had. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


93 


Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bateman  are  the  parents  of 
four  children,  namely :  Dolores,  who  at  this 
writing  is  fifteen  years  old;  Chloe  Irene  is 
twelve  years  old;  Mark  Hanna  is  deceased, 
having  died  October  6,  1908;  the  fourth 
child  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Bateman  was  very  much  attached  to 
his  baby  son.  Mark  Hanna.  whose  untimely 
death  at  the  age  of  nearly  eleven  years  great- 
ly grieved  him.  The  little  boy  was  the  pride 
of  his  father's  heart  and  upon  him  he  lav- 
ished his  affection  and  care  of  an  indulgent 
lather. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Bateman  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  Order,  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows ; 
also  the  Modern  Woodmen,  Ben  Hur,  the 
American  Home  Circle  and  the  Rebekahs. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church  and 
a  liberal  supporter  of  the  same. 

Our  subject  is  a  purely  self-made  man, 
winning  success  by  overcoming  many  ob- 
stacles, and  he  deserves  the  high  esteem  in 
which  he  is  universally  held,  and  is  one  of 
Clay  county's  most  popular  men,  claiming 
a  legion  of  friends  in  all  parts  of  the  county 
and  throughout  this  district.  He  has  a 
modern  and  elegantly  furnished  home,  a 
good  driving  horse  and  many  other  con- 
veniences. His  home  place  consists  of  five 
acres.  Mr.  Bateman  enjoys  the  fullest 
measure  of  public  confidence,  because  of  the 
honorable  business  methods  he  has  ever  fol- 
lowed, and  he  is  one  of  the  most  successful, 
prominent  and  honored  men  in  this  portion 
of  Illinois. 


G.  A.  IDLEMAN. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of 
those  men  who  have  met  with  success  along 
the  line  of  his  chosen  calling  and  he  is  today 
one  of  the  prosperous  and  respected  mer- 
chants of  Salem,  Marion  county,  where  he 
conducts  a  modern  and  attractive  store,  hav- 
ing built  up  an  extensive  and  lucrative  busi- 
ness by  reason  of  his  peculiar  adaptability 
for  this  line  of  work,  his  honesty  of  business 
principles  and  his  courteous  and  kind  treat- 
ment of  customers  whom  he  numbers  by  the 
scores. 

G.  A.  Idleman  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  Ohio,  in  1844,  the  son  of  Jacob  J. 
Idleman,  a  native  of  Virginia,  who  moved 
with  his  parents  to  Ohio  when  he  was  a 
small  boy.  He  devoted  his  life  principally 
to  agricultural  pursuits,  but  he  also  devoted 
much  time  and  labor  along  a  higher  plane 
of  action,  that  of  Methodist  minister,  becom- 
ing known  as  an  able  expounder  of  the  Gos- 
pel and  a  man  of  good  deeds  wherever  he 
went.  He  engaged  in  ministerial  work  for 
forty  years,  having  worked  hard  on  his 
farm  during  the  week  and  preached  on  Sun- 
day, and  to  show  that  he  was  an  extraor- 
dinarily sincere  men  and  desirous  to  do  good 
for  the  sake  of  being  true  to  the  higher  life 
as  outlined  by  the  lowly  Nazarene,  he  never 
accepted  a  cent  for  his  ministrial  labors  in 
all  those  forty  years,  merely  preaching  for 
the  love  of  the  work  and  the  good  he  could 
do,  which  was  an  incalculable  amount.  He 
was  called  to  his  reward  by  the  Good  Shep- 


94 


moCKAI'HICAL    AND    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


herd  whom  he  had  so  faithfully  followed,  in 
1887,  while  living  on  his  farm  in  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  moved  in  1865, 
settling  two  miles  south  of  Salem  where  he 
resided  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

The  grandfather  of  the  subject  was  Jacob 
Idleman,  also  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  also 
a  farmer  who  was  known  as  a  man  of  in- 
tegrity and  many  sterling  qualities.  He 
reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty  years, 
•dying  in  Marion  county,  Ohio,  where  he  had 
removed  in  an  early  day  when  the  country 
was  wild  and  unsettled.  The  subject's 
mother  was  Hannah  Jones,  whose  people 
came  from  Pennsylvania.  Her  people  lived 
to  be  very  old,  her  mother  having  reached 
the  remarkable  age  of  ninety  years.  The 
subject's  mother,  a  woman  of  gracious  per- 
sonal qualities,  is  still  living  in  1908,  on  the 
old  farm  homestead  south  of  Salem  at  the 
still  more  remarkable  age  of  ninety-four 
years. 

Ten  children  constituted  the  family  of  the 
parents  of  our  subject,  four  having  died  in 
infancy  and  two  having  passed  away  after 
reaching  maturity.  Those  living  are :  G. 
A.,  our  subject;  Samantha,  the  widow  of  E. 
W.  Thompson,  of  Columbus,  Ohio;  Mrs. 
Gallic  M.  Kell,  the  widow  of  William  Kell, 
living  in  Salem ;  Mrs.  Belle  Sipes,  who  lives 
on  a  farm  near  Omega,  Illinois. 

G.  A.  Idleman,  our  subject,  spent  his  boy- 
hood days  in  Marion  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
received  a  common  school  education  and 
where  he  remained  until  he  was  twenty  years 
old,  having  assisted  with  the  farm  work 
while  going  to  school.  He  came  to  Salem, 


Illinois,  in  1865  with  his  parents,  and  has 
continued  to  make  this  his  home.  He  farmed 
until  he  was  thirty  years  old,  thereby  getting 
a  good  start  in  life.  Since  that  time  he  has 
been  engaged  from  time  to  time  in  various 
lines  of  business.  He  has  been  in  the  mer- 
cantile business  here  for  a  period  of  twenty- 
five  years,  most  of  the  time  in  business  for 
himself,  but  part  of  the  time  he  was  asso- 
ciated in  business  with  others.  He  has  been 
engaged  in  the  grocery  business  for  the  past 
eight  years,  since  1900,  and  which  he  still 
conducts,  having  built  up  an  excellent  and 
lucrative  trade  as  the  result  of  courteous 
treatment  to  customers  and  his  expert 
knowledge  of  the  mercantile  business,  hav- 
ing always  made  this  line  of  work  pay,  not 
only  yielding  him  a  comfortable  living,  but 
enabling  him  to  gradually  increase  his  busi- 
ness and  at  the  same  time  lay  up  an  ample 
competency  for  his  old  age.  His  customers 
are  not  confined  to  Salem  and  vicinity,  but 
he  is  well  known  throughout  Marion  county, 
having  always  given  his  customers  entire 
satisfaction  as  to  the  quality  of  goods  he 
handles  and  to  price,  consequently  he  seldom 
loses  a  customer.  Mr.  Idleman  built  his 
present  store  building  on  First  South  street, 
which  is  one  of  the  neatest  and  most  sub- 
stantial stores  in  Salem. 

Mr.  Idleman  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1870  to  Mattie  Clark,  the  representative  of 
one  of  Salem's  well  known  families.  To 
this  union  one  child  has  been  born,  Mrs. 
Lydia  M.  Hubbs,  of  Chicago.  The  subject 
was  married  again  May  14,  1902,  to  Agnes 
Ray,  the  daughter  of  Riley  Rose.  She  was 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


95 


born  and  reared  in  Salem.  They  have  no 
children.  Their  home  is  a  commodious 
and  nicely  furnished  one  in  the  most  de- 
sirable residence  district  of  Salem,  and  is 
frequently  the  gathering  place  for  numerous 
friends  of  the  family. 

Our  subject  has  served  his  community  in 
a  most  efficient  and  commendable  manner  as 
assessor  of  Salem  township,  having  been 
the  first  Republican  assessor  ever  elected  in 
this  township.  In  his  fraternal  relations  he 
belongs  to  the  Red  Men,  of  Odin,  Illinois. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Our  subject 
has  ever  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  community  and  gives  an  earnest 
support  to  every  movement  for  the  public 
welfare.  A  man  of  fine  personal  traits,  he 
is  highly  regarded  by  all  who  know  him, 
and  he  is  counted  one  of  Salem's  most  pro- 
gressive and  worthy  business  men. 


REV.  JOHN  BUENGER. 

The  mission  of  a  great  soul  -m  this  world 
is  one  that  is  calculated  to  inspire  a  multi- 
tude of  others  to  better  and  grander  things, 
and  its  subsequent  influence  cannot  be  meas- 
ured in  meets  and  bounds,  for  it  affects  the 
lives  of  those  with  whom  it  comes  in  con- 
tact, broading  and  enriching  them  for  all 
time  to  come.  He  who  spends  his  life  inter- 
pretating  the  Divine  Word  has  one  of  the 
greatest  missions  to  perform  vouchsafed  to 
man.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of 


that  number  and  worthily  wears  the  honor 
in  proper  meekness  and  reserve. 

Rev.  John  Buenger,  minister  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church  in  luka  township, 
Marion  county,  was  born  at  Burg,  near 
Magdeburg,  Germany,  April  17,  1869,  the 
son  of  Otto  and  Antonie  (Ruehlmaun) 
Buenger,  both  natives  of  Germany,  having 
spent  their  lives  in  that  country.  The  sub- 
ject's father,  who  was  a  minister,  is  de- 
ceased. He  did  a  great  work  in  the  Evan- 
gelical church  in  Germany.  The  mother  of 
our  subject  is  still  living  in  the  fatherland. 
They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children, 
namely:  Max,  Werner,  Sophia,  Emil; 
Adolph  and  John,  our  subject,  are  twins; 
Eliza. and  Erich,  who  is  also  a  minister.  He 
and  the  subject  are  the  only  ones  who  ever 
came  to  America.  The  above  named  chil- 
dren are  all  living. 

The  early  education  of  Rev.  John 
Buenger  was  obtained  in  Germany.  He 
came  to  America  in  1891  and  attended  Con- 
cordia  College  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  for 
two  years.  He  then  went  to  Madison 
county,  Texas,  in  1893,  where  he  took 
charge  of  a  church.  He  remained  in  Texas 
for  ten  years.  He  had  very  difficult  charges 
in  Madison,  Fayette  and  Fannin  counties, 
that  state,  but  he  did  much  good  there  in 
strengthening  the  congregations  of  his  dif- 
ferent charges.  In  1903  he  came  to  his 
present  pastorate  in  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
the  German  Lutheran  Trinity  church.  He 
has  done  a  great  work  here,  having  com- 
pleted in  1908  a  beautiful  and  substantial 
church  edifice,  costing  two  thousand  seven 


LIOGKAPHICAL    AND    RKM IX ISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


hundred  dollars.  He  also  conducts  the  pa- 
rochial school  near  the  church,  ably  assisted 
by  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1894,  her 
maiden  name  having  been  Louisa  Franke, 
who  was  born  in  Barmen,  Germany,  the 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Jane  Menkhoff,  both 
of  whom  died  in  Germany.  Henry  Menk- 
hoff was  a  teacher  in  the  old  country. 

Six  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife  as  follows:  Ruth,  Gertrude, 
Hans,  Antonett,  Frieda  and  Paul.  Our 
subject  is  well  liked  by  his  congregation  and 
by  everyone  who  has  had  the  fortune  to 
know  him.  He  is  an  earnest  and  able  ex- 
pounder of  the  Gospel. 


JOHN  B.  CONANT. 

This  venerable  pioneer  and  representative 
agriculturist  of  Kinmundy  township,  Ma- 
rion county,  Illinois,  has  lived  on  the  farm 
which  is  now  his  home  practically  all  his  life, 
and  thus  he  has  witnessed  and  taken  part  in 
the  development  of  this  section  of  the  state 
from  a  sylvan  wild  to  its  present  status  as 
an  opulent  agricultural  and  industrial  com- 
munity. He  early  began  to  contribute  to  the 
work  of  clearing  and  improving  the  land  of 
its  primitive  forests,  later  assisted  in  estab- 
lishing schools  and  better  public  improve- 
ments and  facilities,  while  his  course  has 
been  so  directed  as  to  retain  for  him  the  un- 
qualified approval  and  esteem  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  has  so  long  made  his 
home,  until  today  he  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  substantial  and  influential  citizens 


of  the  township,  deserving  of  the  greatest 
credit  from  the  fact  that  he  began  life  un- 
aided and  without  the  tender  guidance  of 
parents,  being  compelled  to  go  it  alone  from 
early  childhood,  but  such  stern  discipline, 
somewhat  unpleasant  and  regrettable,  was 
not  without  its  value,  for  it  fostered  in  the 
lad  an  independent  spirit  and  gave  him  that 
fortitude  and  courage  that  has  made  for  sub- 
sequent success. 

John  B.  Conant  is  a  native  of  this  county, 
having  been  born  here  February  17,  1839, 
the  son  of  Airs  Conant,  who  came  to  Mas- 
sachusetts from  England,  there  being  three 
brothers  of  the  Conant  family  on  the  ship, 
one  of  whom  settled  in  Baltimore,  another 
in  the  North  and  one,  Airs  Conant,  went  to 
Georgia  and  joined  the  United  States  army 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  part  in  the  War  of 
1812,  having  fought  faithfully  throughout 
the  struggle,  being  wounded  in  the  hand. 
After  the  war  he  returned  to  Georgia,  where 
he  settled,  and  married  Polly  Pepper,  to 
which  union  eleven  children  were  born,  John 
B.  Conant  being  the  youngest  son.  Airs  Co- 
nant and  wife  moved  to  Marion  county,  Il- 
linois in  an  early  day  while  the  country  was 
still  a  wilderness.  He  partly  improved  sev- 
en different  farms,  selling  each  and  moved 
to  Missouri,  pre-empting  all  the  land  he  had 
from  the  government.  All  the  members  of 
this  pioneer  family  have  passed  away  with 
the  exception  of  our  subject. 

The  father  of  our  subject  also  taught 
school  in  Marion  county,  having  been  hired 
to  teach  a  subscription  school  four  miles 
from  home,  the  first  term  lasting  three 


MR.  AND  MRS.  J.  B.  CONANT. 


THE 


1 INOIS. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS 


months,  the  second  term  being  of  the  same 
duration;  however,  he  taught  only  one 
month  on  the  second  term,  when  he  stopped 
to  put  out  a  crop  of  corn.  He  worked  too 
hard  and  drank  too  much  water  while  over- 
heated, which  caused  his  death  in  less  than 
a  week,  leaving  a  large  famaily  to  struggle 
with  the  wilderness  and  the  clearing  of  a 
new  country.  The  mother  of  our  subject 
also  passed  away  one  week  after  her  hus- 
band's death,  leaving  John  B.,  then  eight 
years  old,  to  live  with  his  older  brother,  Wil- 
liam, with  whom  he  remained  until  he  was 
fourteen  years  old,  at  which  time  he  chose 
his  own  guardian,  Mark  Cole,  who  cared 
for  our  subject  in  a  manly  and  fatherly  man- 
ner and  procured  a  land  warrant  for  him, 
but  the  land  was  afterward  sold  for  the  lack 
of  payment  of  one  hundred  dollars. 

Our  subject's  early  education  was  limited 
to  the  district  schools,  his  first  school  having 
been  taught  by  his  father,  but  he  is  well  ed- 
ucated and  he  has  always  been  a  most  suc- 
cessful farmer,  beginning  life  with  nothing, 
as  before  stated,  he  wisely  applied  his  energy 
and  managed  his  affairs  with  that  foresight 
and  discrimination  that  always  brings  suc- 
cess, and  his  farm  properly  consists  of  sev- 
en hundred  acres  of  as  fine  land  as  is  to  be 
found  in  this  locality.  However,  it  has  been 
divided  up  and  apportioned  among  his  chil- 
dren, there  now  being  (1908)  one  hundred 
and  ninety-three  acres  in  the  home  place, 
which  are  kept  in  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion and  well  improved,  showing  that  a  man 
of  thrift  and  excellent  executive  ability  has 
had  the  management  of  it.  He  lives  in  a 


modern,  substantial  and  very  comfortable 
dwelling,  surrounded  by  convenient  out- 
buildings, and  everything  denotes  prosperity 
about  the  place. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mary  Atkins  on  April  n,  1861,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Atkins,  natives  of 
Georgia  and  Tennessee,  respectively,  and  to 
this  union  the  following  children  have  been 
born,  named  in  order  of  birth :  Fannie,  who 
married  Isem  Lansford  and  had  four  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  is  living;  Ayers  married 
Maggie  Door  and  has  four  children,  all  liv- 
ing ;  Polly  married  Noble  Neeper  and  is  the 
mother  of  eight  children,  all  living ;  Mar- 
garette  married  Guy  Neeper  and  has  one  liv- 
ing child ;  Eli  married  Vinda  Owens  and  has 
six  living  children;  Ida  married  Mel  Gray 
and  has  three  living  children,  one  having 
died;  Martha  married  Francis  Reese  and 
has  one  child;  May,  Emmet,  Hulda  and 
Ruhe  are  all  deceased;  Ira  is  married  to 
Hattie  Hoovey  and  has  one  child. 

Politically  Mr.  Conant  is  a  Democrat  and 
he  has  been  School  Director  in  his  township, 
also  Road  Overseer.  In  religious  matters  he 
subscribes  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
faith,  although  he  was  reared  a  Methodist, 
to  which  creed  his  father  adhered. 

Our  subject  is  at  this  writing  sixty-nine 
years  old  and  is  well  preserved,  being  in 
fairly  good  health.  As  the  architect  of  his 
own  fortunes  he  has  builded  wisely  and  well 
and  the  success  that  crowns  his  efforts  is 
well  merited.  He  is  broad-minded,  liberal, 
progressive,  public  spirited  and  is  well 
known  and  highly  respected  in  the  commu- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    RKM 1XISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


nity  which  has  been  his  home  for  so  many 
years  and  where  he  has  done  so  much  faith- 
ful work,  which  has  resulted  in  good  not 
only  to  himself  and  family,  but  also  to  his 
neighbors  and  the  community  at  large. 


HENRY  GASSMANN. 

Among  the  progressive  and  enterprising 
business  men  of  Olney,  Illinois,  who  have 
achieved  a  definite  measure  of  success  in 
their  line  and  have  at  the  same  time  as- 
sisted materially  in  the  upbuilding  and  de- 
velopment of  their  section  of  the  county,  is 
Henry  Gassmann,  who  is  deserving  of  men- 
tion in  a  work  of  the  province  assigned  to 
the  one  at  hand  along  with  the  other  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Richland  county,  because  he 
has  led  a  life  that  is  highly  commendable  in 
every  respect. 

Henry  Gassmann,  the  well  known  whole- 
sale ice  cream  manufacturer  and  dealer  in 
soda  fountain  supplies,  was  born  in  New 
Albany,  Indiana,  April  22,  1868,  the  son 
of  Lewis  and  Caroline  (Spangler)  Gass- 
mann, natives  of  Germany,  who  came  to  the 
United  States  when  young  and  after  their 
marriage  in  New  York  state  they  located 
at  New  Albany.  During  the  Civil  war  they 
worked  in  a  bakery  and  after  its  close  began 
in  a  bakery  business,  which  they  continued 
successfully  until  1878,  when  they  came  to 
Olney,  where  they  established  a  similar  en- 
terprise, carrying  on  the  same  in  a  most 
gratifying  manner  until  the  death  of  the 


subject's  mother  August  2,  1895,  the  father 
surviving  until  December  21,  1902,  the  for- 
mer at  the  age  of  fifty-two  and  the  latter 
when  sixty-eight  years  old.  They  were  the 
parents  of  five  children,  three  boys  and  two 
girls,  the  subject  being  the  third  in  order  of 
birth.  These  children  received  every  atten- 
tion by  their  parents,  who  were  regarded  as 
people  of  the  best  grade  in  every  respect. 

Henry  Gassmann  was  reared  in  Olney, 
after  his  tenth  year,  having  received  a  fairly 
good  education  in  the  common  schools. 
When  twelve  years  old  he  went  to  work  in 
a  bakery  conducted  by  his  father  and  learned 
the  trade.  When  nineteen  years  old  he  start- 
ed out  for  himself  and  worked  at  his  trade 
for  three  years  at  various  places  in  Colorado 
and  New  Mexico.  Returning  to  Olney  he 
entered  the  employ  of  his  father,  continuing 
until  the  death  of  the  latter,  having  in  the 
meantime  acquired  an  interest  in  the  busi- 
ness and  made  himself  very  proficient  in  this 
profession.  On  October  31,  1902,  their  es- 
tablishment was  destroyed  by  fire  and  the 
loss  was  most  severe  since  no  insurance 
was  carried.  This  misfortune  was  followed 
in  December,  of  the  same  year,  by  the  death 
of  the  subject's  father.  Mr.  Gassmann  then 
purchased  such  interests  as  remained  from 
the  other  heirs  and,  nothing  daunted,  he 
started  in  a  small  way  in  the  confectionery 
and  ice  cream  business,  which  he  built  up 
by  patient  toil  and  careful  management  to 
large  proportions  and  became  prosperous.- 
In  the  meantime  he  had  built  up  an  exten- 
sive wholesale  trade  in  ice  cream  and  in 
August,  1906.  disposed  of  his  retail  inter- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


ests.  In  the  winter  following  Mr.  Gassmann 
built  his  present  handsome,  modern  and  con- 
venient brick  structure,  thirty-four  by  sev- 
enty-two feet  and  equipped  the  same  with  all 
the  necessary  appliances  of  latest  design, 
purchasing  all  the  up-to-date  machinery 
necessary  in  the  manufacture  of  ice  cream 
on  a  large  scale,  having  a  capacity  of  one 
thousand  gallons  a  day.  He  has  long  sup- 
plied a  heavy  trade  within  one  hundred 
miles  of  Olney,  and  new  territory  is  con- 
stantly being  added,  his  ice  cream  being 
eagerly  sought  after,  owing  to  its  high 
grade. 

Mr.  Gassmann  started  a  few  years  ago 
with  nothing  and  he  now  is  prosperous,  be- 
ing regarded  by  the  people  of  Olney  as  a 
good,  hustling,  all-round  busines  man.  He 
also  does  an  extensive  wholesale  business  in 
soda  water  supplies  in  the  way  of  syrups, 
crushed  fruits,  etc. 

Mr.  Gassmann  was  united  in  marriage  on 
November  7,  1894,  with  Carrie  B.  Goudy. 
a  native  of  Claremont  township,  Richland 
county,  the  daughter  .of  John  Goudy.  of  Ol- 
ney, who  for  many  years  was  a  prosperous 
farmer  in  Claremont  township.  Two  sons 
have  been  born  to  the  subject  and  wife; 
Zean  G.,  born  in  1896,  and  Louis  H.,  who 
is  ten  years  old  in  1908. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Republican, 
and  in  his  fraternal  relations  is  a  member 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
at  Olney. 

Mrs.  Gassmann  is  a  woman  of  refined 
tastes  and  a  worthy  representative  of  her 
noble  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  S.  and 


Mary  E.  (Dayton)  Goudy,  the  former  a 
native  of  Ohio  and  the  latter  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. They  were  married  in  Ohio  and 
came  to  Richland  county,  Illinois,  in  1865. 
The  present  solid  prosperity  of  Mr.  Gass- 
mann is  due  entirely  to  his  own  efforts,  di- 
rected along  honorable  channels,  and  today 
he  enjoys  an  enviable  standing  among  the 
leading  men  of  his  community  and  the  fact 
that  many  of  his  warmest  friends  are  those 
who  have  known  him  longest  is  proof  that 
his  life  has  been  straightforward  and  honest. 


JOHN  F.  DONOVAN. 

The  gentleman  to  a  review  of  whose  life 
and  characteristics  the  reader's  attention  is 
herewith  respectfully  invited,  is  among  the 
most  progressive  professional  men  of  Mar- 
ion county,  Illinois,  who  by  energy  and  cor- 
rect methods  has  not  only  achieved  success 
for  himself,  but  has  also  contributed  in  a 
very  material  way  to  the  commercial,  indus- 
trial, civic  and  moral  advancement  of  his 
place  of  residence.  In  the  course  of  an 
honorable  career  he  has  established  himself 
in  a  liberally  remunerative  enterprise  and 
won  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellow 
citizens. 

John  F.  Donovan  was  born  in  New  York 
City  November  i,  1847,  the  son  °f  William 
and  Mary  Donovan.  The  lineage  of  this 
family,  as  the  name  implies,  is  traced  to 
Ireland,  the  father  of  the  subject  having 
been  born  there.  He  was  a  longshoreman, 
and  was  called  from  his  earthly  labors  when 


P.10GKAIMIICAL    AXI)    KK.M  I . \ISCK.\T     HISTORY    OF 


our  subject  was  young.  The  mother  of  the 
subject  was  also  born  in  the  Emerald  Isle, 
and  passed  away  comparatively  young  in 
life.  They  were  Roman  Catholics  and  peo- 
ple of  sterling  qualities  and  fine  traits.  They 
became  the  parents  of  two  children. 

John  F.  Donovan,  our  subject,  was  placed 
in  the  Juvenile  Asylum  in  New  York  City, 
where  he  remained  for  about  five  years,  or 
until  he  was  twelve  years  old.  He  was  then 
bound  to  a  farmer  in  Randolph  county,  Illi- 
nois. After  remaining  in  his  new  home  for 
about  eighteen  months  he  took  a  leave  of 
absence  and  never  returned. 

In  1862  our  subject,  feeling  that  he  could 
not  conscientiously  stand  idly  by  and  see  the 
nation  in  the  throes  of  rebellion,  enlisted  in 
1862  in  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and 
Tenth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which 
he  served  for  six  months,  when,  greatly  to 
his  regret,  it  became  necessary  to  drop  his 
name  from  the  company's  roll  on  account  of 
physical  disability ;  but  he  later  re-enlisted  in 
Company  C,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  at 
Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  and  served  with  dis- 
tinction until  the  close  of  the  war,  taking 
part  in  many  hot  engagements  and  famous 
battles.  He  was  honorably  discharged.  His 
regiment  was  sent  to  Little  Rock,  Arkansas, 
after  the  grand  review  at  Washington,  and 
was  finally  mustered  out  at  Springfield,  Illi- 
nois, in  August,  1865. 

After  his  career  in  the  army  Mr.  Donovan 
came  to  Centralia,  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
where  he  remained  for  about  six  years,  then 
came  to  Kinmundy,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. He  was  always  a  close  observer  and 


a  diligent  student,  and  early  in  life  decided 
that  the  law  should  be  his  profession,  con- 
sequently he  began  the  study  of  the  same 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1874,  since 
which  time  he  has  devoted  himself  almost 
exclusively  to  the  practice  of  law,  winning  a 
great  reputation  throughout  this  and  adjoin- 
ing counties  as  a  learned,  able  and  careful 
exponent  of  this  profession,  never  erring  in 
his  cool  calculating  manner  in  drawing  or 
presenting  a  case,  whether  criminal  or  civil, 
and  he  is  also  known  as  an  orator  of  no 
mean  ability.  His  success  was  instantane- 
ous and  his  office  has  always  been  filled  with 
clients. 

Our  subject  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
Kinmundy,  first  in  1877,  having  served  in  a 
most  acceptable  manner  for  eight  years  and 
was  removed  by  President  Cleveland.  He 
was  re-appointed  in  1902  and  is  still  ably 
serving  in  that  capacity.  He  has  been  mayor 
of  Kinmundy  at  different  times  for  fifteen 
years.  He  was  instrumental  in  organizing 
the  Marion  County  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, being  at  the  head  of  the  Reunion  As- 
sociation. He  has  served  as  inspector 
general  of  Illinois  on  the  national  staff,  also 
on  the  department  staff,  also  chief  mustering 
officer  for  Illinois.  Mr.  Donovan  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Southern  Illinois  Emigration 
and  Improvement  Association,  also  officer 
of  the  day  of  the  Southern  Illinois  Reunion 
Association.  He  has  held  various  offices  in 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Mr.  Donovan  was  united  in  marriage  No- 
vember 3,  1880,  to  Ellen  King,  a  native  of 
Marion  county,  the  daughter  of  John  B. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


and  Rebecca  J.  (Evans)  King,  a  highly  re- 
spected and  influential  family  whose  people 
were  from  Ohio.  Her  father  was  a  soldier 
in  the  Civil  war,  from  Illinois,  having  been 
a  member  of  Company  A,  Eighty-eighth 
Chicago  Board  of  Trade  Regiment,  in  which 
he  served  throughout  the  war. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Donovan  have  no  children. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  our  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  having 
filled  all  the  chairs  in  the  local  lodges,  and 
he  has  been  representative  of  these  lodges  in 
the  grand  lodges. 

Mrs.  Donovan  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church. 

Mr.  Donovan  is  a  man  of  distinct  and 
forceful  individuality,  of  marked  sagacity, 
of  indomitable  enterprise,  and  always  up- 
right in  his  dealings  with  his  fellow  men, 
loyal  and  faithful  to  every  trust  imposed  in 
him,  public-spirited,  and  in  manners  courte- 
ous and  kindly,  easily  approachable.  His 
career  has  ever  been  such  as  to  warrant  the 
trust  and  confidence  of  the  business  world, 
and  his  activity  in  industrial,  professional 
and  civic  lines  and  financial  circles  forms  no 
unimportant  chapter  in  the  history  of  Mar- 
ion county. 


SAMUEL  A.  STANFORD. 

The  subject  of  this  biographical  review  is 
one  of  the  eminent  men  of  Clay  county,  both 
in  business  and  civic  affairs,  whose  indom- 
itable courage,  persistent  and  aggressive  ef- 


forts and  his  excellent  management  have 
brought  to  him  the  prosperity  which  is  to- 
day his.  He  has  ever  stood  ready  to  do 
what  he  could  in  pushing  forward  the  wheels 
of  progress  and  advancing  commercial  pros- 
perity in  this  vicinity  and  his  career,  both 
public  and  private,  has  been  one  worthy  of 
the  high  esteem  and  praise  which  those  who 
know  him  so  freely  accord. 

Samuel  A.  Stanford,  the  popular  County 
Treasurer  of  Clay  county,  was  born  in  Stan- 
ford township,  this  county,  October  25, 
1867,  and,  unlike  many  of  his  contempora- 
ries who  sought  precarious  fortune  in  other 
fields,  he  has  been  contented  to  remain  at 
home.  He  is  the  son  of  Oren  \Y.  Stanford, 
who  was  also  a  native  of  Stanford  township, 
having  lived  all  his  life  on  a  farm  there.  He 
was  a  member  of  Company  A,  Ninety-eighth 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  about 
two  years  in  the  Civil  war.  He  died  when 
our  subject  was  twelve  years  old,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1879.  Samuel  A.  Stanford,  the  sub- 
ject's grandfather,  was  of  Scotch-Irish 
stock,  having  migrated  from  his  homestead 
reservation  in  Pennsylvania  to  Illinois,  when 
a  young  man,  being  one  of  the  first  settlers 
in  Clay  county,  having  located  on  a  farm 
in  Stanford  township,  which  he  purchased 
from  the  government  on  which  he  lived  until 
his  death  in  January  1879.  The  subject's 
mother  was  known  in  her  maidenhood  as 
Mary  Michaels,  whose  people  were  natives 
cf  Indiana.  She  is  at  this  writing  living  in 
Flora.  The  parents  of  the  subject  were 
always  known  to  be  people  of  much  sterling 
worth.  Their  family  consisted  of  the  fol- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AXD    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


lowing  children :  Mrs.  Emma  Dunmoyer, 
of  Flora,  this  county ;  Samuel  A..,  our  sub- 
ject; John  and  James  are  twins,  the  former 
living  in  Piedmont,  Missouri,  and  the  latter 
in  Flora,  this  state;  Mrs.  Bertha  Thomas, 
of  Flora ;  Mary  died  in  infancy ;  Charley  O. 
lives  in  Odin,  Illinois,  where  he  is  in  the 
mercantile  business. 

Mr.  Stanford  spent  his  boyhood  days  on 
a  farm,  where  he  attended  the  country 
schools,  later  attending  the  high  school  at 
Flora,  but  at  the  death  of  his  father  he  gave 
up  schooling  and  went  to  work  on  the  farm. 
In  1892  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Flora,  which  was  a  success  from  the 
first.  His  was  a  grocery  business  and  the 
manufacture  of  cigars  and  tobacco,  having 
been  thus  engaged  for  about  thirteen  years, 
his  business  having  constantly  grown  until 
he  had  an  extensive  trade  throughout  this 
locality.  Then  he  sold  out  for  the  purpose 
of  making  the  race  for  County  Treasurer 
in  1906,  on  the  Republican  ticket,  to  which 
office  he  was  duly  elected  and  is  at  this 
writing,  1908,  very  creditably  serving,  with 
entire  satisfaction  to  everyone  concerned, 
being  regarded  by  members  of  both  parties 
as  one  of  the  best  county  officials  Clay  coun- 
ty ever  had.  He  has  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  affairs  of  the  office  and  is  courteous 
and  obliging  to  everyone  with  whom  he 
deals,  thereby  rendering  himself  popular 
with  all  classes. 

Mr.  Stanford  was  united  in  marriage 
November  25,  1890,  to  Opha  Dedrick, 
daughter  of  Perry  Dedrick,  of  Loogootee, 
Indiana,  and  to  this  union  have  been  born 


eight  children,  namely:  Eulalie,  Hallie,  Or- 
ren  Perry;  Samuel  A,,  the  fourth  child  is 
deceased;  Robert  Leland,  Lester,  William 
and  Edwin.  These  children  are  receiving 
good  educations  and  careful  home  training 
and  they  all  give  promise  of  successful  ca- 
reers. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Stanford  is 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order  at  Louis- 
ville; the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Flora,  and 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at 
Flora;  also  the  Woodmen  at  Louisville,  and 
the  Eastern  Star  at  Louisville.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  church  and  Mrs.  Stan- 
ford is  also  a  faithful  attendant  of  the  same. 

Mr.  Stanford  is  a  staunch  Republican  in 
politics,  and  since  moving  to  Louisville,  De- 
cember 26,  1906,  he  has  taken  much  interest 
in  the  development  of  the  town  and  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  representative  citizens 
of  the  place.  He  is  unswerving  in  his  al- 
legiance to  what  he  believes  is  right,  and 
upholds  his  honest  convictions  at  the  sacri- 
fice, if  need  be,  of  every  other  interest. 
Everything  calculated  to  advance  the  in- 
terests of  Clay  county,  whether  materially 
or  otherwise,  receives  his  support  and  hearty 
co-operation. 


EARL  C.  HUGGINS. 

Coupled  with  Mr.  Huggins'  innate  ability 
as  an  attorney,  his  unusual  clearness  of  per- 
ception, analytical  tact  and  soundness  of 
theory  is  his  courteous  manners,  persistency 


E.  C.  MUGGINS. 


Of  THE 

ttlNOIS. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


I03 


and  unswerving  integrity,  rendering  him 
one  of  the  strong  young  attorneys  of 
this  locality  and  one  of  the  successful  prac- 
titioners of  this  county,  and  to  him  the  fu- 
ture is  particularly  bright  owing  to  his  nat- 
ural ability  and  past  splendid  record. 

Earl  C.  Huggins,  whose  law  and  insur- 
ance office  is  located  in  Kinmundy,  Illinois, 
was'  born  in  Marion  county,  this  state,  Sep- 
tember 9,  1877,  and,  unlike  many  of  his 
early  companions  and  contemporaries,  who 
sought  precarious  fortunes  in  other  fields, 
most  of  them  finding  merely  the  will-o'-the- 
wisp  of  success,  Mr.  Huggins  preferred  to 
remain  on  his  native  heath,  believing  that 
greater  things  awaited  him  right  here  at 
home  than  could  be  found  otherwhere,  and, 
judging  from  the  success  which  has  attended 
his  efforts,  such  a  decision  was  a  most  for- 
tunate one  not  only  for  himself,  but  also  for 
the  people  of  this  vicinity.  He  is  the  son  of 
Steven  D.  and  Lena  (Crundwell)  Huggins, 
well  known  and  influential  family  for  many 
years  in  this  county.  Grandfather  Huggins 
was  a  Kentuckian,  having  come  to  Illinois, 
settling  in  this  county  on  a  farm  which  he 
purchased,  and  on  which  he  remained  dur- 
ing the  rest  of  his  life,  dying  here  at  the  age 
of  seventy-five  years.  His  widow,  a  grand 
old  lady  of  beautiful  Christian  character,  is 
still  living  in  1908,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety  years.  She  is  a  faithful  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church. 

Stephen  Huggins,  father  of  the  subject, 
was  born  in  Marion  county,  this  state,  at- 
tending the  public  schools  here,  working  on 
his  father's  farm  until  he  became  of  age, 


when  he  was  married,  after  which  he  farmed 
for  a  time  with  much  success,  then  moved  to 
Kinmundy  and  followed  teaming,  later  en- 
gaging in  the  coal  mining  business  in  this 
vicinity,  being  still  interested  in  mining. 
His  residence  is  in  Kinmundy. 

Mrs.  Lena  Huggins,  mother  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  brought  to  America  from  England 
when  a  child,  and  her  people  eventually  set- 
tled at  Salem,  this  county,  where  her  parents 
died  when  she  was  young.  She  attended  the 
public  schools  in  Salem,  where  she  remained 
until  the  age  of  sixteen.  After  the  death  of 
her  parents  she  was  taken  into  the  family  of 
Wily  Cunningham,  who  was  a  soldier,  hav- 
ing been  killed  in  battle  during  the  Civil 
war.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Cunningham 
his  widow  married  again,  her  second  hus- 
band having  been  Mr.  Samuel  Jones.  They 
moved  to  Stevenson  township,  Marion 
county,  where  our  subject's  mother  re- 
mained until  her  marriage. 

The  following  children  have  been  bom  to 
the  subject's  parents:  Roy,  whose  date 
of  birth  occurred  March  21,  1876,  is  a  pain- 
ter by  trade,  living  at  Granite  City,  Madi- 
son county,  Illinois;  and  Earl  C.,  our 
subject. 

Earl  C.  Huggins  received  his  early  edu- 
cation in  Kinmundy,  graduating  from  the 
high  school  here  in  1897,  after  making  a 
brilliant  record  for  scholarship.  Following 
this  he  clerked  in  the  post-office  for  one 
year,  then  he  acted  as  clerk  in  a  grocery 
store  for  a  period  of  one  year,  being  an  effi- 
cient clerk  in  both,  but  believing  that  his 
true  calling  lay  along  more  worthy  planes, 


io4 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


he  began  the  study  of  law  under  Judge  C. 
H.  Holt,  at  that  time  a  resident  of  Kin- 
mundy,  being  County  Judge  at  the  time.  He 
made  rapid  progress  in  his  studies  and  en- 
tered the  Illinois  Wesleyan  University,  Col- 
lege of  Law,  from  which  he  graduated  high 
in  his  class  in  1903,  having  won  a  record  as 
one  of  the  ablest  pupils  that  ever  passed 
through  this  well  known  institution.  After 
leaving  the  law  school,  Mr.  Huggins  formed 
a  partnership  with  his  former  instructor, 
Judge  Holt,  the  partnership  being  a  particu- 
larly strong  one,  and  continuing  in  a  most 
successful  manner  until  August,  1904,  when 
the  judge  moved  to  Salem,  the  county  seat. 
Since  that  time  our  subject  has  continued 
the  practice  of  law  with  his  office  in  Kin- 
mundy,  but  the  volume  of  business  has  been 
very  large  for  one  man  to  handle.  However, 
Mr.  Huggins  has  ably  dispensed  with  it  all 
and  is  keeping  his  usual  large  number  of 
clients,  his  business  extending  well  over 
Marion  county  and  invading  surrounding 
counties,  being  general  in  its  nature.  He  is 
known  as  a  very  careful  and  conscientious 
worker. 

Although  Mr.  Huggins  does  not  aspire 
to  positions  of  official  preferment,  he  is  at 
present  serving  very  efficiently  as  city  attor- 
ney of  Kinmundy,  being  in  his  second  term. 
In  politics  he  is  a  loyal  Republican,  and  his 
influence  can  always  be  depended  upon  in 
placing  the  best  men  in  the  county  offices 
and  in  support  of  all  movements  looking  to 
the  development  of  the  community  at  large, 
whether  political,  educational  or  moral. 

Fraternally  our  subject  is  affiliated  with 


the  Masonic  Order  and  the  Knights  of  Pyth- 
ias, .having  filled  the  chairs  in  the  latter,  and 
one  would  judge  from  a  study  of  his  daily 
life  that  he  advocates  the  sublime  principles 
of  these  praiseworthy  orders. 


BENNETT  M.  MAXEY. 

The  efforts  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
have  proven  of  the  greatest  value  to  his  fel- 
low citizens  as  well  as  to  himself.  He  has 
shaped  his  career  along  worthy  lines,  and 
they  have  been  discerningly  directed  along 
well  defined  channels  of  endeavor.  He  is  a 
m!an  of  distinct  and  forceful  individuality, 
of  marked  sagacity,  of  undaunted  enterprise, 
and  in  manner  he  is  genial,  courteous  and 
easily  approached.  His  career  has  ever  been 
such  as  to  warrant  the  trust  and  confidence 
of  the  business  world  and  his  activity  in  in- 
dustrial, commercial  and  financial  circles, 
forms  no  unimportant  chapter  in  the  history 
of  Clay  county. 

Bennett  M.  Maxey,  publisher  of  the  Flora 
Journal,  was  born  in  Johnsonville,  Wayne 
county,  Illinois,  November  25,  1856,  the  son 
of  Joshua  C.  Maxey,  a  native  of  Jefferson 
county,  this  state,  where  he  spent  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  on  a  farm.  He  was  a  ser- 
geant in  Company  I,  Forty-eighth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  took  part  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Pittsburg  Landing,  siege  of  Vicks- 
burg  and  other  noted  battles.  He  was  killed 
while  in  service  at  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
near  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  regard- 
ed by  his  comrades  as  a  brave  and  gallant 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


105 


soldier.  Bennett  Maxey,  the  subject's  pa- 
ternal grandfather,  was  one  of  the  original 
settlers  of  Jefferson  county,  where  he  de- 
voted his  life  to  farming,  and  lived  to  an 
advanced  age.  Our  subject  is  a  descendant 
of  a  prominent  pioneer  family  of  Jefferson 
county.  The  subject's  mother  was  Elvira 
A.  Galbraith,  whose  people  were  early  set- 
tlers of  Wayne  county.  She  passed  to  her 
rest  in  1887.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joshua  C.  Max- 
ey were  the  parents  of  five  children,  three  of 
whom  are  living  at  this  writing.  They  are 
Bennett  M.,  Mrs.  Belle  Sanders,  of  Du 
Quoin,  Illinois,  and  Mrs.  Mattie  Vickrey, 
of  Missoula,  Montana. 

Mrs.  Maxey  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  Johnsonville,  Wayne  county,  and 
in  Xenia.  Clay  county.  He  also  attended 
school  in  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  having 
graduated  from  that  institution  in  1880, 
completing  the  teacher's  course.  After  leav- 
ing the  university  he  taught  school  for  five 
years.  In  1881  he  engaged  in  the  drug 
business  at  Xenia  which  he  conducted  until 
1887,  when  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  remained  for  four  years, 
engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  and 
ranching.  He  returned  to  Clay  county  in 
1889  and  located  in  Flora,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  was  associated  with  J. 
L.  Black  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance 
business  until  1898,  in  which  year  he 
launched  in  the  mercantile  business  in 
which  he  engaged  until  1904,  when  he 
bought  The  Southern  Illinois  Journal,  the 
leading  local  paper  of  Flora,  which  he  has 
continued  to  manage  up  to  this  writing 
with  increasing  success. 


Mr.  Maxey  has  other  interests  of  various 
natures,  being  interested  financially  in  sev- 
eral local  enterprises.  He  has  served  as 
City  Alderman,  during  which  time  he  looked 
well  to  the  city's  development  in  every  way 
possible. 

Mr.  Maxey  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1880,  to  Rosa  Tully,  of  Xenia,  a  native  of 
Clay  county.  No  children  have  been  born 
to  this  union. 

In  his  fraternal  relations,  our  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Masonic  Fraternity  and  the 
Order  of  Eastern  Star.  Both  he  and  Mrs. 
Maxey  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
church.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and 
always  loyal  to  its  policies.  His  paper  is  an 
important  factor  in  local  political  affairs.  It 
is  on  a  good  footing  and  the  plant  is  well 
equipped  and  modern,  having  a  cylinder 
press  and  gas  power.  Mr.  Maxey  owns  the 
building  in  which  the  plant  is  located,  and 
he  also  owns  his  residence  property.  He 
deserves  a  great  deal  of  credit  for  what  he 
has  accomplished,  for  his  success  in  the  va- 
rious lines  of  business  he  has  followed  has 
been  won  in  the  face  of  obstacles  and  by  his 
unaided  efforts. 


A.  W.  SONGER. 

Our  subject  possesses  untiring  energy,  is 
quick  of  perception,  forms  his  plans  readily 
and  is  determined  in  their  execution;  his 
close  application  to  business  and  his  excel- 
lent management  have  brought  to  him  the 


niOGKAPHICAL    AX1)    KKM  IX  ISCK.Vf     HISTORY    OF 


high  degree  of  prosperity  which  is  today 
his.  Mr.  Songer  was  one  of  the  brave  sons 
of  the  North  who  offered  his  services  and 
his  life,  if  need  be,  in  the  suppression  of  the 
great  rebellion  during  the  dark  days  of  the 
sixties,  which  render  it  fitting  that  he  should 
be  given  conspicuous  notice  in  the  present 
historical  work. 

A.  W.  Songer,  the  well  known  and  popu- 
lar president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Kinmundy,  Illinois,  was  born  in  Clay 
county,  this  state,  November  2,  1832,  the 
son  of  Frederick  and  Jane  (Helms)  Songer, 
a  sterling  pioneer  family  of  that  locality. 
Grandfather  Songer  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, a  fine  old  southern  gentleman.  He 
devoted  his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
eventually  moving  to  Indiana  where  he 
spent  the  balance  of  his  days.  His  marriage 
occurred  in  Virginia  and  most  of  his  family 
were  born  there.  He  was  called  from  his 
earthly  career  when  about  sixty  years  old. 
He  was  a  Lutheran  in  his  religious  affilia- 
tions. Eight  children  were  born  to  this 
family,  one  of  them  having  become  a  soldier 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  Grandmother 
Songer,  a  woman  of  many  strong  attributes, 
survived  her  husband  until  she  reached  the 
advanced  age  of  eighty  years.  Grandfather 
Helms  was  also  a  native  of  Virginia,  who 
moved  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and  from 
there  to  Tennessee,  where  he  worked  at  his 
trade  of  blacksmith.  Charles,  one  of  his 
sons,  moved  to  Indiana,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  having  lived  many 
years  near  Indianapolis.  The  balance  of 
the  family  were  early  settlers  in  Illinois  and 


from  here  scattered  to  the  western  states, 
principally  to  Nebraska  and  Texas.  One  of 
them  was  a  soldier  in  the  Black  Hawk  war 
and  another  fought  in  the  Mexican  war. 
The  Songer  family,  represented  by  the 
great-grandmother  of  our  subject,  was 
from  Germany.  The  great-great-grand- 
father of  the  subject  died  in  Germany,  his 
widow  coming  to  America  shortly  after  his 
death,  one  of  her  children  dying  on  the 
ocean  on  the  way  over.  She  settled  in 
Virginia. 

The  father  of  the  subject  remained  in 
Virginia  until  he  was  about  twenty-two 
years  old.  He  received  only  such  education 
as  the  public  schools  afforded  at  that  early 
day.  However,  he  became  a  well  informed 
man.  He  was  a  carpenter  and  builder  of 
considerable  note.  He  lived  for  some  time 
in  Indiana,  where  he  was  married,  later 
moving  to  Illinois  about  1821,  settling  in 
Clay  county,  where  he  remained  until  1835, 
when  he  moved  to  Marion  county,  entering 
about  two  hundred  acres  of  land  from  the 
government  which  he  transformed  into  a 
fine  farm  through  his  habits  of  industry  and 
skill  as  an  agriculturist,  living  on  this  until 
1872,  in  which  year  he  moved  to  Kinmundy, 
where  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-three 
years,  owning  an  excellent  farm  which  he 
left  as  an  estate.  He  became  a  man  of 
considerable  influence  in  his  community. 
He  was  an  active  and  loyal  member  of  the 
Methodist  church  as  was  also  his  wife. 
He  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  For  a  time  he  owned  and 
successfully  operated  a  saw  and  grist  mill. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


There  were  ten  children  in  this  family, 
seven  of  whom  lived  to  maturity.  A  brother 
of  our  subject,  Samuel  T.,  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Civil  war,  a  member  of  Company  G, 
Twenty-first  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry, 
having  served  for  three  years,  engaging  in 
all  the  campaigns  and  battles  of  his  regi- 
ment up  to  the  date  of  his  discharge  which 
was  at  the  termination  of  his  enlistment. 
He  is  living  in  1908  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  in  which  he 
takes  a  just  pride.  William  F.,  brother  of 
the  subject,  was  also  a  soldier,  having  per- 
formed conspicuous  service  in  the  Mexican 
war.  He  was  at  one  time  State  Representa- 
tive in  Oregon,  in  which  state  he  still  re- 
sides as  also  does  Samuel  T.,  another 
brother  of  the  subject,  living  at  Ashland. 

A.  W.  Songer,  our  subject,  received  his 
early  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Illinois.  Being  a  diligent  student  and  am- 
bitious from  the  start  he  has  become  well 
educated.  He  remained  on  the  home  farm 
assisting  his  father  with  the  work  about  the 
place  during  the  months  that  he  was  not  in 
school  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  old. 
Learning  the  carpenter's  trade,  he  followed 
this  for  three  years,  then  in  1861,  when  he 
felt  his  patriotic  zeal  inspired  as  the  result 
of  our  national  integrity  being  at  stake 
when  the  fierce  fires  of  rebellion  were  rag- 
ing in  the  Southland,  he  enlisted  in  Company 
G,  Twenty-first  Illinois  Volunteer  Regi- 
ment, having  been  mustered  in  as  second 
lieutenant  and  was  soon  promoted  to  first 
lieutenant  and  consequently  served  as  an 
officer  of  that  regiment  for  four  years  and 


five  days  when  he  was  honorably  discharged 
at  the  close  of  the  war  in  1865,  after  having 
taking  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  follow- 
ing engagements:  Perryville,  Kentucky; 
Stone  River,  Tennessee;  Chickamaugua, 
having  been  captured  at  this  battle  and  was 
taken  to  Libby  prison,  where  he  remained 
three  months,  when  he  was  sent  to  prison 
at  Macon,  Georgia,  later  to  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  thence  to  Columbia,  South 
Carolina,  then  to  Wilmington,  North  Caro- 
lina, where  he  was  exchanged,  after  having 
been  a  prisoner  seventeen  months  and  eight 
days,  and  thirty  days  thereafter  he  was  mus- 
tered out  of  the  service  at  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Songer  returned  to  his 
home  in  Illinois  and  worked  at  his  trade  for 
a  time.  He  then  came  to  Kinmundy  and 
entered  into  the  milling  business  in  which  he 
continued  with  the  most  gratifying  results 
until  1907,  becoming  known  throughout  the 
locality  as  one  of  the  leading  men  in  this 
line  of  business.  He  sold  his  mill  and  de- 
voted his  attention  to  the  banking  business, 
in  which  he  has  been  eminently  successful. 
He  had  been  connected  with  the  State  Bank 
of  Kinmundy  for  some  time,  becoming 
president  of  the  same.  It  was  consolidated 
with  the  First  National  Bank,  becoming  the 
First  National  on  August  26,  1906,  the  date 
of  the  consolidation,  since  which  time  Mr. 
Songer  has  been  president.  This  is  one  of 
the  solidest  and  most  popular  institutions 
of  its  kind  in  this  part  of  the  state  and  its 
prestige  was  greatly  strengthened  when  Mr. 
Songer  became  its  head  for  the  public  at 


108 


I'.HHIKAl'IIICAL    AM)    RKMIXISCF.XT    HISTORY    OF 


once  realized  that  their  funds  would  be  en- 
tirely safe  in  his  hands  owing  to  his  con- 
servatism, coupled  with  his  peculiar  business 
sagacity,  and  since  then  the  business  of  the 
First  National  has  grown  steadily. 

The  domestic  life  of  our  subject  dates 
from  1868,  when  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Margaret  C.  Nelm,  of  Cairo,  Illinois, 
the  daughter  of  Norflett  and  Lydia  (Dick- 
ens) Nelm.  Her  paternal  ancestor,  Dick- 
ens, was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
which  rendered  the  wife  of  our  subject 
eligible  to  the  Order  of  Sons  and  Daughters 
of  the  American  Revolution.  The  grand- 
father of  the  subject's  wife  was  a  Bap- 
tist minister.  Her  father  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Black  Hawk  war.  One  of  her  brothers, 
N.  B.  Nelm,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war, 
having  served  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Three  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife  as  follows:  Mary  E.,  born 
December  25,  1871,  is  the  wife  of  J.  T. 
Brown,  of  Marion  county;  Frederick  is 
married  and  living  in  Kinmundy.  Neither 
of  them  have  children  of  their  own.  The 
third  child  of  the  subject  and  wife  died  in 
infancy. 

Mrs.  Songer  was  called  to  her  rest  Sep- 
tember 9,  1907,  after  a  most  happy  and  har- 
monious married  life  and  one  that  was 
beautified  by  Christian  character  and  many 
kind  and  charitable  deeds  which  made  her 
beloved  by  all  who  knew  her.  She  was  a 
loyal  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and 
a  member  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution,  of  which  order  Mary  E. 
(Songer)  Brown  was  also  a  member. 


Mr.  Songer,  as  might  be  expected,  is  a 
consistent  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  Post  255,  known  as  the  Hix 
Post.  He  is  now  commander  of  the  same. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  is  well 
grounded  in  his  political  beliefs,  his  influ- 
ence always  being  felt  for  the  good  of  his 
party  and  in  support  of  the  best  men  pos- 
sible for  local  offices.  He  has  never  aspired 
to  positions  of  trust  and  emolument  at  the 
hands  of  his  fellow  voters.  However,  he  has 
been  Alderman  of  the  city  of  Kinmundy 
several  times.  His  efforts  have  proven  of 
the  greatest  benefit  to  his  fellow  men  of 
Marion  county  as  well  as  to  himself. 


CHRISTIAN  HASLER. 

It  is  a  well  authenticated  fact  that  suc- 
cess comes  not  as  the  caprice  of  chance,  but 
as  the  legitimate  result  of  well  applied  en- 
ergy, unflagging  determination  and  perse- 
verance in  a  course  of  action  once  decided 
upon  by  the  individual.  Only  those  who 
diligently  seek  the  goddess  Fortuna,  find 
her — she  never  was  known  to  smile  upon 
the  idler  and  the  dreamer.  The  subject  of 
this  sketch  clearly  understood  this  fact  early 
in  life  when  he  was  casting  about  for  a  le- 
gitimate and  promising  line  to  follow,  and 
in  tracing  his  life  history  it  is  plainly  seen 
that  the  prosperity  he  enjoys  has  been  won 
by  commendable  qualities,  and  it  is  also  his 
personal  worth  which  has  gained  for  him 
the  good  standing  among  his  fellow  citizens 
of  Richland  countv. 


HIGHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


109 


Christian  Hasler,  the  well  known  harness 
and  saddle  manufacturer,  and  dealer  in 
hides,  fertilizers,  etc.,  of  Olney,  Illinois,  is  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  by  adoption 
only,  being  one  of  that  thrifty  class  from 
the  little  Republic  of  Switzerland,  who  has 
done  so  much  toward  promoting  our  insti- 
tutions, for  he  was  born  in  the  Canton  of 
Berne,  September  20,  1845,  the  son  of  Peter 
and  Margaret  (Von  Alman)  Hasler,  also 
natives  of  that  place.  The  father  was  a 
small  farmer  and  gardener  and  died  when 
the  subject  was  a  child.  The  Von  Almans 
were  also  farmers.  The  mother  came  to 
the  United  States  and  brought  a  family  of 
five  children  with  her,  having  come  direct 
to  Olney,  Illinois,  in  1857.  She  passed  to 
her  rest  here  in  1865.  Our  subject  was 
twelve  years  old  when  he  came  to  Olney. 
He  worked  on  a  farm  in  the  summer  and 
attended  school  in  the  winter.  He  had  lim- 
ited opportunities  to  attend  school,  but  he 
gained  a  fairly  good  foundation  for  an  edu- 
cation which  he  has  since  added  to  by  home 
study  and  contact  with  the  business  world. 

Mr.  Hasler  early  decided  to  learn  the  har- 
ness business  and  in  the  fall  of  1863  he  was 
apprenticed  to  a  harness  maker  at  Clare-* 
mont,  where  he  worked  faithfully  until  the 
spring  of  1865,  when  he  felt  it  his  duty  to 
no  longer  repress  the  feeling  that  he  should 
stand  by  the  Union  in  its  hour  of  sore  trial, 
consequently  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  One 
Hundred  and  Fifty-fifth  Regiment  Illinois 
Volunteers,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war  in  a  most  gallant  manner,  having  been 
mustered  out  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee, 
in  September,  1865.  He  did  duty  at  Nash- 


ville, Tullahoma,  and  Murfreeboro,  having 
been  on  guard  duty  the  major  part  of  the 
time  on  the  railroads. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Hasler  returned  to 
Claremcnt  township,  and  finished  learning 
his  trade,  and  in  1867,  he  opened  a  harness 
shop  in  Olney,  which  he  has  conducted  con- 
tinuously since  that  time.  It  is  among  the 
oldest  established  businesses  in  Olney,  and 
the  oldest  in  this  line  in  the  county.  It  has 
become  generally  known  throughout  the  lo- 
cality and  his  trade  has  been  lively  from 
the  first,  numbering  his  customers  by  the 
hundreds  all  over  the  county.  He  has  not 
only  made  a  comfortable  living  from  his 
shop  from  year  to  year,  but  has  been  en- 
abled to  lay  by  a  competency  for  his  old  age. 

Mr.  Hasler  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1869  to  Susan  Bohren.  a  native  of  Berne, 
Switzerland,  who  came  to  the  United  States 
with  her  father,  Christian  Bohren,  when  six 
years  old.  locating  in  Olney.  Her  father 
was  a  carpenter  and  died  here.  Her  mother 
died  in  Switzerland  and  Mr.  Bohren  remar- 
ried in  the  United  States.  Xine  children 
have  been  born  to  the  subject  and  wfe,  three 
of  whom  died  in  infancy.  Those  living  are : 
Sue ;  Robert,  who  is  in  the  harness  business 
in  Vandalia ;  Laura,  the  wife  of  E.  S.  Hoog, 
who  resides  in  Chicago;  Rosilla;  Ellen  is 
the  wife  of  J.  W.  Mayhood,  of  Chicago: 
Charles  Edward. 

Mr.  Hasler  always  handles  a  good  grade 
of  material  and  the  work  he  turns  out  is  high- 
class.  He  has  a  carefully  selected  stock  and 
never  loses  a  customer  as  a  result  of  handling 
inferior  goods  or  unfair  treatment. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Bryan  Demo- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


crat.  He  served  as  Supervisor  on  the  County 
Beard  for  two  terms,  from  the  third  ward, 
which  is  strongly  Republican ;  this  fact  shows 
that  the  subject  is  popular  and  well  liked  in 
his  own  neghborhood.  He  was  the  only  Dem- 
ocrat ever  elected  from  that  ward  to  that  po- 
sition. In  his  fraternal  relations  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Blue  Lodge  and 
Chapter,  also  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America.  He  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  German  Reformed  church  and  no 
members  of  that  congregation  stand  higher 
in  general  favor  than  they,  for  they  are  re- 
garded as  scrupulously  honest,  kind  and  wor- 
thy citizens  in  every  respect,  numbering  their 
friends  by  the  score. 


JAMES  HENRY  KIMBERLIN. 

Upon  the  roll  of  representative  citizens 
and  prominent  and  influential  business  men 
of  Marion  county  consistently  appears  the 
name  which  initiates  this  paragraph.  He 
has  been  a  resident  of  Salem  for  many  years, 
during  which  time  he  has  gradually  won  his 
way  into  the  affections  of  the  people,  for 
he  possesses  those  sterling  qualities  of  char- 
acter which  commend  themselves  to  persons 
of  intelligence  and  the  highest  morality,  so 
it  is  no  cause  for  wonder  that  he  has 
achieved  so  high  a  position  in  the  general 
estimation  of  all  who  have  come  in  touch 
with  him.  For  many  years  he  was  a  pro- 
fessional man,  gaining  wide  popularity  in 
this  manner,  but  he  is  now  rendering  effici- 
ent service  at  the  Salem  post-office. 


James  Henry  Kimberlin  was  born  in 
Richland  county,  Illinois,  January  18,  1860, 
the  son  of  W.  O.  Kimberlin,  a  native  of  In- 
diana, having  been  born  February  2.  1826, 
near  Scottsburg,  Scott  county.  He  left  In- 
diana and  came  to  Richland  county,  Illinois, 
in  1856,  settling  on  a  farm  where  he  be- 
came known  as  one  of  the  progressive  agri- 
culturists of  that  community  and  made  a 
comfortable  living  until  the  year  1884, 
when  he  was  called  from  his  earthly  labors 
by  the  "grim  reaper".  His  widow,  who  was 
Hannah  E.  Reed,  born  near  Salem,  Wash- 
ington county,  Indiana,  October  31,  1825, 
a  woman  of  many  praiseworthy  traits,  is 
living  on  the  old  homestead  there  at  this 
writing  (1908),  being  eighty-three  years 
old,  yet  able  to  do  her  own  house  work. 
Her  long  life  has  been  one  of  self-sacrifice 
for  the  good  of  her  family  and  others  so  that 
now  in  her  serene  old  age  she  can  look  back 
over  the  years  without  cause  for  regret.  The 
father  of  our  subject  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Union  ranks  during  the  great  Civil  war, 
having  been  a  member  of  Company  F, 
Forty-sixth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry.  He 
was  with  Grant  at  Vicksburg  and  was  in 
many  other  important  battles.  He  was  in 
the  hospital  service  for  some  time,  also  did 
general  duty  at  New  Orleans,  having  re- 
mained in  the  service  up  to  January  12, 
1866,  when  he  was  discharged  at  Baton 
Rouge,  Louisiana,  and  arrived  home  Febru- 
ary 2d,  following  which  was  his  fortieth 
birthday.  He  had  two  brothers  killed  in 
battle  during  this  war.  Their  names  were 
Daniel  and  Jacob.  Another  brother,  Isaac 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


M.,  went  through  the  service  in  the  Seventh 
and  Eleventh  Missouri  Volunteer  Infantry, 
having  been  a  member  of  Company  G.  Dr. 
H.  L.  Kimberlin,  another  brother  of  the 
subject's  father,  who  is  now  living  at 
Mitchell,  Indiana,  was  a  Government  Re- 
porter on  Governor  Morton's  staff. 

The  paternal  grandfather  of  the  subject 
was  Jacob  Kimberlin,  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  came  to  Indiana  when  a  young 
man.  He  devoted  his  life  to  farming  and 
died  about  1871.  He  was  well  known  about 
Greenfield,  where  he  operated  a  foil  gate, 
subsequent  to  the  war.  The  subject's  ma- 
ternal grandfather  was  Joseph  Reed,  of 
Scotch-English  ancestry. 

Eight  children  were  born  to  the  parents 
of  the  subject,  only  two  of  whom  are  now 
living.  George  W.,  the  subject's  only  living 
brother,  is  living  at  Noble,  Richland  county, 
with  his  mother  on  the  old  farm.  Among 
the  papers  held  by  the  Kimberlins  is  the 
original  land  grant  by  the  government  for 
their  old  homestead  made  to  Joseph  Reed 
and  signed  by  President  Franklin  Pierce. 

James  Henry  Kimberlin,  our  subject, 
spent  his  boyhood  on  the  parental  farm  in 
Richland  county  where  he  performed  his 
part  of  the  work  about  the  place  from  year 
to  year  after  he  reached  the  age  when  he 
could  be  of  valuable  service  to  his  father. 
He  attended  the  neighboring  schools  in  the 
meantime  where  he  applied  himself  in  a 
manner  which  insured  a  good  education. 
After  leaving  school  and  working  at  vari- 
ous minor  employments  for  several  years 
he  finally  accepted  a  position  as  commercial 


traveler  which  he  followed  with  marked 
success  for  three  and  one-half  years,  giving 
entire  satisfaction  to  his  employers,  when, 
much  to  their  regret  he  was  compelled  to 
tender  his  resignation  on  account  of  tem- 
porary ill  health.  After  this  our  subject 
took  up  the  study  of  ophthalmology,  which 
he  decided  should  be  his  life  work,  conse- 
quently he  made  rapid  progress  in  this  work, 
having  attended  the  Northern  Illinois  Col- 
lege of  Ophthalmology  at  Chicago,  from 
which  institution  he  graduated  with  high 
honors  with  the  degree  of  Fellow  of  Optics 
in  1892.  He  at  once  began  practice  and 
his  success  was  instantaneous,  having  prac- 
ticed at  Olney,  Shelbyville  and  Salem,  hav- 
ing established  his  business  in  the  last  named 
city  in  1900,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  this  city.  His  work  in  this  line 
was  always  considered  first  class  and  he 
achieved  wide  popularity  in  the  same. 

Mr.  Kimberlin  was,  however,  induced  to 
give  up  his  profession  to  become  deputy 
post-master  of  this  city,  which  position  he  is 
filling  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  con- 
cerned, showing  that  he  has  rare  executive 
as  well  professional  ability. 

Mr.  Kimberlin  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Eva  Myers,  November  19,  1903,  the  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Theodore  Myers,  of  luka,  Illi- 
nois, and  the  accomplished  representative  of 
a  well  known  family.  One  child,  a  bright 
and  interesting  lad,  bearing  the  name  of 
James  Henry  Kimberlin,  Jr.,  was  born  to 
the  subject  and  wife  May  4,  1905. 

Mrs.  Kimberlin  is  one  of  a  family  of  five 
children.  One  child  died  after  reaching  ma- 


lilOCKAPIIlCAL    AND    RK.M  IXISCKXT    HISTORY    OK 


turity.    Theodore  Myers  was  a  farmer,  and 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war. 

In  his  political  affiliations  our  subject  is  a 
strong  Republican,  and  he  is  a  well  informed 
man  on  political  and  all  current  questions. 
He  is  a  Protestant  in  his  religious  belief.  He 
is  recognized  as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity 
and  of  strong  convictions  as  to  all  matters 
affecting  the  best  interests  of  the  community 
and  is  always  found  on  the  right  side  of 
every  moral  issue. 


WILLIAM  GILLHAM  WILSON. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  occupies  today 
a  prominent  position  in  the  professional 
world  of  Marion  and  adjoining  counties  and 
he  deserves  all  the  more  credit  for  this  from 
the  fact  that  he  started  out  in  life  practically 
empty  handed,  therefore  has  been  the  archi  - 
tect  of  his  own  fortunes,  relying  almost  sole- 
ly upon  his  own  resources  for  the  start 
which  lie  had  and  for  the  success  which  he 
has  achieved.  In  an  analyzation  of  his  char- 
acter we  find  many  elements  worthy  of  com- 
mendation and  emulation.  He  did  not  seek 
for  fortune's  favors,  but  set  out  to  win  them 
by  honest  work,  and  the  success  which  ever 
crowns  earnest,  honest  toil  is  today  his,  and 
he  easily  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  attor- 
neys in  this  locality,  which  has  long  been 
noted  for  its  high  legal  talent,  and  while  yet 
a  young  man,  vigorous  and  in  the  zenith  of 
his  mental  and  physical  powers,  he  is  rap- 
idly winning  his  way  to  a  position  of  much 
credit  and  significance  in  the  great  common- 
wealth which  he  can  claim  as  his  native  land , 


and  while  winning  his  way  gradually  up 
the  steeps  to  individual  success  he  has  not 
neglected  his  duties  to  his  fellow  citizens, 
but  has  benefited  very  materially  the  com- 
munity is  which  he  lives  in  many  ways, 
thereby  winning  and  retaining  the  well  mer- 
ited esteem  of  all  classes. 

William  G.  Wilson  was  born  in  Madison 
county,  Illinois,  in  1872,  the  son  of  John  C. 
and  Elizabeth  (Gillham)  Wilson.  The  Wil- 
son family  has  long  been  prominent  and  in- 
fluential in  that  part  of  the  state.  Grand- 
father John  Wilson  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  came  to  Pike  county,  Ohio,  set- 
tling on  a  farm,  later  coming  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1846,  taking  up  one  thou- 
sand and  eight  hundred  acres  of  land  on  the 
prairie,  which  he  developed  until  it  became 
very  valuable,  still  holding  it  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  had 
reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-nine. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Wilson  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The 
latter  is  supposed  to  have  come  from  Ken- 
tucky. They  were  the  parents  of  a  large 
family.  Mr.  Wilson  was  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  some  time. 

John  C.  Wilson,  father  of  the  subject,  was 
born  in  Pike  county,  Ohio,  and  there  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  a  log  school- 
house  of  pioneer  days.  Leaving  the  Buck- 
eye state  he  came  to  Illinois,  settling  in  Ma- 
rion county  in  1852,  entering  land  from  the 
government.  He  had  about  seven  hundred 
acres  of  good  prairie  land,  which  he  devel- 
oped into  a  valuable  farm  and  which  is  now 
known  as  the  John  C.  Wilson  farm.  Here 
our  subject's  father  lived  until  his  death, 


LIBRARY 
Of  THE 

UNIVERSITY  Of  ILLINOIS. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


which  occurred  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven 
years.  He  was  a  man  of  many  sterling  traits 
of  character  and  bore  an  excellent  reputa- 
tion. Both  he  and  his  faithful  life  companion 
were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

Grandfather  Gillham  came  from  the  At- 
lantic coast  country  and  settled  in  Madison 
county,  Illinois,  during  the  earliest  epoch  of 
the  pioneer  days,  before  the  state  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Union,  and  when  wild  beasts 
and  red  men  roamed  the  hills  and  prairies. 
He  remained  there  until  his  death.  In  that 
locality  the  subject's  mother  was  reared  and 
was  married  there  in  the  early  sixties.  She 
came  to  Marion  county.  The  father  was 
twice  married,  the  name  of  his  first  wife 
being  Hults.  Eight  children  were  born  to 
this  union.  She  passed  to  her  rest  in  the 
fifties.  The  subject's  mother  was  John  C. 
Wilson's  second  wife,  who  bore  him  seven 
children,  four  of  whom  lived  to  maturity. 
The  mother  is  living  in  1908,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-four  years.  She  is  a  woman  of  many 
fine  personal  traits  and  beautiful  Christian 
character. 

William  G.  Wilson,  our  subject,  first  at- 
tended the  district  schools  in  Marion  coun- 
ty, working  on  his  father's  farm  in  the  mean- 
time. Being  ambitious  and  a  diligent  stu- 
dent, he  received  a  good  common  school  ed- 
ucation. Leaving  the  public  schools  when 
nineteen  years  old  he  entered  Austin  College 
at  Effingham,  Illinois,  where  he  made  a  bril- 
liant record  for  scholarship,  standing  high 
in  his  class. 

After  leaving  school  he  taught  school  for 


five  years,  devoting  five  years  also  to  teach- 
ing in  Champaign  county,  this  state,  where 
he  became  widely  known  as  an  able  instruc- 
tor and  where  his  services  were  in  great  de- 
mand. But,  believing  that  his  true  life  work 
lay  along  other  channels,  he  began  the  study 
of  law  with  Schaefer  &  Rhodes,  of  Cham- 
paign, under  whose  instruction  he  made 
rapid  progress.  He  was  then  admitted  to 
practice  at  Mt.  Vernon,  Illinois.  Mr.  Wil- 
son then  began  practice  at  Kinmundy,  be- 
ing remarkably  successful  from  the  first,  and 
it  was  plain  to  be  seen  that  an  attorney  of 
unusual  sagacity  and  innate  ability  had  risen 
to  command  the  attention  of  that  part  of  the 
state.  He  has  remained  in  practice  at  this 
place  since  that  time  with  the  most  gratify- 
ing results,  having  frequently  been  called  to 
other  localities  on  important  cases.  He  is 
cool  and  calculating,  never  erring  in  his  le- 
gal proceedings,  whether  handling  a  civil  or 
criminal  suit,  and  he  stands  high  in  the  esti- 
mation not  only  of  the  public  but  the  legal 
profession  throughout  this  part  of  Illinois. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  happily  married  April  7, 
1896,  to  Mollie  Poole,  a  native  of  this 
county  and  the  representative  of  a  prominent 
and  influential  family,  being  the  daughter  of 
Abraham  and  Martha  (Malone)  Poole.  Mr. 
Poole  was  born  and  reared  in  Marion  coun- 
ty. He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  being 
a  member  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  receiving  an 
honorable  discharge  after  serving  for  three 
years. 

Four  bright  and  interesting  children  have 
been  born  to  our  subject  and  wife  as  fol- 


IHOCUAPIIICAL    AND    RKM 1 X  ISCK.XT    HISTORY    OF 


lows :  Basil,  born  August  7,  1897,  who  is  at- 
tending the  public  schools  in  1908;  Russell 
was  born  October  22,  1899;  Ruth  was  born 
June  14,  1904;  Byron  first  saw  the  light 
January  u,  1906. 

The  beautiful  and  nicely  furnished 
home  of  the  subject  is  presided  over  with 
rare  grace  and  dignity  by  Mrs.  Wilson,  a 
woman  of  many  commendable  attributes, 
who  delights  in  giving  her  children  every 
care  and  attention. 

Fraternally  our  subject  is  affiliated  with 
the  Masonic  Order  and  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows,  having  passed  through 
the  chairs  of  the  latter  lodge.  In  politics  he 
is  a  loyal  Republican,  and  he  at  one  time  per- 
formed the  duties  of  Police  Magistrate,  with 
much  credit  to  himself  and  with  much  satis- 
faction to  all  concerned.  He  was  also  Tax 
Collector. 

Mr.  Wilson  belongs  to  the  class  of  citi- 
zens whose  lives  do  not  show  any  meteoric 
effects,  but  who  by  their  support  of  the  mor- 
al, political  and  social  status  for  the  general 
good,  promote  the  real  welfare  of  their  re- 
spective communities  and  are  therefore  de- 
serving of  honorable  mention  on  the  pages 
of  history. 


CALEB  F.  WIELAND. 

The  prominence  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  in  connection  with  the  industrial  and 
civic  affairs  of  Richland  county  is  such  that 
he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  busi- 
ness men  and  influential  citizens  of  this  lo- 


cality, being  identified  with  enterprises  of 
wide  scope  and  importance,  and  being 
known  as  a  progressive  and  public  spirited 
citizen.  The  apparent  ease  with  which  he 
has  mounted  to  his  present  commanding  po- 
sition in  the  commercial  world,  marks  him 
as  the  possessor  of  talents  beyond  the  ma- 
jority of  his  brethren,  and,  being  a  close  and 
critical  student  of  men  and  affairs,  he  ex- 
periences no  difficulty  in  sustaining  the  high 
reputation  which  his  business  talents  and 
marked  success  have  earned  for  him. 

Caleb  F.  Wieland,  a  member  of  the  hard- 
ware firm  of  Jolly,  Wieland  &  Richardson, 
one  of  the  best  known  and  extensive  firms 
of  this  nature  in  Southern  Illinois,  was  born 
in  Muscatine,  Iowa,  June  25,  1858,  the  son 
of  Frederick  and  Mary  (Eberhart)  Wie- 
land, natives  of  Canton  Berne,  Switzerland, 
where  they  were  reared  and  married,  soon 
afterward  coming  to  the  United  States,  lo- 
cating in  Muscatine.  The  subject's  father 
worked  there  for  many  years,  then  moved 
to  Jefferson  City,  Missouri.  He  enlisted  in 
a  Missouri  regiment  in  the  Union  army,  and 
served  for  more  than  three  years  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  saw  much  active  ser- 
vice and  was  in  numerous  engagements,  but 
was  not  wounded.  After  the  war  he  re- 
turned to  Jefferson  City,  Missouri,  and  in 
1866,  came  to  Olney,  Illinois,  where  he  lived 
until  his  death  in  1873,  at  the  age  of  fifty 
years.  His  wife  survived  him  several  years, 
dying  in  1896,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  They 
were  people  of  much  sterling  worth  and 
highly  honored  wherever  they  lived.  They 
were  the  parents  of  six  children,  four  of 


RICHLAN'D,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


whom  grew  to  maturity,  the  subject  being 
the  oldest  in  order  of  birth. 

Caleb  F.  Wieland  was  a  boy  when  he 
came  to  Olney,  where  he  was  reared  and 
where  he  received  a  limited  education,  hav- 
ing been  obliged  to  go  to  work  when  young 
and  help  support  the  family.  He  was  am- 
bitious and  fought  against  every  obstacle 
and  early  in  life  decided  to  take  up  the 
hardware  business,  consequently  when  sev- 
enteen years  old  he  entered  the  hardware 
store  of  William  Rhode  as  clerk  in  the  same 
building  where  he  is  now  interested,  and  he 
has  continued  in  this  line  ever  since  at  the 
same  location,  having  been  with  different 
firms  until  the  present  firm  was  organized 
in  1904,  when  he  became  a  partner.  They 
carry  a  stock  of  about  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars, consisting  of  all  kinds  of  hardware, 
carefully  selected  and  they  also  do  an  exten- 
sive plumbing,  heating,  tinware  and  galvan- 
ized iron  work,  their  trade  extending  to  all 
parts  of  the  county  and  is  always  on  the  in- 
crease, having  been  built  up  to  its  present 
large  proportions  very  largely  through  the 
•efforts  of  our  subject.  The  firm  occupies 
a  substantial  and  convenient  building  twen- 
ty-two by  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet, 
three  stories  in  height.  The  entire  building 
is  occupied.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  successful  lines  of  business  in  the 
county. 

Mr.  Wieland  was  united  in  mar- 
riage in  1888  to  Lulu  St.  John,  a  native 
of  Olney,  who  was  born,  reared  and  married 
in  the  same  house,  the  affable  and  genial 
daughter  of  M.  M.  and  Mira  Louise 


(Cralle)  St.  John,  who  were  among  the  pio- 
neers of  Richland  county,  and  people  of 
many  praiseworthy  traits. 

Five  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  namely:  Esther  Alean,  Ber- 
nice  May,  Gerald  Hazen,  Mary  Louise, 
Frank  Clifford,  all  bright  and  interesting 
with  promise  of  successful  futures. 

In  politics  Mr.  Wieland  is  a  loyal  Re- 
publican. He  very  ably  and  creditably 
served  as  Alderman  for  one  term  of  two 
years,  from  the  second  ward. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wieland  have  earned  and 
occupy  a  position  of  high  regard  in  their 
community,  being  numbered  among  the 
most  prominent  citizens  of  Olney  and  whose 
efforts  are  always  directed  toward  the  moral, 
social  and  material  uplifting  of  society 


GEORGE  COX. 

In  the  field  of  political  life,  teaching  and 
the  railroad  business  in  Marion  county,  Illi- 
nois, the  subject  of  this  sketch  has  won  dis- 
tinction, and  today  is  numbered  among  the 
leading,  influential  and  honored  citizens  of 
Salem.  He  has  figured  prominently  in  pub- 
lic affairs,  ever  lending  his  influence  in  the 
development  of  all  worthy  causes  looking  to 
the  development  of  the  locality  at  large,  be- 
ing an  advocate  of  progressive  measures. 
He  is  now  filling  the  position  of  Deputy 
County  Clerk  and  the  promptness  and 
fidelity  with  which  he  discharges  his  duties 
have  won  for  him  the  favorable  criticism  of 


u6 


BIOCK. \P1IIC.\L    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


leading    representatives     of    both    political 
parties. 

George  Cox  was  born  in  Parke  county, 
Indiana,  July  n,  1848,  and  came  to  luka, 
Illinois,  September  4,  1868.  His  father  was 
Alfred  Cox,  a  native  of  Ohio,  who  migrated 
to  Indiana  when  a  very  small  boy.  Joshua 
Cox,  grandfather  of  George  Cox,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  who  mi- 
grated to  Indiana  at  a  very  early  date  and 
entered  land  when  the  United  States  land 
office  was  at  Vincennes,  he  being  compelled 
to  go  to  Vincennes  to  make  his  payments, 
making  the  trip  on  horseback,  and  it  was  his 
custom  to  camp  and  hunt  on  the  way. 
Grandfather  Cox  was  a  farmer  -of  great 
ability  for  those  early  times.  His  widow 
survived  him  several  years.  George  W. 
Overpeck,  grandfather  of  the  subject  on 
his  mother's  side,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania. 
His  father  and  mother  having  died  in  early 
life  he  drifted  to  Hamilton  county,  Ohio, 
and  died  in  the  spring  of  1867,  having  been 
survived  several  years  by  his  widow.  They 
spent  their  lives  on  a  farm. 

The  father  of  the  subject  is  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Illinois  and  makes  his  home  among 
his  children  here  and  at  Shattuc,  this  state. 
The  mother  of  the  subject  was  known  in  her 
maidenhood  as  Mary  Overpeck,  a  native  of 
Ohio.  She  passed  to  her  rest  in  April,  1902, 
at  Shattuc,  Illinois,  at  the  home  of  her 
daughter.  Both  the  father  and  the  mother 
of  our  subject  were  the  oldest  representa- 
tives of  their  respective  families.  Following 
children  were  born  to  them,  seven  of  whom 
are  living  at  this  writing,  1908,  named  in 


order  of  birth  as  follows :  George,  our  sub- 
ject; Mary  Jane,  wife  of  P.  B.  Anderson, 
of  Shattuc,  Illinois ;  Sally  Ann,  wife  of  H. 
C.  Brown,  of  Vandalia,  Illinois;  John,  of 
Clinton  county,  near  Huey,  Illinois; 
Amanda,  deceased ;  Perry,  of  luka  township, 
this  county;  Warner,  of  Decatur,  Illinois; 
Eva,  deceased;  Julia  is  the  wife  of  Milton 
Andrews,  of  Ouray,  Colorado;  Libby  is  de- 
ceased as  are  also  the  last  two  children  born 
to  this  couple. 

George  Cox  was  reared  on  the  parental 
farm  in  Parke  county,  Indiana,  and  attended 
the  common  schools  there,  also  the  graded 
schools  by  working  mornings  and  evenings 
to  pay  his  tuition,  as  his  parents  were  poor 
and  could  not  defray  the  expenses  of  an  edu- 
cation for  our  subject,  but  he  was  possessed 
of  an  indomitable  will  and  forged  ahead 
despite  obstacles  winning  definite  success  in 
after  life  as  a  result  of  his  energy  and  per- 
sistency. After  completing  the  course  of 
study  laid  down  in  the  graded  schools  he  at- 
tended school  at  Rockville  for  a  time,  after 
which  he  taught  school  with  great  success 
for  several  years,  becoming  known  as  one 
of  the  able  educators  of  the  county  and  his 
services  were  in  great  demand.  He  con- 
tinued teaching  until  his  health  failed.  He 
then  went  to  railroading,  locating  in  luka 
September  4,  1868,  as  indicated  before.  He 
attended  school  that  winter  at  Xenia,  Illi- 
nois, passing  the  examination  for  teacher's 
license.  He  then  took  a  course  in  the  Wa- 
bash  Commercial  College  at  Vincennes,  In- 
diana, after  which  he  returned  to  railroading 
first  as  brakeman,  then  a  freight  conductor, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


117 


later  as  passenger  conductor  on  the  old  Ohio 
&  Mississippi  Railroad,  now  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio,  Southwestern  Railroad.  During 
all  these  years  of  railroad  service  he  would 
at  times  return  to  teaching  school  in  both 
Indiana  and  Illinois.  In  1880  our  subject 
moved  on  a  farm  in  luka  township  and  for 
twenty-one  consecutive  years  taught  school 
during  the  winter  months,  farming  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year.  He  made  a  success  of 
whatever  he  undertook  whether  it  was  farm- 
ing, teaching  or  railroading.  In  the  latter 
he  won  the  confidence  of  his  employers  who 
regarded  him  as  one  of  their  most  valuable 
employes. 

In  April,  1908,  Mr.  Cox  became  Deputy 
County  Clerk,  which  position  he  is  holding 
with  much  credit  to  his  innate  ability  and 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 

When  teaching  school  our  subject  was 
principal  of  the  luka  schools.  He  was  of- 
fered many  important  positions  as  a  teacher 
but  declined  as  he  desired  to  teach  near 
home  and  live  at  home. 

Mr.  Cox  was  united  in  marriage  in  1879 
to  Mary  E.  Young,  the  talented  and  accom- 
plished daughter  of  W.  J.  Young,  of  luka 
township,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Marion 
county.  Mr.  Young  was  an  influential  citi- 
zen and  served  as  a  lieutenant  during  the 
Civil  war. 

One  child  was  born  to  the  subject  and 
wife  who  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Cox  still  owns  a  valuable  farm  of 
eighty  acres  in  which  he  takes  a  great  inter- 
est, having  improved  it  up  to  a  high  stand- 
ard of  Marion  county's  valuable  farms,  it 


ranking  with  the  best  of  them.  It  is  located 
four  and  one-half  miles  southeast  of  luka. 
An  excellent  residence  and  several  substan- 
tial out  buildings  stand  on  the  place. 

Mr.  Cox  has  been  a  candidate  for  County 
Superintendent  of  Schools  at  different  times 
but  was  defeated  by  a  few  votes.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat.  In  his  fraternal  re- 
lations he  is  affiliated  with  the  Masons  at 
luka  and  is  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Modern  Woodmen.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cox  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  and  both  belong  to  the  Eastern 
Star. 


THOMAS  J.  CLARK. 

The  subject  of  this  biographical  review 
is  eminently  deserving  of  mention  in  a  com- 
pilation as  is  the  nature  of  this  one,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  his  has  been  an  active  life, 
fruitful  of  good  results  and  among  his 
friends  and  acquaintances  he  has  ever  held 
an  honorable  position. 

Thomas  J.  Clark,  publisher  of  The  Clay 
County  Democrat  and  one  of  the  men  of 
influence  in  this  part  of  the  great  Prairie 
state,  was  born  in  Hancock  county,  Indiana, 
August  4,  1853,  the  son  of  Aruna  Clark, 
who  was  a  native  of  Sevier  county,  Tennes- 
see, and  who  came  to  Indiana  when  twenty 
years  old,  settling  in  Rush  county.  He  was 
a  carpenter  and  a  minister,  thus  emulating 
the  life  of  the  lowly  Nazarene.  He  removed 
to  Shelby  county,  Illinois,  in  1860,  and  in 
1865  moved  to  Effingham  county,  this  state, 


n8 


I'.IOCRAl'UICAI.    AND    RKMIMSCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  March, 
1884.  The  Clark  family  originated  in  Ten- 
nessee. The  subject's  mother,  who  died  in 
1882,  was  Charlotte  Furman.  Her  mother 
was  a  native  of  Scotland  and  her  father  of 
Pennsylvania,  of  German  descent.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Aruna  Clark  were  the  parents  of  six 
children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
They  are,  Jonathan  E.,  of  Chattanooga, 
Tennessee;  Sarah  Arnold,  of  Tucumcari, 
New  Mexico;  Mrs.  Jennie  Wood,  of  Beech- 
er  City,  Illinois;  Thomas  J.,  the  subject. 

Thomas  J.  Clark  spent  his  early  life  in 
Efnngham  county,  this  state,  receiving  a 
limited  education  in  the  country  schools 
there,  and  later  attended  the  city  schools  of 
Effingham.  After  his  school  days  he  learned 
the  blacksmith  trade  at  which  he  worked 
for  eight  years.  He  then  clerked  in  a  gen- 
eral store  for  two  or  three  years,  after  which 
he  went  to  railroading,  which  he  followed 
up  to  February,  1908,  having  given  his  em- 
ployers entire  satisfaction  in  that  line  of 
work.  In  July,  1908,  Mr.  Clark  bought 
the  Clay  County  Democrat,  which  he  now 
conducts  in  a  manner  that  shows  him  to  be 
a  moulder  of  public  opinion,  his  paper  being 
a  power  for  good  in  Clay  county.  He  has 
a  good  plant,  well  equipped  and  his  paper 
is  well  edited  and  the  mechanical  appearance 
of  each  issue  shows  that  this  part  of  the 
work  is  well  looked  after.  Since  assuming 
charge  of  the  plant  the  circulation  of  The 
Democrat  has  increased  as  well  as  has  the 
advertising. 

Mr.  Clark  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary 
Lilley,  December  20,  1876.  She  was  born 


and  reared  in  Fayette  county,  Illinois,  and  to 
this  union  four  children  have  been  born; 
William  Edwin,  who  is  married  and  is  living 
at  Clarkson,  Washington;  Mrs.  Gertrude 
Roseberry,  of  Pana,  Illinois;  Mrs.  Caroline 
Myers,  of  East  St.  Louis;  Don,  a  linotype 
operator,  living  in  East  St.  Louis. 

Our  subject  served  one  term  as  school  di- 
rector at  Beecher  City,  Illinois,  and  was 
City  Clerk  of  Flora,  for  a  part  of  one  term, 
having  been  appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Clark  be- 
longs to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the 
Modern  Woodmen.  In  politics  he  is  a  loyal 
Democrat.  He  is  thoroughly  interested  in 
the  affairs  of  his  party  and  does  what  he 
can  in  furthering  the  policies  of  the  same. 


CHARLES  H.  WEST. 

The  early  pioneers  of  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  have  about  all  "crossed  the  great 
divide."  Year  by  year  their  numbers  have 
continued  to  diminish,  until  of  the  hundreds 
who  settled  here  in  the  twenties  and  thirties 
only  a  few  of  them  remain.  There  are,  how- 
ever, many  men  and  women  now  living  in 
the  county,  who,  though  coming  here  in 
what  might  be  properly  termed  the  second 
period  after  the  pioneers,  have  borne  well 
their  part  in  making  this  a  prosperous  re- 
gion. They  are  no  less  worthy  of  praise  in 
the  part  they  bore  in  the  labors  and  priva- 
tions of  this  early  period  than  are  their  par- 


ot    'U.INOIS. 


WEST  HOME. 
Kinmundy,  Illinois. 


C.  H.  WEST. 


LWMY 
Of  THP 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


ents.  Among  these  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who  has  spent  the  major  part  of  his 
mature  years  in  the  county  where  he  has 
become  widely  known  and  where  his  labors 
have  benefited  alike  himself  and  the  commu- 
nity at  large. 

Charles  H.  West  was  born  in  Delaware 
county,  Indiana,  October  27,  1845,  the  son 
of  George  and  Elizabeth  (Brammer)  West. 

The  father  of  the  subject  left  Pennsyl- 
vania when  a  young  man,  and  settled  in 
Delaware  county,  Indiana,  and  came  to  Illi- 
nois in  1865,  in  Jo  Daviess  county  and  in 
1869  came  to  Marion  county  where  he  re- 
mained the  balance  of  his  life,  having 
reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three 
years,  after  a  life  of  hard  work  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  The  subject's  mother,  a 
woman  of  many  fine  qualities  and  a  worthy 
companion  of  her  noble  husband,  lived  to 
be  seventy-three  years  old,  and  was  in  her 
religious  belief  a  member  of  the  old  school 
Baptists.  There  were  seven  children  in  this 
family,  six  living  to  maturity.  Samuel,  the 
oldest  brother  of  the  subject,  was  a  soldier 
from  Indiana  in  the  Union  lines  and  was 
killed  at  Marietta,  Georgia,  where  he  was 
buried.  A  brother  of  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject had  a  son,  John  T.  West,  who  was  also 
a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  having  been  in 
a  Pennsylvania  regiment. 

Charles  H.  West,  our  subject,  came  with 
his  father  to  Marion  county  in  1869.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  in  Delaware 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  worked  on  his 
father's  farm  during  the  summer  season, 


having  remained  a  member  of  the  family 
circle  until  he  was  thirty-one  years  of  age. 
He  then  leased  his  father's  farm  in  this 
county  for  a  number  of  years,  and  after  his 
father  returned  to  Illinois  he  purchased 
the  same  which  he  has  managed  with 
the  greatest  success  for  a  period  of  twenty- 
five  years,  developing  it  into  one  of  the  lead- 
ing farms  of  the  community  and  gathering 
from  its  fertile  fields  from  year  to  year 
bounteous  harvests. 

Mr.  West  owns  at  this  writing,  1908, 
twelve  and  one-half  acres  in  Kinmundy  in 
one  section  of  the  city  and  also  a  ten-acre 
orchard  in  another  section  of  the  city,  also 
forty  acres  one-half  mile  east  of  the  town, 
containing  a  fine  orchard,  all  well  located 
and  good  land.  He  also  has  excellent  prop- 
erty in  the  central  part  of  the  town,  and 
fifty  acres  of  horticultural  land,  which  is 
very  valuable  owing  to  the  large  and  choice 
varieties  of  trees  on  it.  This  property 
claims  much  of  his  attention  since  Mr.  West 
delights  in  horticultural  work,  being  well 
versed  in  its  various  phases.  He  owns  a 
modern,  large,  nicely  furnished  and  alto- 
gether one  of  the  most  desirable  residences 
in  Kinmundy  or  vicinity.  All  this  he  has 
made  himself  practically  unaided  as  a  result 
of  his  genuine  business  sagacity,  persistency 
and  honesty. 

Mr.  West  was  united  in  marriage  in  1877 
to  Rose  N.  Dillon,  a  native  of  Marion 
county,  whose  father  was  from  Kentucky ; 
her  mother's  people  being  from  Ohio. 
Three  children  have  been  born  to  this  union, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


named  in  order  of  birth  as  follows :  Harry 
T.,  who  was  born  in  1878,  is  married  and 
has  two  children ;  Maud  L.  is  the  wife  of 
A.  G.  Porter  and  the  mother  of  one  child; 
the  third  child  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  West  is  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  their  auxiliaries.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Republican  and  is  an  Alderman  in  the 
City  Council  of  Kinmundy,  which  position 
he  fills  with  great  credit. 

In  township  and  county  affairs  Mr.  West 
takes  an  active  interest  and  when  his  judg- 
ment approves  of  any  measure  that  is  ad- 
vanced he  is  not  hesitant  in  giving  his  ap- 
proval and  active  aid.  In  many  ways  he  has 
given  his  time  and  service  for  the  general 
good.  He  has  a  wide  acquaintance  and  the 
favorable  judgment  the  public  passed  upon 
him  in  the  early  days  of  his  residence  here 
has  been  in  no  degree  set  aside  or  modified 
as  the  years  have  gone  by. 


WILBUR  ADINO  GOODENOUGH. 

In  the  history  of  Clay  county,  as  applying 
to  the  milling  industry,  the  name  of  Wilbur 
A.  Goodenough  occupies  a  conspicuous 
place,  for  through  a  number  of  years  he  has 
been  one  of  the  representative  lumber  deal- 
ers in  this  locality,  progressive,  enterprising 
and  persevering.  Such  qualities  always  win 
success,  sooner  or  later,  and  to  the  subject 
they  have  brought  a  satisfactory  reward  for 
his  well  directed  efforts,  and  while  he  has 


benefited  himself  and  community  in  a  mate- 
rial way,  he  has  also  been  an  influential  fac- 
tor in  the  educational,  political  and  moral 
uplift  of  the  community  favored  by  his  resi- 
dence. 

Wilbur  Adino  Goodenough  was  born  in 
Jefferson  county,  New  York,  May  26,  1857, 
the  son  of  Morris  M.  Goodenough,  who  was 
a  native  of  Northern  New  York.  Adino 
Goodenough,  the  great-grandfather  of  the 
subject,  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  came 
to  America  with  Lord  Howe.  He  passed 
the  winter  with  Washington  at  Valley 
Forge  as  one  of  his  captains,  having  enlist- 
ed three  times  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
The  third  time  he  walked  from  Vermont  to 
Boston  to  enlist.  He  spent  his  last  days  at 
Watertown,  Jefferson  county.  New  York, 
dying  there  in  his  eighty-seventh  year.  Most 
of  his  life  while  in  America,  was  spent  in 
Vermont.  The  subject's  grandfather,  John 
Banister  Goodenough,  a  native  of  New 
York,  died  in  1864,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two 
years.  He  devoted  his  life  to  farming. 
The  subject's  father  was  also  a  farmer,  and, 
like  his  ancestors,  was  a  man  of  influence 
in  his  community.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two  years  in  Jefferson  county,  New 
York,  in  1899. 

The  mother  of  the  subject  was  Caroline 
Griswold,  also  a  native  of  northern  New 
York,  where  she  lived  all  her  life  and  where 
she  ended  her  earthly  labors  in  1895,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-two  years.  Twelve  children 
were  born  to  the  subject's  parents,  eight  of 
wh<;m  are  living,  in  1908,  namely:  Charles, 
Estella,  Wilbur,  Albert,  Caroline,  Ward, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


Eaton,  Morris,  Emma,  Belle,  Mollie  and 
Grace. 

Mr.  Goodenough  spent  his  boyhood  days 
in  Watertown,  New  York,  where  he  attend- 
ed school  and  received  a  good  education. 
He  went  from  there  to  Copenhagen,  New 
York,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  miller, 
after  which  he  went  to  Ogdensburg,  that 
state,  where  he  worked  for  fifteen  years 
with  much  success  attending  his  efforts.  In 
1894  he  came  to  Louisville  and  bought  the 
Louisville  Roller  Mills,  which  burned  down 
October  25,  1897.  The  plant  was  rebuilt 
the  fall  of  1898.  His  brother,  Albert,  has 
been  associated  with  him  in  all  his  business. 
They  have  an  extensive  trade  and  carry  on 
a  growing  industry,  their  customers  coming 
from  all  parts  of  this  locality,  both  in  the 
flour  and  lumber  business. 

Mr.  Goodenough  was  united  in  marriage 
February  22,  1883,  to  Luella  Stanford,  of 
Lowville,  Lewis  county,  New  York,  the  rep- 
resentative of  a  well  known  family  there, 
and  to  this  union  two  children  have  been 
born:  Luella,  born  April  15,  1894,  and 
Stanford,  born  December  17,  1898. 

Our  subject  is  a  director  in  the  Farmers' 
and  Merchants'  Bank  of  Louisville.  In 
his  fraternal  relations  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Masons,  the  Chapter  and  Knights  Templar. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  both  he 
and  Mrs.  Goodenough  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  church. 

Mr.  Goodenough  is  one  of  the  substantial 
citizens  of  Clay  county.  He  has  persevered 
in  the  pursuit  of  a  persistent  purpose  and 
gained  a  most  satisfactory  reward.  His  life 


is  exemplary  in  many  respects,  and  he  has 
ever  supported  those  interests  which  have 
for  their  object  the  welfare  of  the  commu- 
nity and  the  benefit  of  humanity. 


WILFRED  W.  MERZ. 

The  career  of  the  subject  of  this  review 
has  been  varied  and  interesting,  and  the  his- 
tory of  Marion  county  will  be  more  interest- 
ing if  a  record  of  his  activities  and  achieve- 
ments are  given  prominence,  and  a  tribute 
to  his  worth  and  high  character  as  a  business 
man,  a  public-spirited  and  enterprising, 
broad-minded  citizen,  for  although  he  is  yet 
a  young  man  he  has  shown  by  his  persist- 
ency and  eminently  worthy  career  what  can 
be  accomplished  by  the  young  man  who  has 
thrift,  energy,  tact,  force  of  character  and 
honesty  of  purpose,  and  representing  as  he 
does  one  of  the  best  and  most  highly  es- 
teemed families  of  the  country,  whose  an- 
cestors did  so  much  in  the  pioneer  days  to 
prepare  the  country  for  the  enjoyment  and 
success  of  succeeding  generations,  Mr.  Merz 
is  peculiarly  entitled  to  proper  mention  in 
this  work  along  with  other  leading  and  hon- 
orable citizens  of  Marion  county. 

Wilfred  W.  Merz,  the  popular  and  effi- 
cient agent  of  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois 
Railroad  Company,  also  of  the  Wells,  Fargo 
&  Company  Express,  at  Salem,  Marion 
county,  was  born  at  this  place  February  13, 
1872,  being  the  eldest  child  of  Nicholas 
Merz,  who  is  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Al- 


AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


dermen  of  the  city  of  Salem,  and  an  influen- 
tial and  highly  respected  citizen  who  has 
lived  in  Salem  practically  all  his  life.  Nicho- 
las Merz's  parents  were  born  in  Germany 
and  migrated  to  America  in  early  life,  and 
soon  established  comfortable  homes  in  the 
new  world  and  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age. 

The  mother  of  our  subject  was  known  in 
her  maidenhood  as  Elizabeth  A.  Smith.  She 
was  born  at  Decatur,  Illinois,  and  died  at 
Huey,  Illinois. 

Sarah  S.  Ritchie,  the  maternal  grand- 
mother of  our  subject,  is  a  native  of  Giles 
county,  Virginia,  born  March  22,  1828,  and 
at  present  resides  near  Shattuc,  Illinois,  in 
her  eightieth  year.  Her  first  husband  was 
John  H.  Smith,  who  was  born  September 
i,  1831,  at  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  and  died  at 
Metropolis,  Illinois,  October  2,  1888.  He 
was  the  father  of  nine  children  (the  mother 
of  our  subject  being  the  eldest),  only  one  of 
whom  is  living,  John  Lewis  Smith,  of  Car- 
lyle,  Illinois. 

Nicholas  Merz  by  his  first  wife  is  the 
father  of  five  children,  of  whom  four  are  liv- 
ing in  1908,  and  whose  births  occurred  in 
the  following  order:  Wilfred  W.,  our  sub- 
ject; Nellie,  the  wife  of  Richard  Ellington, 
of  St.  Louis;  John  L.  ,  living  in  Chicago; 
Nona  died  in  Chicago,  July  8,  1905 ;  Orval 
Nicholas  living  in  Salem,  Illinois.  To  Nicho- 
las Merz  and  his  second  wife  one  child  was 
born,  Mabel,  who  is  living  with  her  parents 
in  Salem. 

These  children  received  a  fairly  good 
education  and  are  comfortably  located,  each 
giving  promise  of  successful  careers. 


Wilfred  W.  Merz  was  reared  in  Salem, 
having  attended  the  city  schools  where  he 
applied  himself  in  a  most  assiduous  manner, 
outstripping  many  less  ambitious  plodders 
until  he  graduated  from  the  high  school  as 
salutarian  with  the  class  of  1900,  having 
made  an  excellent  record  for  scholarship. 

After  leaving  school  Mr.  Merz  farmed  on 
his  father's  place  for  two  years,  making 
agriculture  a  success.  He  then  left  the  farm 
and  accepted  a  clerkship  with  the  mercantile 
firm  of  Cutler  &  Hays  in  Salem  in  whose 
employ  he  remained  for  one  and  one-half 
years,  giving  entire  satisfaction  as  a  sales- 
man and  by  reason  of  his  adaptability  for 
this  line  of  work  and  his  courteous  treat- 
ment of  customers  did  much  to  increase  the 
firm's  popularity  and  trade. 

In  1893  Mr.  Merz  entered  the  railroad 
business  with  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio,  and  was 
assistant  agent  at  Salem  during  1893  an^ 
1894.  On  January  16,  1895,  he  was  ap- 
pointed agent  for  the  Chicago,  Paducah  & 
Memphis  Railroad  Company  at  Kell,  Illi- 
nois. This  road  later  passed  into  the  control 
of  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  in  1907, 
and  after  about  eight  months  of  acceptable 
service  at  Kell,  Mr.  Merz  was  promoted  to 
the  position  of  agent  at  Salem  for  the  Chi- 
cago &  Eastern  Illinois  road,  and  he  has 
since  been  their  faithful  employe  at  this  im- 
portant post,  with  the  exception  of  five 
months  as  agent  at  Tuscola,  Illinois,  from 
January  to  June,  1904,  and  as  assistant  cash- 
ier of  the  Salem  State  Bank  from  October, 
1904,  to  October,  1905,  which  position  he 
held  with  honor  and  resigned  the  same  to 


RICHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


re-enter  the  railroad  service.  He  is  regarded 
by  the  company  as  one  of  the  most  conscien- 
tious and  reliable  agents  in  their  service. 
Since  the  division  was  established  at  Salem 
in  1905,  this  office  has  become  one  of  the 
most  important  along  the  company's  line. 

Mr.  Merz  was  happily  married  August 
24,  1897,  to  Nettie  Kell,  daughter  of  J.  M. 
Kell  and  wife,  a  well  known  family  of  old 
Foxville.  Mrs.  Merz  is  a  representative  of 
one  of  the  oldest  families  of  Marion  county, 
and  one  of  a  family  'of  nine  children,  seven 
of  whom  are  yet  living,  Maudie  and  Robert 
dying  in  infancy.  Her  father  and  mother 
are  still  living  at  the  time  of  this 
writing,  the  mother  being  one  of  ten 
sisters  all  of  whom,  are!  living  in  1908, 
a  most  remarkable  record.  Her  father, 
John  M.  Kell,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union 
ranks  during  the  war  between  the  states 
and  was  one  of  a  family  of  twelve  children, 
one  of  his  brothers  being  killed  in  the  last 
skirmish  of  the  Civil  war  after  a  service  of 
three  years.  Mrs.  Merz's  grandfather,  on 
her  maternal  side,  was  Robert  Wham,  a 
well-to-do  pioneer  of  Marion  county  who 
rendered  distinguished  services  as  a  soldier 
in  the  Mexican  war.  He  had  a  brother, 
French  L.,  who  died  in  Andersonville 
prison.  Mr.  Wham  passed  away  January 
10,  1905,  at  a  very  old  age. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Merz  are  the  parents  of 
three  bright  and  interesting  children  who 
have  added  cheer  to  the  cozy,  modern  and 
nicely  furnished  home  which  is  so  graciously 
presided  over  with  rare  dignity  and  grace 
by  the  subject's  wife,  the  names  of  their  chil- 


dren being  as  follows:  Robert  W.,  born 
July  6,  1898;  Helen  Louise,  born  February 
6,  1900;  Gladys  Roberta,  born  June  6,  1902. 
The  fact  that  the  birth  of  these  children  all 
occurred  on  the  sixth  of  the  month  is  a 
singular  coincidence. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Merz  own  their  own  beauti- 
ful home  on  East  Main  street.  Both  are 
members  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church,  and  are  known  as  among  the  best 
members  of  the  congregation  with  which 
they  have  always  been  popular.  The  subject 
has  spent  his  entire  life  in  Salem  where  he 
is  well  and  favorably  known,  having  gained 
and  retained  undivided  respect  of  all  as  a 
result  of  his  sober,  industrious  and  honor- 
able career.  He  is  always  to  be  found  on  the 
right  side  of  all  questions  looking  to  the 
betterment  of  his  community  and  may  well 
be  said  to  represent  Marion  county's  best 
citizenship  in  every  particular. 


SNIVELY  &  MONTGOMERY, 
LIVERYMEN. 

Though  no  land  is  richer  in  opportunities 
or  offers  greater  advantages  to  its  citizens 
than  America,  success  is  not  to  be  attained 
through  desire,  but  must  be  persistently 
sought.  In  this  country  "labor  is  king," 
and  the  man  who  resolutely  sets  to  work  to 
accomplish  a  given  purpose  is  certain  of 
success  if  he  has  but  the  qualities  of  perse- 
verance, untiring  energy  and  practical  com- 
mon sense.  William  A.  Montgomery,  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


well  known  liveryman  of  Olney,  Illinois, 
through  his  diligence  and  persistent  efforts, 
has  attained  definite  success  and  has  won 
the  respect  of  all  who  know  him  through 
his  fair  dealing  with  the  public. 

William  A.  Montgomery  was  born  in  Ol- 
ney, Richland  county,  October  22,  1860,  the 
son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Brillhart)  Mont- 
gomery, natives  of  Virginia  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, respectively,  who  came  to  Richland 
county  in  an  early  day.  Thomas  came  with 
his  parents  when  a  small  boy.  The  fam- 
ily entered  land  in  Edwards  county,  where 
Thomas  was  reared,  assisting  with  the  work 
of  improving  a  farm  in  the  wilderness. 
When  only  sixteen  years  old,  he  began  car- 
rying the  mail  from  Fair-field  to  Mt.  Car- 
mel,  and  he  had  charge  of  the  route  from 
Olney  to  Grayville,  for  years.  He  also  op- 
erated a  stage.  He  later  became  a  pros- 
perous farmer  in  Richland  county. 

The  Brillharts  were  pioneers  in  Richland 
county  and  became  influential  in  their  com- 
munity. The  parents  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  died  in  Richland  county,  the  father 
at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  and  the  mother 
when  sixty-eight  years  old.  They  were 
people  of  many  sterling  and  praiseworthy 
traits,  and  were  hard  workers  all  their  lives. 

William  A.  Montgomery  was  reared  on  a 
farm  in  Edwards  county,  and  received  his 
education  in  the  country  schools  of  Edwards 
and  Richland  counties.  He  remained  at 
home  during  the  lifetime  of  his  parents, 
working  on  the  farm  until  the  spring  of 
1903,  when  he  came  to  Olney  and  engaged 
in  the  livery  business,  which  he  is  still  con- 


ducting with  great  success,  giving  the  pub- 
lic entire  satisfaction  and  handling  an  ex- 
cellent grade  of  horses  and  vehicles.  The 
firm  is  known  as  Snively  &  Montgomery. 
They  began  business  in  their  present  loca- 
tion in  1906,  building  a  modern  and  con- 
venient brick  barn  which  was  completed  in 
June  of  that  year.  The  building  is  sixty- 
eight  by  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  and  is 
one  of  the  most  complete  and  best  equipped 
in  Olney  or  any  of  the  surrounding  towns. 
They  keep  an  average  of  twenty  head  of 
driving  stock,  also  a  considerable  number 
of  boarding  stock. 

In  politics  Mr.  Montgomery  is  a  Demo- 
crat and  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protec- 
tive Order  of  Elks,  No.  926,  of  Olney. 

Edmund  C.  Snively,  partner  of  Mr.  Mont- 
gomery, was  born  in  Madison  township, 
Richland  county,  and  what  has  been  said 
of  the  former  regarding  untiring  persistence 
and  application  to  business  is  equally  ap- 
plicable to  him,  and  they  make  a  strong 
combination  in  their  special  line.  The  date 
of  Mr.  Snively's  birth  was  December  26, 
1872.  He  is  the  son  of  Amos  B.  and  Sa- 
rah E.  (Parker)  Snively,  residents  of  Mad- 
ison township.  Mr.  Snively  was  reared  on 
a  farm  and  was  educated  in  the  country 
schools  and  at  the  Southern  Normal  at  Car- 
bondale  for  one  year.  He  received  a  good 
education  for  he  applied  himself  well  to  his 
books  and  successfully  taught  school  for  one 
term.  He  worked  on  a  farm,  in  a  saw-mill 
and  operated  a  threshing  machine  for  sev- 
eral seasons.  In  1904  he  came  to  Olney, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AM)    MARION    COl'XTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


125 


and  became  a  member  of  Snively  &  Mont- 
gomery, and  has  continued  in  the  same  ever 
since. 

Mr.  Snively  was  united  in  marriage  on 
June  12,  1907,  to  Laura  D.  Yelch,  a  native 
of  Olney  township,  the  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Margaret  (Swallen)  Yelch,  the  former 
now  deceased  and  the  latter  is  a  resident  of 
Olney.  In  politics  Mr.  Snively  is  a  Demo- 
crat, and  in  his  fraternal  relations  he  be- 
longs to  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America 
and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
of  Olney. 

Fair  dealing  has  been  the  watchword  of 
this  firm  and  as  a  result  they  have  built  up 
an  extensive  patronage,  which  is  still  grow- 
ing. Both  Messrs.  Snively  and  Montgom- 
ery are  regarded  as  among  the  substantial 
citizens  of  Olney,  and  are  well  spoken  of 
by  all  who  know  them. 


GEORGE  B.  SIMCOX. 

The  subject  stands  as  the  exponent  of  one 
of  the  extensive  noteworthy  enterprises 
of  the  city,  where  he  maintains  a  real 
estate  business,  which  is  pre-eminent  in  the 
honorable  bearing  and  careful  methods  em- 
ployed, and  in  the  discriminating  delicacy  of 
treatment  which  the  nature  of  the  business 
renders  expedient,  and  he  has  thus  retained 
as  his  own  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the 
community,  even  as  has  his  noble  father,  the 
latter  having  likewise  assumed  a  position  of 
priority  in  the  business  and  social  life  of 


Marion  county,  where  he  still  resides  at  an 
advanced  age. 

George  B.  Simcox  was  born  in  Kentucky 
in  1864,  the  son  of  W.  K.  Simcox,  now 
living  at  Patoka,  Illinois,  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, who  migrated  from  the  old  Key- 
stone state  to  Illinois  in  1866,  locating  at 
Patoka,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  was 
in  the  mercantile  business  of  which  he  made 
a  success,  but  he  is  now  living  retired,  hav- 
ing reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
three,  and  his  good  wife  that  of 
seventy-eight.  They  are  held  in  high  esteem 
in  their  neighborhood  where  their  latter 
years  have  been  so  honorably  and  happily 
spent.  Twelve  children  were  born  to  them, 
seven  of  whom  are  still  living.  They  are : 
Anna  M.,  the  widow  of  Dr.  T.  N.  Livesay, 
and  she  makes  her  home  near  Patoka ;  Rob- 
ert A.,  of  Patoka;  John  L.,  also  of  Patoka; 
Bettie,  the  wife  of  Dr.  W.  W.  Murfin,  of 
Patoka;  Mary  A.,  the  wife  of  A.  T.  Eaglin, 
of  Henton,  Oklahoma;  Joseph  W.,  of  Pa- 
toka; George  B.,  whose  name  appears  at  the 
head  of  this  review. 

Mr.  Simcox  spent  his  boyhood  in  Patoka, 
Illinois,  where  he  received  a  common  school 
education,  having  applied  himself  closely  to 
his  books.  When  about  eighteen  years  old 
he  went  to  railroading  and  was  subsequently 
in  the  employ  of  various  roads.  Longing 
for  more  varied  experiences  than  could  be 
gained  at  home,  he  went  to  the  Southwest 
and  his  rise  in  the  railroad  business  was 
rapid  there  owing  to  his  natural  ability, 
carefulness  and  personal  address,  conse- 
quently he  soon  became  conductor  on  the 


126 


ItKiK APHICAL    A XI)    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


Mexican  National  Railroad  in  Old  Mexico, 
holding  this  responsible  position  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  superior  officials  when  only 
twenty-one  years  old. 

After  following  the  railroad  business  for 
ten  years  he  returned  to  Salem,  Illinois,  in 
1895,  and  has  been  in  Marion  county  ever 
since.  He  first  launched  in  the  mercantile 
business  in  Patoka,  where  he  was  doing 
nicely  and  building  up  an  excellent  trade, 
when  he  lost  heavily  by  fire  after  two  years 
in  this  line.  Then  he  went  into  the  real 
estate  and  newspaper  business  at  Patoka,  in 
which  he  made  a  success  and  became  known 
as  the  moulder  of  public  thought  and  opin- 
ion. Being  thus  able  and  popular  with  his 
fellow  voters,  he  was  soon  slated  for  local 
political  offices,  and  held  every  township 
office  in  that  township.  He  was  appointed 
Deputy  Sheriff  in  1902  and  served  with 
great  credit  for  a  period  of  four  years.  In- 
deed, all  his  duties  in  an  official  capacity 
were  attended  to  with  the  greatest  alacrity 
and  good  judgment.  He  was  nominated  by 
the  Democrats  in  1906  as  a  candidate  for 
sheriff,  but  was  defeated. 

In  1906  Mr.  Simcox  went  into  the  hard- 
ware business  in  Salem,  in  which  he  re- 
mained for  eight  months,  when  he  sold  out 
to  C.  W.  Vensell,  and  since  then  he  has 
been  interested  in  the  real  estate  business, 
making  a  specialty  of  city  lots  and  booming 
special  sales,  and  his  efforts  have  been 
crowned  with  gratifying  success,  for  he  has 
the  confidence  of  the  public  and  conducts 
his  business  along  safe  and  conservative 
lines. 


Mr.  Simcox  was  united  in  marriage  May 
24,  1896,  to  Florence  Wasem,  of  Patoka, 
the  cultured  and  refined  daughter  of  Jacob 
E.  Wasem,  a  well  known  citizen  of  Patoka. 
Two  bright  and  interesting  children  have 
been  born  to  this  union,  namely:  Maude 
Ellen,  whose  date  of  birth  occurred  August 
13,  1897,  and  Minnie  May,  who  was  born 
November  24,  1903. 

Our  subject  in  his  fraternal  relations  be- 
longs to  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  at  Centralia  Lodge  No.  493 ; 
also  the  Marion  Lodge  No.  525,  Knights  of 
Pythias;  also  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America  No.  761,  of  Patoka.  He  also  be- 
longs to  the  Order  of  Railway  Telegraphers. 

Our  subject  has  always  taken  a  great  in- 
terest in  political  matters  and  public  affairs, 
and  he  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic 
Central  Committee  during  two  campaigns, 
and  he  is  now  a  member  of  the  County  Ex- 
ecutive Democratic  Committee  of  Marion 
county.  In  public  office  he  has  been  found 
most  loyal  to  the  public  good,  and  in  his 
business  affairs  he  is  ever  straight-forward 
and  trustworthy. 


ROBERT  MARTIN. 

It  is  signally  consonant  that  in  this  work 
be  incorporated  at  least  a  brief  resume  of 
the  life  and  labors  of  Mr.  Martin,  who  has 
long  been  one  of  the  influential  citizens  of 
Marion  county,  and  through  whose  loyal 
efforts  the  city  of  Salem  and  surrounding 


RICH  I. AM),    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


127 


locality  have  reaped  lasting  benefits,  for  his 
exceptional  administrative  capacity  has  been 
directed  along  lines  calculated  to  be  for  the 
general  good.  A  man  of  forceful  individu- 
ality and  marked  initiative  power,  he  has 
been  well  equipped  for  leadership,  while  his 
probity  of  character  and  his  genial  personal- 
ity have  gained  for  him  uniform  esteem  and 
friendship  in  the  city  where  he  has  so  long 
made  his  home,  and  of  which  he  is  regarded 
by  all  classes  as  one  of  its  most  distinguished 
citizens  in  connection  with  the  business 
world. 

Robert  Martin  was  born  in  Estilville,  now 
known  as  Gate  City,  Scott  county,  Virginia, 
April  n,  1839,  the  son  of  John  S.  Martin, 
also  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  a  man  of  rec- 
ognized ability,  being  the  representative  of 
a  fine  old  Southern  family,  noted  for  its 
high  ideals  and  unqualified  hospitality,  his 
ancestry  being  Scotch-Irish.  John  S.  Mar- 
tin was  County  Clerk  for  a  period  of  twenty 
years  or  more,  and  he  held  many  other 
county  offices,  including  a  judgeship,  and  he 
won  universal  praise  for  the  able  manner  in 
which  he  discharged  his  every  duty  to  the 
public.  He  was  called  from  his  earthly 
labors  in  1865  while  living  at  Alma,  this 
county.  The  mother  of  the  subject  was  a 
Stewart  before  her  marriage,  a  woman  of 
rare  mental  equipoise  and  culture;  she 
passed  to  her  rest  soon  after  the  family 
came  to  Illinois  in  1846. 

Our  subject  spent  his  early  boyhood  on 
his  parental  farm  at  Alma,  having  been  only 
five  years  old  when  the  family  came  here. 
He  attended  school  at  Alma  and  Salem.  He 


also  attended  the  Southern  Illinois  Female 
College  at  Salem,  which  institution  ceased 
to  exist  soon  after  the  war.  He  gained  a 
liberal  education  which  has  stood  him  in 
such  good  hand  during  his  long  and  emi- 
nently active  and  successful  business  career. 

Our  subject  was  one  of  those  loyal  sons 
of  the  North,  who,  when  the  tocsin  of  war 
sounded  calling  loyal  sons  to  defend  the 
old  flag,  offered  his  services,  enlisting  in 
Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  one  of  the  fa- 
mous regiments  of  the  state,  which  was  or- 
ganized at  Salem.  Mr.  Martin  was  then 
twenty-one  years  old.  The  company  left 
Salem  and  went  to  Columbus,  Kentucky, 
and  from  there  to  Paducah,  that  state,  later 
to  Pulaski,  Tennessee,  and  from  there 
marched  to  Chattanooga,  where  it  united 
with  Sherman's  army  and  remained  with  the 
same  through  its  historic  march  to  the  sea, 
and  also  its  strenuous  campaigns,  having 
participated  in  the  battles  at  Atlanta  and 
many  other  notable  engagements.  After  re- 
maining with  him  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
he  took  part  in  the  grand  review  at  Wash- 
ington City,  after  a  very  commendable  ser- 
vice of  three  years.  He  was  mustered  out 
at  Springfield,  Illinois,  where  he  came  soon 
after  the  review  in  Washington. 

After  his  career  in  the  army,  Mr.  Martin 
launched  in  the  grocery  business  at  Salem, 
in  which  he  remained  for  one  year,  when  he 
sold  out  and  went  into  the  more  lucrative 
grain  and  lumber  business,  in  which  he  has 
been  engaged  for  a  period  of  forty-one  years 
during  which  time  an  enormous  volume  of 


128 


nor.KAl'lIICAL    AXI)    KKM  IN  ISC  KXT     HISTORY    OF 


business  has  passed  through  his  hands,  and 
he  has  become  widely  known  as  one  of  the 
leading  men  in  these  lines  in  Southern  Illi- 
nois, being  recognized  by  the  leading  dealers 
throughout  this  and  adjoining  states  as  well 
as  remote  parts  of  the  country  as  a  man  of 
the  highest  business  integrity  and  acumen. 
He  is  still  conducting  a  large  lumber  yard, 
and  carries  on  a  very  extensive  and  thriving 
business,  numbering  his  customers  by  the 
thousands,  not  only  from  Salem  and  vicin- 
ity, but  throughout  the  county  and  to  remote 
parts  of  the  country.  He  owns  a  beautiful, 
modern  and  well  furnished  residence  in  one 
of  the  most  desirable  portions  of  Salem. 

Our  subject  was  happily  married  in  1867 
to  Alice  Scott,  a  native  of  Vincennes,  In- 
diana, a  woman  of  affable  personality  and 
rare  refinement,  the  daughter  of  a  highly 
respected  and  influential  family.  Three 
children  have  been  born  to  this  union,  one 
of  whom  has  passed  away.  They  are: 
Mabel  Dora,  the  wife  of  W.  H.  Parsons,  of 
Salem;  C.  C.  Martin,  of  Salem,  and  John 
Lewis  Martin,  formerly  of  Salem,  now  de- 
ceased. 

These  children  received  every  possible  at- 
tention from  their  parents,  being  given  good 
educations  and  careful  home  training. 

Mr.  Martin  assisted  in  the  organization 
and  became  one  of  the  first  directors  and 
stockholders  in  the  Salem  State  Bank.  He 
is  also  a  director  of  the  Salem  Building  and 
Loan  Association,  and  his  sound  judgment 
and  able  advice  is  always  carefully  weighed 
by  the  other  members  of  these  organizations 
in  their  deliberations,  for  Mr.  Martin  has  a 
reputation  among  local  business  men  for 


remarkable  foresight  into  all  business  propo- 
sitions. Having  always  been  interested  in 
educational  affairs,  he  served  as  a  member 
and  also  as  president  of  the  School  Board 
of  Salem  for  several  years,  but  he  is  not  at 
present  connected  with  the  board,  but  during 
the  time  that  he  was  the  schools  of  Salem 
were  greatly  strengthened. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Martin  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the 
Woodmen.  He  has  been  a  faithful  and 
consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  church 
since  he  was  thirteen  years  old. 


CHARLES  T.   KELL. 

This  enterprising  farmer  and  representa- 
tive citizen  is  a  native  of  Marion  county,  Illi- 
nois, and  belongs  to  one  of  the  old  and  high- 
ly esteemed  pioneer  families  of  Haines  town- 
ship, where  his  parents,  Thomas  and  Mary 
(Luke)  Kell,  settled  in  an  early  day  and  bore 
an  active  and  influential  part  in  the  devel- 
opment and  growth  of  the  community  (see 
sketch  of  William  Kell).  Charles  T.  was 
born  a  short  distance  west  of  the  village  of 
Kell,  September  18,  1854,  from  which  date 
to  the  present  time  his  life  has  been  very 
closely  identified  with  Haines  township,  and 
as  stated  above,  he  now  holds  worthy  pres- 
tige among  the  leading  agriculturists  and 
public  spirited  men  of  the  section  of  country 
honored  by  his  citizenship. 

Reared  in  close  touch  with  nature  in  the 
healthful  outdoor  life  of  the  farm,  he  earlv 
acquired  a  vigorous  physique  and  an  inde- 
pendence of  mind  characteristic  of  the  sturdy 


MR  AND  MRS.  C.  T.  KELL. 


Of  THE 

UNIVERSITY  w  ILLINOIS, 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


I29 


son  of  the  soil,  and  while  still  quite  young 
he  became  familiar  with  the  varied  duties  of 
agriculture  and  learned  to  appreciate  the 
honor  and  dignity  which  belong  to  those  who 
earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  the  brow. 
At  the  proper  age  he  entered  the  schools  of 
the  neighborhood,  which  he  attended  at  in- 
tervals until  acquiring  a  practical  knowledge 
of  the  subjects  taught,  the  meanwhile  assist- 
ing his  father  on  the  family  homestead  and 
contributing  his  full  share  to  its  cultivation, 

After  remaining  with  his  parents  until  at- 
taining his  majority,  Charles  T.  entered  into 
partnership  with  his  brother,  John  M.  Kell. 
by  purchasing  a  half  interest  in  a  saw  and 
grist  mill  at  Foxville,  and  during  the  ensu- 
ing ten  years  devoted  his  attention  to  the 
manufacture  of  flour  and  lumber,  meeting 
with  encouraging  success  in  the  enterprise 
and  becoming  widely  known  as  a  wide- 
awake and  thoroughly  honorable  and  reli- 
able business  man.  Disposing  of  his  interest 
in  the  mill  at  the  expiration  of  the  period  in- 
dicated, he  located  on  his  present  home  farm 
in  Haines  township,  adjoining  the  town  of 
Kell  on  the  south,  having  previously  become 
the  possessor  of  another  tract  consisting  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  another 
part  of  the  same  township,  both  of  which 
places  he  has  brought  to  a  high  state  of  cul- 
tivation and  otherwise  improved.  At  the 
time  the  railroad  was  constructed  he  sold 
twenty  acres,  which  is  now  a  part  of  the 
village  of  Kell. 

As  a  farmer,  Mr.  Kell  easily  ranks  with 
the  most  enterprising  and  successful  men  of 
his  calling  in  Marion  county,  being  progres- 
9 


sive  in  his  methods  and  using  the  latest  mod- 
ern implements  and  machinery  and  by  judi- 
cious rotation  of  crops  he  seldom  fails  to 
realize  abundant  returns  from  the  time  and 
labor  devoted  to  his  fields.  He  also  pays 
considerable  attention  to  the  raising  of  live 
stock,  which  he  finds  quite  profitable,  and  his 
domestic  animals,  including  horses,  mules, 
cattle,  sheep  and  hogs,  are  among  the  finest 
breeds  obtainable,  and  from  their  sale  no 
small  share  of  his  liberal  income  is  derived. 

Mr.  Kell  has  not  been  sparing  of  his 
means  in  the  matter  of  improvement,  and  the 
beautifying  and  rendering  attractive  his 
home,  the  large  two-story  house  with  its 
many  modern  conveniences,  being  among 
the  most  desirable  country  residences  in  the 
township,  while  his  commodious  barn,  out- 
buildings, wells,  fences  and  other  evidences 
of  prosperity  compare  favorably  with  the 
best  in  his  part  of  the  country.  He  keeps 
in  close  touch  with  the  advancement  in  agri- 
cultural science,  and  fully  abreast  of  the 
times  in  reducing  the  same  to  practical  tests, 
being  progressive  in  all  the  term  implies, 
and  believes  in  the  latest  and  most  approved 
methods  of  modern  farming. 

In  his  political  faith  Mr.  Kell  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  while  interested  in  the  success  of 
his  party,  he  has  never  been  a  politician, 
much  less  an  office  seeker  or  aspirant  for 
leadership.  In  religion  he  subscribes  to  the 
Missionary  Baptist  creed,  and  for  a  number 
of  years  his  name  has  adorned  the  records 
of  that  church,  having  held  the  office  of  dea- 
con five  years  in  the  local  congregation,  to 
which  himself  and  entire  family  belong,  be- 


1 3o 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


sides  being  otherwise  interested  in  religious 
and  benevolent  work.  He  is  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school  which  he  attends,  has 
long  been  an  influential  leader  in  this  depart- 
ment of  religious  endeavor,  and  with  his 
wife  has  been  instrumental  in  arousing  an  in- 
terest among  the  young  people  of  the  neigh- 
borhood and  leading  not  a  few  of  them  to 
the  higher  life. 

Mr.  Kell  was  married  in  the  year  1881  to 
Rebecca  C.  Purdue,  of  Haines  township, 
daughter  of  Richard  and  Caroline  (Har- 
mon) Purdue,  early  settlers  of  Marion  coun- 
ty and  among  the  highly  respected  people  of 
their  locality  (see  history  of  the  Purdue 
family).  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kell  have  four  chil- 
dren, the  oldest  of  whom,  a  daughter  by  the 
name  of  Iva  May,  is  the  wife  of  R.  A.  Jef- 
fries, of  Haines  township,  and  the  mother  of 
one  child,  Trevor  Jeffries.  The  other  chil- 
dren, two  daughters  and  one  son,  are  still 
under  the  parental  roof,  their  names  in  order 
of  birth  being  as  follows:  Myrtle,  Ellis  and 
Ethel.  Mr.  Kell  has  taken  great  interest  in 
the  rearing  and  educating  of  his  children 
and  they  in  turn  have  responded  to  his  every 
effort  in  their  behalf.  The  children  all  re- 
ceived liberal  educational  advantages  in  the 
public  schools  and  also  at  Ewing  Baptist 
College  at  Ewing,  111.  Ethel  graduated  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  from  that  institution  in 
instrumental  music.  The  family  is  one  of 
the  best  known  and  most  highly  esteemed  in 
the  county  and  the  name  which  is  an  old  and 
honorable  one  has  long  been  synonymous 
for  noble  manhood  and  womanhood  and  a 
high  order  of  citizenship. 


HENRY  HORD. 

Aside  from  his  connections  with  the  civic 
affairs  of  Clay  county,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  has  long  been  an  influential  factor  in 
the  general  business  and  industrial  interests 
of  the  county  during  his  entire  life,  which 
has  been  spent  here,  everything  calculated 
to  advance  the  community,  materially  or 
otherwise,  receiving  his  support  and  hearty 
co-operation.  He  is  unwavering  in  his  al- 
legiance to  what  he  believes  is  right,  and 
upholds  his  honest  convictions  at  the  sacri- 
fice, if  necessary,  of  every  other  interest. 
Conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties 
of  citizenship,  he  is  a  valued  member  of  the 
body  politic,  and  his  aim  has  ever  been  to 
shape  his  life  according  to  the  highest  stand- 
ard of  excellence,  therefore  he  has  won  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  all  who  know  him. 

Henry  Hord,  the  popular  Sheriff  of  Clay 
county,  is  a  native  of  the  same,  having  been 
born  in  Blair  township,  December  8,  1863, 
the  son  of  Thomas  B.  Hord,  who  was  a  na- 
tive of  Indiana,  and  who  came  to  Illinois 
when  a  boy,  being  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Clay  county,  locating  in  Blair  township, 
where  he  now  lives  and  is  a  prosperous 
farmer,  well  known  in  his  township.  "Judge" 
George  Hord,  grandfather  of  the  subject, 
was  also  a  native  of  Indiana  and  a  man  of 
considerable  influence  in  his  community. 

The  subject's  mother  was  known  in  her 
maidenhood  as  Alice  Beal,  whose  people 
came  from  Tennessee.  She  passed  to  her 
rest  when  our  subject  was  two  years  old. 
Two  children  were  born  to  the  parents  of 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


our  subject,  the  other  child  dying  in  in- 
fancy. They  gave  their  son  all  the  advan- 
tages possible,  wholesome  home  environ- 
ment and  a  fairly  good  education,  and  he 
owes  much  of  his  subsequent  success  to  his 
solicitous  parents.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm 
where  he  laid  the  foundations  for  a  hardy 
manhood,  for  he  devoted  the  summer 
months  to  work  in  the  fields  and  attended 
school  in  the  winter  in  his  native  township, 
which  was  the  only  schooling  he  had ;  but 
he  made  good  use  of  his  time.  After  leav- 
ing school  he  continued  farm  work  on  the 
home  place  until  he  married  when  he  went 
to  farming  for  himself  in  Blair  township. 

Mr.  Hord  was  united  in  the  bonds  of 
wedlock  with  Percilla  Eytchison,  the  daugh- 
ter of  J.  W.  and  Charity  A.  Eytchison,  a 
well  known  family  of  Blair  township,  the 
date  of  the  wedding  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hord 
being  October  18,  1884,  and  to  this  union 
nine  children  have  been  born,  named  in  or- 
der of  birth  as  follows:  Jesse,  deceased, 
having  died  when  about  thirteen  years  old; 
Lillie,  William,  Mimmie,  Roy.  Elbridge.  Rol- 
la,  Everett,  the  youngest  child  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

In  1906  Mr.  Hord  was  elected  Sheriff  of 
Clay  county,  on  the  Republican  ticket,  and 
he  is  now  serving  his  term  of  four  years  in 
a  manner  that  elicits  praise  from  everyone 
having  occasion  to  know  of  his  work,  for  he 
is  discharging  his  duties  in  a  most  con- 
scientious and  able  manner,  and  generally 
regarded  as  the  best  Sheriff  the  county  has 
ever  had.  Previously  Mr.  Hord  had  faith- 
fully served  Blair  township  as  Supervisor 


and  Assessor.  He  owns  a  good  farm  in 
Blair  township,  which  he  rents.  In  his  fra- 
ternal relations  he  is  a  Mason. 

Mrs.  Hord  died  of  typhoid  fever  Sep- 
tember 1 8,  1906,  between  the  time  Mr.  Hord 
was  nominated  and  elected  Sheriff.  Our 
subject  was  married  a  second  time,  his  last 
wife  being  Miss  Dora  Manifold,  a  daughter 
of  Reverend  Manifold,  now  deceased.  Mrs. 
Hord  formerly  resided  in  St.  Louis,  and 
she  taught  school  in  Clay  county  for  five 
years. 

In  his  career  Mr.  Hord  has  seen  the  gath- 
ering clouds  that  threatened  disaster,  but 
his  rich  inheritance  of  energy  and  pluck  has 
enabled  him  to  turn  defeats  into  victory  and 
promised  failures  into  success.  He  enjoys 
in  the  fullest  measure  the  public  confidence, 
because  of  the  honorable  methods  he  has 
ever  followed,  and  is  one  of  the  prominent 
and  honored  men  of  Clay  county. 


WILLIAM  C.  INGRAM. 

Standing  in  an  eminent  position  among 
the  industrial  representatives  of  Marion 
county  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who 
is  recognized  as  one  of  Kinmundy's  lead- 
ing citizens,  having  for  many  years  been 
interested  in  the  local  flouring  mill  the  repu- 
tation of  which  has  spread  all  over  this  lo- 
cality as  a  result  of  his  able  management. 
In  this  regard  he  is  controlling  an  exten- 
sive and  important  industry,  for  the  product 
of  his  mill  is  large  and  the  annual  shipment 


1 32 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


of  flour  made  to  the  city  markets  bring  in 
return  a  very  desirable  income  to  the  stock- 
holders of  the  company.  His  success  has 
been  won  entirely  along  old  and  time-tried 
maxims,  such  as  "honesty  is  the  best  policy" 
and  "there  is  no  excellence  without  labor." 

William  C.  Ingram  was  born  in  Indiana 
in  1848,  the  son  of  Samuel  and  Minerva  A. 
(Powers)  Ingram.  Grandfather  Ingram  is 
supposed  to  have  been  born  in  Kentucky  and 
moved  to  Warrick  county,  Indiana,  where 
he  engaged  in  farming  and  where  he  spent 
the  balance  of  his  days  in  honest  and  use- 
ful toil ;  there  raising  his  family  and  passing 
from  his  labors  into  the  great  beyond,  after 
reaching  a  very  advanced  age.  His  faithful 
life  companion  also  lived  to  an  advanced 
age.  They  reared  a  large  family,  all  but  one 
of  whom  lived  to  be  men  and  women  and 
reared  families  of  their  own.  A  number  of 
their  sons  were  gallant  infantrymen  in  the 
Union  ranks  during  the  war  between  the 
states.  The  Ingram  lineage  is  from  Eng- 
land, and  were  early  settlers  in  Kentucky, 
having  come  there  in  the  brave  days  of 
Daniel  Boone  when  the  principal  tasks  of 
the  pioneers  were  the  clearing  of  the  pri- 
meval forests  and  the  banishment  of  the 
wary  red  men. 

Samuel  Ingram,  the  father  of  the  subject, 
was  reared  in  Indiana,  and  was  almost 
wholly  without  educational  advantages.  His 
date  of  birth  is  recorded  as  1824,  conse- 
quently his  boyhood  was  during  a  time  when 
schools  had  scarcely  been  established  in  the 
Hoosier  state.  He  devoted  his  life  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits  of  which  he  made  a  suc- 


cess being  a  hard  worker.  He  left  Indiana 
in  1854  and  moved  to  Edwards  county, 
Illinois,  but  came  on  to  Marion  county,  land- 
ing here  April  6,  1857,  ar>d  bought  a  farm 
on  which  he  remained  and  greatly  improved, 
living  there  in  comfort  until  1866,  when  he 
moved  to  Kinmundy,  still  working  his  farm ; 
continuing  this  for  ten  years  when  he  sold 
out  and  retired  from  active  work.  He  is 
still  hale  and  active  at  this  writing  (1908), 
having  attained  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-four. 
As  a  result  of  his  well  spent  life  his  old 
age  is  happy,  for  it  is  free  from  want  and 
worry  and  pervaded  with  no  unpleasant 
memories  or  regrets  and  compunctions  over 
a  misspent  past,  for  his  life  has  been  one 
of  honor  and  industry,  most  worthily  lived. 
There  were  eight  children  in  his  family,  six 
of  whom  are  now  living  and  have  families 
of  their  own.  The  mother  of  the  subject, 
a  woman  of  beautiful  Christian  character, 
passed  to  her  rest  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
eight  years.  This  fine  old  couple  were  al- 
ways devout  Methodists. 

The  great-grandfather  'Powers  of  the 
subject  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Indiana, 
living  to  an  old  age.  He  was  a  Democrat 
and  a  Baptist.  Grandmother  Powers  died 
in  middle  age.  One  of  Mrs.  Ingram's 
brothers,  John  Powers,  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Civil  war. 

William  C.  Ingram,  our  subject,  was 
brought  to  Illinois  by  his  parents  when  six 
years  old  and  to  Marion  county  three  years 
later,  having  been  placed  at  once  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  here  where  he  received  his  edu- 
cation, and  in  other  similar  schools  of 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


133 


this  state.  He  worked  on  his  father's  farm 
and  for  others  as  a  farm  hand  until  he  was 
twenty-one  years  old,  when  he  rented  a  farm 
and  worked  it  on  his  own  account  for  two 
years,  making  a  good  start  in  this  way.  He 
then  purchased  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  in  this  county  on  which  he  re- 
mained for  a  few  years  when  he  went  to 
carpentry  and  farming,  later  purchasing 
a  saw  mill  which  he  successfully  operated  for 
twenty-five  years,  which  he  recently  sold. 
He  has  also  owned  two  other  saw  mills,  and 
has  been  known  as  one  of  the  leading  mill 
men  of  this  locality  for  many  years  Some 
time  ago  he  came  to  Kinmundy  and  pur- 
chased an  interest  in  the  Songer  flouring  mill 
which  has  been  in  operation  for  forty  years, 
the  subject  now  owning  forty  shares  in  this 
mill  and  is  a  director  in  the  same,  which  has 
a  wide  reputation  for  the  excellency  of  its 
products,  customers  not  only  coming  in  per- 
son from  all  parts  of  the  county,  but  many 
orders  are  constantly  pouring  in  from  ad- 
joining counties  and  distant  cities.  The  sub- 
ject's son  is  also  a  part  owner  in  the  mill. 
He  also  owns  and  controls  thirty  shares 
of  the  capital  stock. 

Our  subject  has  also  been  a  merchant, 
and  owing  to  his  honesty  in  business,  his 
natural  ability  and  his  discriminating  fore- 
sight, he  has  always  made  a  success  at  what- 
ever he  undertook,  so  that  today  he  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  financially  substantial 
men  of  the  county,  every  dollar  in  his  pos- 
session having  been  honestly  earned  by  hard 
work. 

Mr.   Ingram  was  united  in  marriage  in 


1869  to  Mary  R.  Gray,  a  native  of  this 
county,  daughter  of  James  H,  and  Susanna 
Jane  (Hannah)  Gray.  They  were  from 
Tennessee  and  lived  on  a  farm.  Her  father 
was  president  of  the  Farmers  &  Merchants 
Bank  of  Kinmundy  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven 
years.  In  their  family  were  ten  children, 
seven  of  whom  lived  to  maturity,  but  were 
short-lived  people. 

Six  children  were  born  to  the  subject  and 
wife  as  follows:  Jane  who  was  born  in 
1871,  died  when  two  and  one-half  years  old; 
Charles  H.,  who  was  born  in  1874,  is  now 
living  in  Oklahoma  and  is  the  father  of  six 
children :  Nellie  A.,  who  was  born  in  1876, 
is  the  wife  of  M.  E.  Huston,  who  lives  at 
Maroa,  Illinois,  and  is  the  mother  of  one 
child;  Isaac  D.  was  born  in  1879  and  is  now 
associated  with  his  father  in  the  mill,  is  mar- 
ried and  has  three  children ;  Robert  L.,  who 
was  bom  in  1880,  is  living  in  the  state  of 
Washington,  is  married  and  has  one  child; 
William  G.,  born  in  1882,  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years. 

The  subject's  first  wife  passed  away  in 
1883.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  South.  Mr.  Ingram  was 
married  a  second  time,  the  date  of  his  last 
wedding  occurring  in  1888.  Nancy  I.  Gray 
(nee  Booth),  who  was  then  the  mother  of 
two  children,  was  his  second  choice.  W.  H. 
Gray,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  appears  in  this 
work,  is  her  son.  Her  other  child  is  dead. 
There  has  been  no  issue  by  the  subject's  last 
union.  Mr.  Ingram  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic Fraternity  and  he  attends  the  Metho- 


134 


UOGKAl'HICAL    AND    KK  M  I  X  1SCF.XT    HISTORY    OF 


dist  church,  of  which  his  wife  is  a  faithful 
member.  In  politics  he  supports  the  Re- 
publican ticket  and  he  takes  a  keen  interest 
in  public  affairs,  though  he  has  no  ambition 
for  the  honors  or  emoluments  of  public  of- 
fice, preferring  to  give  his  attention  to  his 
own  business  affairs. 


JOHN  F.  JOLLY. 

The  most  elaborate  history  is  necessarily 
an  abridgement,  the  historian  being  com- 
pelled to  select  his  facts  and  material  from 
a  multitude  of  details.  In  every  life  of 
honor  and  usefulness  there  is  no  dearth  of 
incident,  and  yet  in  summing  up  the  career 
of  any  man  the  writer  needs  touch  only 
those  salient  points  which  give  the  keynote 
of  the  character,  but  eliminating  much  that 
is  superfluous.  Thus  in  giving  the  life  rec- 
ord of  the  gentleman  whose  name  initiates 
this  sketch  sufficient  will  be  said  to  show 
that  he  is  one  of  the  enterprising  and  pro- 
gressive citizens  of  Richland  county,  being 
a  well  known  horticulturist  and  hardware 
merchant. 

John  F.  Jolly  was  born  at  Grayville, 
White  county,  Illinois,  December  2,  1850, 
the  son  of  John  B.  and  Elizabeth  (Ferri- 
man)  Jolly,  the  former  a  native  of  Edwards 
county,  of  English  parents,  and  the  latter 
of  Jamaica,  who  came  with  her  parents  to 
Edwards  county  when  a  child,  settling  in 
Albion.  Stephen  Jolly,  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  emigrated  to  America  from  Eng- 


land, locating  at  Albion,  Edwards  county, 
this  state,  where  he  died  soon  after  the  birth 
of  J.  B.  Jolly,  who  is  now  eighty-four  years 
old  and  the  oldest  resident  at  Grayville,  hav- 
ing removed  to  the  latter  place  about  1847, 
where  he  engaged  in  merchandising  for 
many  years.  He  accumulated  a  comfortable 
competency  and  is  now  retired.  His  wife 
passed  away  in  1851.  The  subject  is  the 
only  child  of  his  parents,  his  mother  having 
died  when  he  was  an  infant.  He  was  reared 
in  Grayville,  having  been  educated  in  the 
public  schools  there,  also  went  to  school  at 
Normal,  Illinois.  He  became  deputy  post- 
master at  Grayville,  which  position  he  held 
for  about  four  years,  when  he  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business  under  the  firm  name 
of  Jolly,  Spring  &  Hollister,  for  about  four 
years.  Soon  afterward,  in  1877,  he  came 
to  Olney  and  engaged  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness under  the  firm  name  of  Prunty  &  Jolly, 
in  which  business  he  has  continued  success- 
fully ever  since.  A  few  years  later  the  firm 
name  became  J.  B.  &  J.  F.  Jolly.  In  1904 
the  present  firm  organized  as  Jolly,  Wie- 
land  &  Richardson.  These  two  men  had  been 
with  Mr.  Jolly  as  clerks  for  many  years,  the 
former  as  manager  of  the  store  and  the  latter 
as  manager  of  the  manufacturing  depart- 
ment of  plumbing,  tinning  and  heating.  The 
change  was  due  to  the  impairment  of  Mr. 
Jolly's  health. 

They  carry  an  extensive  line  of  hardware, 
stoves,  tinware  and  in  fact  a  complete  and 
carefully  selected  stock  of  such  things  at  all 
times,  and  they  carry  on  a  very  extensive 
trade  throughout  the  county. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


135 


Mr.  Jolly  was  united  in  marriage  in  1880, 
to  Mary  Morrison,  a  native  of  Olney,  the 
daughter  of  George  D.  and  Kate  (Snyder) 
Morrison,  the  former  a  native  of  Ohio  and 
the  latter  of  Lawrence  county,  Illinois.  The 
Morrisons  were  originally  from  Virginia, 
and  the  Snyders  of  Kentucky.  The  mother 
resides  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Jolly,  in  Ol- 
ney. The  father  died  in  1873,  at  the  age 
of  forty-one  years.  One  daughter  has  been 
born  to  our  subject  and  wife,  George  Eliza- 
beth, who  was  educated  at  Olney  in  the 
high  school  and  at  Wellesley  College.  She 
is  a  winsome  and  talented  young  lady  and 
popular  in  whatever  society  she  enters. 

Mr.  Jolly  is  an  active  Republican.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  County  Central  Com- 
mittee for  twelve  years,  and  was  Mayor  of 
Olney  from  1895  to  J896,  during  which 
time  he  did  many  things  that  will  be  of  per- 
manent benefit  to  the  town,  leaving  more 
money  in  the  treasury  at  the  expiration  of 
his  term  than  ever  had  been  and  has  been 
since.  His  was  a  most  excellent  business 
administration. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  he  belongs  to 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  Mrs.  Jolly  is  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  and  is  president  of 
the  Ladies'  Guild,  which  has  raised  more 
money  than  any  similar  organization,  being 
largely  responsible  for  the  erection  of  the 
new  church  building. 

In  1889,  owing  to  poor  health,  Mr.  Jolly 
went  to  California  and  after  many  months 
returned  to  his  home  much  improved.  When 
he  came  back  to  Olney  it  was  with  the  in- 


tention of  quitting  the  confinement  of  the 
store  and  engaging  in  outdoor  pursuits,  and 
he  accordingly  became  interested  in  horti- 
culture, and  in  the  spring  of  1890,  planted 
the  second  commercial  orchard  in  Richland 
county  of  eighty  acres  adjoining  Olney. 
Since  then  he  has  bought  adjoining  tracts 
and  planted  additional  acreage  until  now  he 
owns  two  hundred  acres  of  fine  fruit  land, 
set  a  well  selected  variety  of  trees,  nearly 
all  of  which  are  bearing.  He  has  been  very 
active  along  these  lines  and  is  one  of  the  best 
posted  and  well  known  horticulturists  in 
Southern  Illinois.  His  work  and  practical 
experience  and  demonstrations,  have  con- 
tributed much  to  the  interest  taken  by  others 
in  bringing  Richland  county  to  the  front 
as  one  of  the  leading  fruit  sections  in  this 
part  of  the  state,  and  he  now  has  one  of  the 
finest  and  best  kept  orchards  in  the  state, 
from  which  in  1902  from  one  hundred  acres 
he  sold  the  apple  crop  for  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars, it  having  produced  ten  thousand  bar- 
rels. He  employs  modern  methods  in  his 
horticultural  work,  and  his  farm  buildings 
and  equipment  are  of  the  latest  and  most  up- 
to-date  in  this  section  of  the  state.  The 
spraying  plant  is  without  doubt  the  most 
complete  in  Southern  Illinois,  if  net  in  the 
state.  He  has  tanks  for  manufacturing 
spray,  and  the  cooking  of  the  same  for  four 
thousand  gallons  capacity,  the  cooking  be- 
ing done  by  steam,  and  gasoline  engines  for 
power  in  spraying.  Being  enthusiastic  in 
horticulture,  it  naturally  follows  that  he  is 
a  student  and  active  in  societies  of  this  na- 
ture. For  the  past  ten  years  he  has  been 


:36 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


president  of  the  Richland  County  Horticul- 
tural Society,  which  was  organized  about 
1888,  although  its  greatest  and  best  work 
has  been  accomplished  of  late  years.  He 
has  also  been  a  member  of  the  Illinois  Hor- 
ticultural Society,  and  for  more  than  seven 
years  a  member  of  its  advisory  committee, 
which  has  been  of  great  benefit  to  horticul- 
tural interests  of  Richland  county.  The 
state  makes  appropriations  for  experimental 
work  in  various  parts  of  Illinois  and  the 
money  is  judiciously  expended  by  the  advis- 
ory committee  at  such  points  wherein  their 
judgment  the  best  results  can  be  obtained. 
Mr.  Jolly  is  a  public-spirited  man,  always 
ready  to  do  what  he  can  in  furthering  the 
interests  of  the  county,  and  he  is  regarded 
by  all  as  one  of  the  county's  most  useful 
citizens,  and  numbers  his  friends  by  the 
scores. 


W.  S.  CONANT. 

Marion  county,  Illinois,  is  characterized 
by  her  full  share  of  the  honored  and  faith- 
ful element  who  have  done  so  much  for  the 
development  and  upbuilding  of  the  state  and 
the  establishment  of  the  institutions  of  civ- 
ilization in  this  fertile  and  well  favored  sec- 
tion. Among  these  worthy  native  sons  the 
name  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is 
properly  installed. 

W.  S.  Conant  was  born  in  this  county, 
September  22,  1854,  the  son  of  William  R., 
and  Fannie  (Swift)  Conant.  Grandfather 
Conant  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who 
moved  from  that  state  to  Georgia  and  then 


to  Illinois,  settling  in  Marion  county,  com- 
ing here  in  an  early  day  and  being  the  first 
school  teacher  in  the  county.  He  entered 
land  here  and  farmed  for  some  time,  having 
passed  to  his  rest  about  1840,  at  the  age  of 
about  fifty  years.  His  wife  died  within  one 
week  of  her  husband.  Grandfather  Swift 
was  a  native  of  Tennessee,  who  moved  to 
this  county  about  1830,  entering  land  here 
which  he  developed  into  a  farm  and  where 
he  reared  his  family.  He  died  a  short  dis- 
tance from  where  he  first  located,  having 
moved  to  the  former  place,  his  death  occur- 
ring about  1870,  when  he  was  about  sev- 
enty years  old.  His  widow  survived  him 
about  ten  years.  She  was  a  Presbyterian. 
There  were  five  children  in  this  family,  all 
of  them  living  to  maturity. 

The  father  of  the  subject  was  born  in 
Georgia  and  came  to  Illinois  with  his  par- 
ents when  he  was  but  a  boy.  His  father 
being  a  teacher,  he  received  some  education, 
but  the  father  of  the  subject  was  a  hard- 
working man  and  did  not  take  time  to  prop- 
erly improve  his  education.  He  was  always 
a  farmer.  He  entered  land  which  he  later 
added  to  by  purchase  until  he  had  a  valu- 
able farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  which  he 
left  at  his  death.  The  mother  of  the  sub- 
ject died  when  she  was  two  years  old,  in 
1856,  his  father  having  died  at  the  age  of 
forty.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  political  be- 
lief.' 

W.  S.  Conant.  our  subject,  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  a  common  school  education,  and 
having  applied  himself  in  a  diligent  manner 
he  became  fairly  well  educated,  not  leaving 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


137 


the  school  room  until  he  was  nineteen  years 
old.  He  worked  on  his  father's  farm  until 
he  was  twenty,  when  he  went  to  work  on  his 
own  account.  He  farmed  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  then  rented  a  farm  and  so  continued 
for  four  years.  He  then  bought  a  farm  in 
1 88 1  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres. 
It  was  unimproved  prairie  land,  but  the  sub- 
ject devoted  seven  years  of  hard  work  on 
the  place  and  developed  a  fine  and  well  im- 
proved farm.  He  still  owns  this  place.  He 
then  bought  a  residence  property,  and  in 
time  sold  that  and  purchased  the  farm 
where  he  has  since  resided,  which  consists 
of  twenty-four  acres  on  which  there  is  a 
modern  and  substantial  residence  together 
with  convenient  out-buildings.  The  subject 
carries  on  general  farming  in  a  most  suc- 
cessful manner,  skillfully  rotating  his  crops 
so  as  to  keep  the  soil  in  good  productive 
condition.  He  also  devoted  much  time  to 
stock-raising,  being  a  good  judge  of  all 
kinds  of  live  stock,  especially  cattle  and 
horses.  He  frequently  feeds  for  the  mar- 
ket, but  is  now  selling  his  stock  for  other 
purposes.  He  raises  a  good  class  of  horses. 
For  six  years  he  engaged  in  buying  and  sel- 
ling live  stock  in  connection  with  his  farm- 
ing and  made  this  business  a  success  in 
every  particular. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  in 
November,  1877,  to  Agnes  I.  Morgan, 
daughter  of  J.  B.  and  Martha  (Doolen) 
Morgan,  who  came  to  this  county  at  an 
early  day.  There  were  two  of  the  Doolen 
brothers  who  went  through  the  Civil  war, 
and  are  living  in  1908. 


Six  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  as  follows :  Martha,  born  in 
1880,  who  died  in  infancy;  Gracie;  Flor- 
ence, who  was  born  in  1881,  died  when 
three  years  old ;  William,  who  was  born 
September  22,  1885,  died  when  six  years 
old;  George,  who  was  born  July  8,  1887, 
is  a  farmer,  married  and  has  one  child; 
Clarence  C.  was  born  July  14,  1894;  Lewis 
was  born  in  1897,  is  single  and  living  at 
home. 

The  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  his  fraternal 
relations,  and  also  a  Modern  Woodman,  be- 
longing also  to  the  Royal  Neighbors,  having 
filled  all  the  chairs  in  an  able  manner  in 
the  Woodmen.  In  his  religious  affiliations 
he  subscribes  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  South,  as  does  also  his  wife.  Mr. 
Conant  is  a  loyal  Democrat  although  he 
does  not  find  much  time  to  devote  to  polit- 
ical matters. 


GEORGE  D.  MORRISON. 

The  biographer  is  glad  to  herein  set  forth 
the  salient  facts  in  the  eminently  successful 
and  honorable  career  of  the  well  remem- 
bered and  highly  esteemed  citizen  of  Rich- 
land  county  whose  name  appears  above,  the 
last  chapter  in  whose  life  record  has  been 
closed  by  the  hand  of  death,  and  the  seal 
set  thereon  forever,  but  whose  influence  still 
pervades  the  lives  of  those  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.  For  many  years  he  was 
closelv  identified  with  the  industrial  develop- 


138 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ment  of  the  county,  and  aided  in  every  way 
possible  in  promoting  the  general  good  of 
the  community. 

George  D.  Morrison  was  born  at  Zanes- 
ville,  Ohio,  April  i,  1832,  the  son  of  George 
W.  and  Rebecca  (Potter)  Morrison,  the  for- 
mer a  native  of  Loudoun  county,  Virginia, 
the  latter  of  Maryland.  During  his  earlier 
years,  the  subject's  father  was  a  freighter, 
keeping  numerous  teams  and  transporting 
merchandise  from  Boston  and  other  Eastern 
markets  to  the  interior  before  the  days  of 
railroads.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of 
1812,  and  was  severely  wounded,  suffering 
from  the  wound  for  a  number  of  years,  ren- 
dering finally  the  amputation  of  his  limb  a 
necessity.  After  his  marriage  he  moved  to 
Ohio  and  for  several  years  engaged  in  the 
hotel  business.  Later  he  came  to  Richland 
county,  and  died  in  Olney  when  about 
eighty  years  of  age,  his  wife  having  died  a 
few  months  previous  at  a  ripe  old  age.  They 
were  the  parents  of  twelve  children.  Four  of 
their  sons  were  soldiers  in  the  Civil  war, 
and  five  of  their  sons  were  ministers  of  the 
Gospel.  One  of  their  sons  started  east  from 
Ohio  in  the  early  days  with  a  load  of  sup- 
plies but  was  never  heard  from  afterwards. 
The  six  horse  team  and  wagon  of  supplies 
all  mysteriously  disappeared  in  the  wilder- 
ness. Foul  play  by  bandits  or  the  Indians 
was  suspected.  Our  subject  was  the  ninth 
in  order  of  birth.  He  was  reared  in  Ohio 
where  he  received  a  good  common  school 
education,  and  after  removing  to  Illinois  at- 
tended an  advanced  school  at  Evanston,  Il- 
linois. He  became  clerk  in  a  store.  About 
1855  he  came  to  Olney  and  followed  clerk- 


ing for  a  time.  He  later  established  a  dry 
goods  store  just  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  war.  His  health  beginning  to  fail  he 
sold  out  and  served  one  term  as  Circuit 
Clerk  of  Richland  county,  giving  entire  sat- 
isfaction in  this  capacity.  He  was  elected 
County  Treasurer  and  died  during  his  in- 
cumbency of  this  office  in  1873,  at  the  age  of 
forty-one  years.  He  was  married  in  1860 
to  Kate  Snyder,  a  native  of  Lawrence 
county,  Illinois,  the  daughter  of  John  and 
Clarissa  (Spencer)  Snyder.  They  were  na- 
tives of  Kentucky,  where  they  were  reared 
and  where  they  were  married,  and  in  an 
early  day  emigrated  to  Lawrence  county, 
Illinois.  Soon  afterward  in  1838,  they 
came  to  what  is  now  Richland  county,  and 
located  on  a  farm  in  Claremont  township,  for 
years  known  as  Hickory  Point.  This  farm 
was  entered  from  the  government  by  the 
father  of  John  Snyder,  who  was  among  the 
first'  settlers  of  what  is  now  Richland 
county.  Samuel  Snyder  was  the  subject's 
grandfather.  He  was  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  reared  in  Kentucky  and  moved 
from  Rockport,  Indiana,  to  Illinois.  One  of 
his  sons,  Maurice  B.  Snyder,  was  Circuit 
Clerk  after  the  organization  of  Richland 
county,  for  a  number  of  years.  Grandfather 
Spencer  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  he 
moved  to  Kentucky  in  an  early  day.  Both 
the  subject's  grandfathers  served  in  the  War 
of  1812.  Three  of  grandfather  Spencer's 
sons  were  in  the  War  of  1812,  also  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war.  Spencer  county,  Indiana, 
was  named  in  honor  of  this  family. 

John   Snyder,   father  of  Mrs.   Morrison, 
was  a  farmer  during  his  lifetime  and  im- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


139 


proved  a  fine  farm  in  Claremont  township, 
where  he  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years 
in  1861.  His  wife  survived  several  years 
and  died  at  the  home  of  her  daughter  at 
Poplar  Bluff,  Missouri,  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-three  years.  She  was  the  mother 
of  five  children,  four  of  whom  are  still  liv- 
ing. Her  only  son,  John  Snyder,  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Civil  war,  having  enlisted  as  soon 
as  old  enough,  in  the  Seventh  Illinois  Cav- 
alry. He  was  in  many  engagements,  and 
his  health  was  impaired  while  in  the  service. 
He  now  lives  in  Douglas  county,  Missouri. 
Mrs.  Morrison  is  the  mother  of  three 
children ;  Mary,  the  wife  of  J.  F.  Jolly,  of 
Olney;  Mattie,  wife  of  J.  L.  Clevlen,  of 
Poplar  Bluff,  Missouri;  Kate,  the  wife  of 
E.  A.  Powers,  of  Olney.  Mrs.  Morrison 
makes  her  home  with  her  children,  spending 
most  of  her  time  in  Olney.  She  is  one  of 
the  oldest  residents  of  the  county  now  living. 
Her  life  has  been  one  of  the  usual  hardship 
and  pleasure,  of  victory  and  defeat,  but  lived 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  result  in  no  harm  to 
others,  as  was  also  that  of  her  worthy  hus- 
band, both  being  faultless  in  honor,  fearless 
in  conduct  and  stainless  in  reputation,  com- 
manding the  uniform  regard  and  esteem  of 
their  many  friends. 


SAMUEL  D.  GRAHAM. 

The  enterprising  citizen  whose  name 
heads  this  article  needs  no  introduction  to 
the  people  of  Marion  county.  He  has  been 


for  some  time  prominently  identified  with 
the  financial  and  industrial  interests  of  the 
community  where  he  resides  and  always 
manifesting  an  active  interest  in  the  pub- 
lic welfare.  His  long  life  has  been  a  most 
active  and  useful  one  in  every  respect,  and 
has  resulted  in  the  accumulation  of  an 
ample  competence  for  his  closing  years  as 
well  as  in  much  good  to  his  fellow  men  and 
the  community  at  large,  where  he  has  many 
warm  friends. 

Samuel  D.  Graham  was  born  in  Rush 
county,  Indiana,  in  April,  1836,  the  son  of 
Hezekiah  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Graham. 
Grandfather  Graham  was  born  in  Scotland 
and  came  to  Pennsylvania  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Both  he  and  his  brother, 
Isaac,  came  from  Scotland  and  both  fought 
in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Grandfather 
was  a  captain  and  he  had  his  eyes  burned  by 
the  explosion  of  a  gun  in  the  hands  of  one 
of  his  own  soldiers  and  eventually  lost  his 
eyesight  from  the  effects  of  it,  having  been 
blind  for  twenty  years  before  his  death.  He 
never  drew  his  pension  although  it  was  al- 
lowed. It  is  in  the  hands  of  the  govern- 
ment yet.  He  was  about  eighty  years  old 
when  he  died,  leaving  eight  children  living 
out  of  a  family  of  nine,  all  of  whom  lived 
to  maturity,  five  of  whom  moved  to  Ohio, 
where  they  made  homes  and  reared  families 
and  where  they  died.  Grandfather  was  dea- 
con in  the  Baptist  church  for  forty  years, 
and  he  and  Grandmother  Graham  were 
Baptists  and  always  lived  the  Christian  life. 

Grandfather  Smith  was  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, who  moved  from  there  to  Butler 


HKICKAI'IIICAI.    AM)    UK  M  I  ,\  1SC1CNT     HISTORY    OF 


county,  Ohio,  after  the  death  of  his  first 
wife.  He  and  our  subject's  father  were 
married  by  the  same  minister  and  with  the 
same  ceremony.  In  Grandfather  Smith's 
family  there  were  seven  children,  who  lived 
to  maturity.  The  youngest  daughter  by 
this  marriage,  Rebecca  McClelland,  was  the 
mother  of  Gen.  George  B.  McClelland. 
There  was  no  issue  from  the  second  mar- 
riage. Grandfather  Smith  lived  to  be  well 
advanced  in  years.  After  his  remains  had 
been  buried  twelve  years,  they  were  taken 
up  for  removal  and  it  was  found  that  his 
body  was  petrified.  Grandfather  Smith  was 
a  Revolutionary  soldier  and  one  of  his  sons- 
in-law,  Oren  Davis,  was  with  him  as  a  sol- 
dier, and  his  son,  Charles  was  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war. 

The  father  of  the  subject  left  Pennsyl- 
vania when  twenty  years  old.  He  did  not 
have  early  school  advantages,  but  in  time 
became  educated  and  a  well  read  man 
through  his  own  persistent  efforts,  being 
particularly  well  informed  on  historical  mat- 
ters and  events.  He  settled  in  Butler 
county,  Ohio,  buying  timbered  land  which 
he  cleared  and  developed  into  a  good  farm, 
living  there  for  about  twelve  years,  when  he 
moved  to  Rush  county,  Indiana,  in  1831, 
remaining  there  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years,  his 
date  of  birth  having  occurred  on  August  6, 
1799.  His  wife  was  born  in  October,  1800. 
He  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being 
the  mother  of  our  subject.  She  died  at  the 
age  of  thirty-seven  years,  having  given 
birth  to  eleven  children,  seven  of  whom 


lived  to  maturity.  The  father  was  married 
again,  there  being  born  to  the  last  union 
ten  children,  all  of  whom  lived  to  maturity. 
The  father  and  mother  were  Baptists.  The 
former  spent  his  entire  life  on  a  farm, 
leaving  a  farm  and  a  goodly  share  of  money 
to  his  heirs,  and  also  left  land  in  Iowa,  all 
of  which  shows  that  he  was  a  thrifty  and 
prudent  man  of  affairs. 

Hezekiah  Graham,  father  of  the  subject, 
in  addition  to  his  own  family  of  eighteen 
children  took  four  orphan  boys  and  one 
girl  and  kept  them  until  they  reached  ma- 
turity and  in  addition  to  these  he  was  al- 
ways hunting  and  finding  homes  for  other 
orphan  children,  and  his  own  smoke-house 
and  granary  were  always  open  to  the  poor 
and  needy.  He  believed  with  the  great 
philosopher,  Henry  Drummond,  that  "The 
greatest  thing  a  man  can  do  for  his 
Heavenly  Father  is  to  be  kind  to  some  of 
His  children." 

Samuel  D.  Graham,  our  subject,  had  but 
little  opportunity  to  attend  school,  having 
spent  altogether  less  than  six  months  in  the 
school  room.  He  worked  on  his  father's 
farm  until  he  was  twenty-six  years  old,  then 
hired  out  as  a  farm  hand  for  ten  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  saved  his  earnings  and 
bought  a  farm  in  Fayette  county,  Indiana. 
He  lived  there  for  ten  years,  then  sold  out 
and  bought  another  farm  in  Union  county, 
Indiana,  and  sold  this  at  the  end  of  two 
years,  when  he  moved  to  Illinois,  settling 
in  Marion  county,  buying  a  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty-five  acres  of  improved 
land,  near  Kinmundy  in  1882.  In  1903  he 


RICIILAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


bought  his  splendid  modern  residence  and 
two  acres  of  ground  in  Kinmundy,  where 
he  has  since  resided.  He  sold  his 
farm  here  and  bought  a  farm  in 
Butler  county,  Missouri,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  improved  bottom 
land  on  which  his  son  resides  and  success- 
fully manages.  Since  coming  to  Kinmundy 
our  subject  has  lived  in  peaceful  and  hon- 
orable retirement,  conscious  of  a  well  spent 
life,  which  has  been  a  very  active  one  and 
has  resulted  in  success  in  an  eminent 
degree.  He  always  benefited  himself  in 
his  land  deals  and  was  an  unusually  good 
farmer,  keeping  his  farms  well  improved 
and  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

Our  subject  was  married  in  1870  to  Mrs. 
Rhoda  E.  Prichard,  nee  Patterson,  a  native 
of  Union  county,  Indiana.  Her  father, 
Alexander  Patterson,  was  born  December 
7,  1815,  and  came  to  Ohio  when  fifteen 
years  of  age,  later  to  Union  county,  Indiana, 
where  his  father  had  purchased  an  eighty- 
acre  farm.  He  lived  and  died  on  that  farm. 
Mrs.  Graham  became  the  mother  of  three 
children  by  her  first  marriage,  all  of  whom 
are  deceased.  One  of  the  oldest  brothers, 
James  M.  Patterson,  was  a  soldier  during 
the  Civil  war  from  Indiana,  and  was  killed 
at  Winchester,  Virginia,  in  the  battle  of 
September  19,  1864.  Her  people  were  of 
Scotch-German  descent.  Her  grandparents 
on  her  father's  side  were  married  Septem- 
ber 6,  1798.  Grandfather  Patterson  was 
born  April  14,  1769,  and  Grandmother  Pat- 
terson was  born  July  29,  1776. 

The  following  children   have  been   born 


to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graham:  Harvey  McClel- 
land, born  August  23,  1871,  was  accident- 
ally killed  in  1904;  William  H.,  was  born 
in  1873,  is  living  on  a  farm  in  Missouri,  is 
married,  but  has  no  children  living:  Tillie 
Alma,  who  was  born  December  15,  1878, 
died  January  28,  1879;  Katie  L.,  born  May 
6,  1880,  is  the  wife  of  Melvin  Hamilton, 
and  is  living  in  Indiana.  They  have  two 
children  living. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graham  are  active 
members  of  the  Baptist  church.  Our  sub- 
ject is  a  loyal  Democrat,  but  seldom  takes 
much  interest  in  political  affairs,  however, 
his  support  is  always  for  the  good  of  the 
community  in  all  questions. 

Our  subject  has  been  a  great  reader,  hav- 
ing read  the  Bible  through  not  less  than  six 
or  seven  times,  besides  scores  of  other  good 
books  and  much  pure  literary  matter.  He 
relates  that  he  has  been  acquainted  with 
not  less  than  five  hundred  of  the  Grahams 
and  that  he  never  knew  or  heard  of 
one  of  them  who  ever  used  intoxicants  of 
any  kind  or  character,  and  but  few  of  them 
who  ever  used  tobacco.,  and  about  one-half 
of  them  are  church  people. 


ERASTUS  D.  TELFORD. 

Only  those  who  come  in  personal  con- 
tact with  the  gentleman  whose  name  appears 
above,  the  popular  and  well  known  City  At- 
torney of  Salem,  Illinois,  can  understand 
how  thoroughly  nature  and  training,  habits 


142 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AM)    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


of  thought  and  action,  have  enabled  him  to 
accomplish  his  life  work  and  made  him  a  fit 
representative  of  the  enterprising  class  of 
professional  people  to  which  he  belongs.  He 
is  a  fine  .type  of  the  sturdy,  conscientious 
American  of  today — a  man  who  unites  a 
high  order  of  ability  with  courage,  pa- 
triotism, clean  morality  and  sound  common 
.sense,  doing  thoroughly  and  well  the  work 
that  he  finds  to  do  and  asking  praise  of  no 
man  for  the  performance  of  what  he  con- 
ceives to  be  his  simple  duty. 

Erastus  D.  Tel  ford  was  born  in  Raccoon 
township,  Marion  county,  April  23,  1874. 
J.  D.  Telford,  whose  life  history  is  embod- 
ied in  another  part  of  this  volume,  who  has 
long  been  a  well  known  and  influential  char- 
acter about  Salem,  is  the  father  of  our  sub- 
ject. Samuel  G.  Telford,  who  lives  in 
Haines  township,  and  who  was  born  in  1827 
in  this  county,  and  who  is  still  making  his 
home  two  and  one-half  miles  west  of  where 
he  was  born,  is  the  subject's  grandfather. 
His  great-grandfather  was  James  Telford, 
a  native  of  South  Carolina,  who  settled  in 
Marion  county  in  1822,  died  in  1856.  Our 
subject's  father  was  the  first  Republican 
Sheriff  of  Marion  county,  having  been 
elected  in  1882.  The  mother  of  the  subject 
was  known  in  her  maidenhood  as  Ann 
Wyatt,  a  native  of  Tennessee  and  the  rep- 
resentative of  a  fine  old  southern  family. 
Her  father  sold  all  his  possessions  in  that 
state  and  came  to  Illinois  in  1860,  settling 
on  the  farm  now  owned  by  J.  D.  Telford, 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  to  whom 
and  his  worthy  and  faithful  life  companion 


seven  children  were  born,  all  living  at  this 
writing,  named  in  order  of  birth  as  follows : 
Dr.  A.  T.,  of  Olney,  Illinois;  Erastus  D., 
our  subject;  Ula,  of  the  United  States  Life 
Saving  Station  of  Chicago ;  Omer,  who  lives 
on  a  farm  three  miles  west  of  Salem;  Oran 
is  living  at  .home;  Erma,  who  is  still  a 
member  of  the  family  circle;  J.  D.,  Jr. 
These  children  were  reared  in  a  wholesome 
home  atmosphere  and  were  given  every  ad- 
vantage possible  by  their  parents. 

E.  D.  Telford  has  lived  in  Salem  for 
twenty-six  years,  or  since  his  father  moved 
here.  He  worked  on  the  parental  farm  un- 
til he  was  twenty-one  years  old,  where  he 
received  valuable  training  in  the  out  door 
life  of  the  country,  not  the  least  advantage 
of  which  was  the  acquisition  of  a  robust  con- 
stitution which  is  a  necessary  prerequisite 
for  the  battle  of  life  in  any  field  of  endeavor. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  in  his  neigh- 
borhood and  later  graduated  in  1890  from 
the  Salem  high  schools  where  he  made  a 
splendid  record,  for  our  subject  early  de- 
termined to  secure  a  good  education  and  fit 
himself  as  best  he  possibly  could  for  life's 
ardent  duties. 

After  leaving  school  he  decided  to  teach 
and  consequently  followed  this  line  of  work 
with  marked  success  for  a  few  years,  during 
which  time  he  became  widely  known 
throughout  the  county  as  an  able  instructor. 
But  not  being  satisfied  with  the  education 
he  already  possessed,  and  with  the  routine 
and  somewhat  obscure  work  of  the  teacher, 
he  gave  up  his  work  and  entered  McKen- 
dree  College,  a  denominational  school  at 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


143 


Lebanon,  Illinois,  from  which  institution  he 
graduated  with  high  honors  in  1897,  with 
the  degree  Bachelor  of  Science.  Having 
decided  to  make  the  profession  of  law  his 
life  work,  Mr.  Telford  in  the  fall  of  1898 
went  to  Washington  City  and  entered  the 
law  department  of  Georgetown  University, 
where  he  made  a  brilliant  record  and  from 
which  institution  he  graduated  in  1900.  In 
the  meantime  he  had  been  appointed  to  a  po- 
sition in  the  United  States  Treasury  depart- 
ment, his  unusual  talents  having  attracted 
the  attention  of  authorities  in  this  depart- 
ment. Mr.  Telford  remained  in  the  Treas- 
ury department,  where  he  gave  the  greatest 
satisfaction  to  the  higher  officials  and  where 
his  work  was  very  creditably  and  faithfully 
performed  until  April  i,  1906,  when  he  re- 
signed and  returned  to  Salem,  Illinois,  for 
the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the  practice  of 
law,  and,  useless  to  say  that  his  success  was 
instantaneous,  and  he  at  once  had  a  large 
clientele,  his  office  being  sought  by  clients 
with  a  wide  range  of  cases,  and  his  fame 
soon  overspread  Marion  county,  extending 
to  other  fields,  consequently  he  was  fre- 
quently called  to  other  localities  on  import- 
ant cases  and  his  cool,  careful,  determined 
manner  in  presenting  his  arguments  before 
a  jury  seldom  failed  in  bringing  a  verdict  in 
his  favor. 

Mr.  Telford  was  soon  slated  for  political 
preferment,  leaders  in  his  party  being  quick 
to  detect  unusual  ability  as  a  public  official 
in  him,  consequently  in  April,  1907,  he  was 
elected  City  Attorney  of  Salem,  which  posi- 
tion he  now  very  creditably  fills  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  entire  community.  At  the 


primaries  in  August,  1908,  he  was  nomi- 
nated by  the  Republicans  for  State  Attorney 
for  Marion  county. 

Mr.  Telford's  domestic  life  dates  from 
November  i,  1900,  when  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Coral  M.  Wright,  the  accom- 
plished daughter  of  William  Wright,  a  well 
known  and  influential  citizen  of  Lincoln, 
Nebraska.  The  following  bright  and  inter- 
esting children  have  come  into  the  cozy  and 
pleasant  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Telford, 
bringing  additional  sunshine:  Elbridge 
Wright  Telford,  whose  day  of  birth  oc- 
curred September  29,  1901 ;  Dorothy  Mar- 
garet, who  first  saw  the  light  of  day  on 
August  1 8,  1905. 

Mr.  Telford  has  been  a  careful  business 
man  as  well  as  a  successful  attorney,  and  he 
has  accumulated  rapidly,  now  being  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Salem  National  Bank,  also  the 
Salem  Building  and  Loan  Association.  He 
is  the  owner  of  a  modern,  substantial  and 
beautiful  residence  on  North  Broadway. 

In  his  fraternal  relations,  our  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  ancient  and  honorable  order 
of  Masons,  the  Blue  Lodge  and  the  Royal 
Arch  Chapter;  also  a  Modern  Woodman. 
And  both  he  and  his  wife  are  consistent  and 
faithful  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church.  Mr.  Telford  is  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial and  popular  men  of  Marion  county, 
and  his  home  which  is  presided  over  with 
rare  grace  and  dignity  by  Mrs.  Telford,  is 
the  center  of  a  genial  hospitality.  He  is 
liberal  in  his  support  of  all  religious  and 
charitable  movements,  and  no  one  takes  a 
greater  pride  in  the  progress  of  his  commu- 
nity. 


144 


'.lor.K.MMIICAl.     A\l>     KKMIXISCKNT     HISTORY     OF 


\VILLIAM  T.  STORMENT. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  introduces 
this  sketch  is  one  of  the  leading  farmers  and 
fruit  growers  of  Marion  county,  and  also 
enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  a  representa- 
tive of  two  of  the  old  and  highly  esteemed 
pioneer  families  of  the  township  in  which  he 
lives.  John  Stormenit,  his  grandfather, 
a  South  Carolinian  by  birth,  moved  to 
Marion  county  about  the  year  1838, 
and  purchased  a  large  tract  of  govern- 
ment land,  principally  in  what  is  now  Haines 
township,  the  patents  for  which  bearing  the 
signature  of  President  Van  Buren  are  now 
in  the  possession  of  the  subject  of  this  re- 
view. John  Storment  became  a  prosperous  ^ 
farmer  and  representative  citizen  and 
wielded  a  strong  influence  among  the  early 
settlers  of  Haines  township,  having  been  a 
man  of  great  force  of  character  and  deter- 
mination of  purpose.  He  did  much  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  agriculture  and  will 
long  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  sterling 
yeomen  to  whose  labors  and  influence  the 
present  flourishing  condition  of  Haines 
township  is  largely  due. 

William  K.  Storment,  son  of  John  Stor- 
ment and  father  of  William  T.,  was  a  native 
of  Marion  county  and  for  many  years  one 
of  the  progressive  farmers  and  enterprising- 
citizens  of  the  township  of  Haines.  He,  too, 
was  public  spirited  and  a  natural  leader 
among  his  fellow  men,  stood  high  in  the  es- 
teem of  all  with  whom  he  came  into  contact 
and  belonged  to  that  large  and  eminently  re- 
spectable class  who  in  a  quiet  but  forceful 


way  do  so  much  for  the  material  progress 
of  the  country  and  give  moral  tone  to  the 
body  politic.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  late 
Civil  war  he  enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred 
and  Eleventh  Illinois  Infantry  and  devoted 
three  of  the  best  years  of  his  life  to  the  serv- 
ice of  his  country,  participating  in  all  the 
campaigns  and  battles  in  which  his  regiment 
was  engaged  and  earning  an  honorable  rec- 
ord as  a  brave  and  gallant  defender  of  the 
Union. 

When  a  young  man  William  K.  Stormem 
married  Miss  Martha  I.  Wham,  of  Marion 
county,  and  in  due  time  became  the  father 
of  five  children,  namely:  Elmer  (deceased: 
Minnie  (deceased);  John  R.,  a  farmer  and 
fruit  grower  of  Mississippi ;  William  T.,  of 
this  review,  and  one  that  died  in  infancy. 
The  parents  of  these  children  were  esteemed 
members  of  the  United  Presbyterian  church 
and  spared  no  pains  to  impress  upon  their 
young  minds  and  hearts  the  principles  of  re- 
ligion and  the  beauty  and  value  of  a  living 
Christian  faith.  William  K.  Storment  was 
not  only  an  influential  man  in  the  affairs  of 
his  church,  but  was  also  a  local  politician  of 
considerable  note,  having  been  one  of  the 
leading  Republicans  of  his  township,  though 
never  a  partisan,  much  less  a  seeker  after 
the  honors  and  emoluments  of  public  office. 
He  died  some  years  ago  on  the  home  farm 
in  Haines  township,  lamented  by  all  who 
knew  him,  leaving  to  his  descendants  the 
memory  of  an  honored  name,  which  they 
value  as  a  priceless  heritage.  Mrs.  Storment 
is  the  daughter  of  William  Wham,  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Marion  county  and  an 


RESIDENCE  OF  W.  T.  STORMENT, 


OF  WEti|t.. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


145 


influential  factor  of  the  pioneer  period.  She 
is  still  living  and  enjoys  the  acquaintance  of 
a  large  circle  of  friends,  who  hold  her  in  the 
highest  personal  regard. 

William  T.  Storment,  to  a  brief  review  of 
whose  career  the  following  lines  are  de- 
voted, was  born  in  Haines  township  on  the 
farm  one  mile  north  of  Kell,  which  he  now 
owns  and  occupies,  September  10,  1867. 
Like  the  majority  of  country  lads,  he  was 
reared  to  habits  of  industry,  early  became 
familiar  with  the  various  duties  of  farm  life 
and  in  the  public  schools,  which  he  attended 
at  intervals  during  his  minority,  received  his 
educational  training.  Manifesting  a  decided 
taste  for  mechanical  pursuits  while  still 
young,  he  turned  his  abilities  in  this  direc- 
tion to  practical  use  by  learning  carpentry,  at 
which  he  acquired  more  than  ordinary  pro- 
ficiency and  which  he  followed  for  some 
years  in  his  own  and  neighboring  localities, 
a  number  of  residences  and  other  edifices 
bearing  witness  to  his  ability  and  skill  as  a 
builder.  After  a  time,  however,  he  discon- 
tinued his  trade  and  purchasing  the  home 
farm,  has  since  given  his  attention  to  agri- 
culture and  fruit  growing,  meeting  with 
most  encouraging  success  and  achieving 
much  more  than  local  repute  as  a  progres- 
sive and  up-to-date  tiller  of  the  soil.  In  the 
meantime  he  has  made  many  valuable  im- 
provements on  the  place,  remodeling  the 
house  and  converting  it  into  a  first  class  mod- 
ern dwelling  with  all  the  latest  conveniences, 
including  among  others  a  heating  plant  that 
adds  greatly  to  the  comfort  of  the  home,  be- 
sides lessening  in  no  small  degree  the  ex- 
10 


pense  of  providing  fuel.  The  barn,  which  is 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  conveniently  ar- 
ranged buildings  of  the  kind  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, is  a  model  of  architectural  and 
mechanical  skill,  while  all  the  other  improve- 
ments are  in  keeping  therewith,  the  farm 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
acres  of  highly  improved  land,  being  one  of 
the  most  valuable  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
desirable  places  of  its  area  in  Marion  county. 
Mr.  Storment  takes  a  pardonable  pride  in 
his  home  and  has  spared  neither  pains  nor 
expense  in  making  it  beautiful  and  attractive 
and  it  is  now  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  fin-% 
est  country  seats  not  only  in  Marion  county, 
but  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state.  Be- 
lieving this  section  of  Illinois  to  possess  the 
necessary  characteristics  for  successful  fruit 
growing,  Mr.  Storment  some  years  ago 
planted  a  part  of  his  farm  in  choice  apple, 
pear  and  peach  trees,  the  results  in  due  time 
more  than  realizing  his  highest  expectations. 
Encouraged  by  the  success  of  the  venture, 
he  continued  planting  from  time  to  time,  un- 
til he  now  has  one  hundred  and  ten  acres  in 
fruit,  the  income  from  which  far  surpasses 
what  he  ever  received  from  the  raising  of 
grain.  He  makes  horticulture  not  only  his 
chief  business,  but  pursues  it  with  the  en- 
thusiasm and  delight  of  a  pastime.  He  de- 
votes much  time  to  the  study  of  the  subject, 
reduces  his  researches  to  practical  tests,  and 
in  this  way  has  made  the  business  very  re- 
munerative. By  employing  scientific  meth- 
ods, such  as  proper  fertilizing,  spraying, 
pruning,  etc.,  he  never  fails  to  realize  abun- 
dant crops  of  the  finest  fruits  raised  in  this 


i46 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


part  of  the  state,  and  that,  too,  when  other 
orchards  fail  entirely  or  at  least  bear  but  a 
scanty  supply  and  of  a  poor  and  inferior 
quality.  Among  the  improvements  of  which 
he  makes  use  is  a  portable  gas  engine  for  the 
purpose  of  spraying,  the  value  of  which  in 
the  saving  of  time  as  well  as  of  insuring  full 
yields  is  many  hundred  fold  in  excess  of  the 
amount  the  contrivance  cost. 

Mr.  Storment  is  not  only  the  leading  hor- 
ticulturist in  Marion  county,  but  as  a  farm- 
er he  also  occupies  a  place  in  the  front  rank. 
making  use  of  modern  implements  and  ma- 
,chinery  and  employing  only  the  most  ap- 
proved methods  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 
He  is  essentially  progressive  in  his  ideas,  be- 
lieves that  satisfactory  results  can  only  be  ob- 
tained from  the  exercise  of  sound  judgment 
and  wise  discretion  and  possessing  the  abil- 
ity to  foresee  with  remarkable  accuracy  the 
future  outcome  of  present  action,  he  is  sel- 
dom if  ever  disappointed  in  any  of  his  plans 
or  undertakings.  A  man  of  strong  charac- 
ter and  inflexible  integrity,  he  stands  high 
as  a  citizen,  takes  an  active  interest  in  pub- 
lic matters  both  general  and  local  and  all 
measures  and  enterprises  for  the  material 
progress  of  the  country  and  the  social  and 
moral  advancement  of  the  people  are  sure  to 
enlist  his  hearty  co-operation  and  support. 
His  political  views  are  in  harmony  with  the 
principles  and  traditions  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  while  firm  in  his  convictions  and 
earnest  and  fearless  in  maintaining  the 
soundness  of  his  opinions,  he  cannot  be 
called  a  partisan,  nor  has  he  ever  disturbed 
the  even  tenor  of  his  life  by  aspiring  to  of- 


fice or  leadership.  He  is  first  of  all  a  credit- 
able representative  of  the  ancient  and  hon- 
orable calling  of  agriculture  and  as  such  he 
ranks  among  the  most  enterprising  and  suc- 
cessful men  in  the  state,  this,  with  the  simple 
title  of  citizen,  being  sufficient  to  make  him 
contented  with  his  lot,  as  well  as  an  example 
to  his  fellow  men  in  correct  living. 

The  domestic  life  of  Mr.  Storment  dates 
from  1892,  in  which  year  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Esta  Davis,  of  Marion  coun- 
ty, daughter  of  Bloom  P.  and  Mariah  (Al- 
bert) Davis,  both  natives  of  Illinois,  the  fa- 
ther of  Jefferson  county,  the  mother  of  the 
county  of  Marion.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Storment 
are  esteemed  members  of  the  United  Presby- 
terian church,  belonging  to  what  is  known  as 
the  Romine  Prairie  congregation  and  active 
in  all  lines  of  religious  and  charitable  work 
under  the  auspices  of  the  same.  Socially  they 
are  numbered  among  the  best  people  of  the 
community  in  which  they  reside  and  their 
popularity  is  limited  only  by  the  circle  of 
their  acquaintance.  The  Davis  family,  to 
which  Mrs.  Storment  belongs,  has  long  oc- 
cupied a  conspicuous  place  in  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  the  people  of  Marion  county 
and  its  reputation  for  honorable  manhood 
and  womanhood  is  second  to  that  of  no  oth- 
er family  in  this  part  of  the  state.  For  many 
years  the  name  has  been  identified  with  the 
Christian  church  of  Marion  and  neighboring 
counties,  Mr.  Davis  and  his  wife  having 
been  prominent  members  of  that  body  and 
influential  in  religious  work  in  their  own  and 
other  localities.  Mrs.  Storment  is  the  oldest 
of  a  family  of  four  children,  three  sisters  and 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


a  brother,  namely:  Maggie,  who  married 
Ernest  Kell,  of  Marion  county ;  Anderson, 
who  lives  on  the  home  farm,  and  Minnie, 
who  is  unmarried  and  also  a  member  of  the 
home  circle. 


JUDGE     THEODORE     AUGUSTUS 
FRITCHEY. 

When  it  is  stated  that  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  has  served  as  postmaster  of  Olney  for 
three  terms,  or  since  1897,  the  significance 
is  so  patent  that  nothing  further  need  be 
said  as  indicating  the  confidence  and 
esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  the 
people  of  Richland  county.  As  an 
able  official  and  representative  and  popu- 
lar citizen,  we  are  pleased  to  record  in  this 
work  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Fritchey,  who 
is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  the  county, 
and  who  for  many  years  was  among  the 
most  prominent  members  of  the  bar  and 
bench  in  this  locality,  and  who,  during  his 
long  residence  here  has  done  so  much  for 
the  material,  civic,  educational  and  moral 
advancement  of  the  county,  ever  having  its 
interests  at  heart  and  losing  no  opportunity 
to  help  others  in  the  work  of  progress 
while  advancing  his  own  interests. 

Theodore  Augustus  Fritchey  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county,  Ohio,  near  Dayton, 
April  24,  1855,  the  son  of  Benjamin  and  Eliz- 
abeth (McQueeny)  Fritchey,  natives  of 
Pennsylvania  where  they  were  reared  and 
where  they  married,  later  moving  to  Mont- 
gomery county,  Ohio,  locating  in  Baltimore, 


where  the  father  engaged  in  merchandising. 
In  1870  he  came  to  Olney  where  he  continued 
in  the  mercantile  busines  until  his  death  in 
1876,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  His  worthy 
life  companion  passed  to  her  rest  in  1900,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  They  were 
people  of  many  praiseworthy  traits  and  hon- 
orable at  all  times.  They  were  the  parents 
of  eight  children,  all  deceased  except  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  and  one  daughter,  Mrs. 
J.  I.  Moutray,  of  Kokomo,  Indiana,  the  sub- 
ject having  been  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth. 
He  was  reared  in  Ohio  and  Illinois,  receiving 
a  public  school  education.  He  was  an  ambi- 
tious lad  and  when  twenty  years  old  began 
the  study  of  law  with  Wilson  and  Hutchin- 
son,  for  years  the  leading  law  firm  of  South- 
ern Illinois.  He  made  rapid  progress  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1879.  He  then 
formed  a  partnership  with  Judge  J.  C.  Allen, 
which  continued  until  1907.  They  did  ar. 
immmense  business,  the  combination  being 
one  of  peculiar  power  and  their  clients  came 
from  all  parts  of  the  county  and  surrounding 
counties,  it  being  generally  recognized  as  one 
of  the  best  firms  in  the  locality.  The  subject 
became  prosperous  through  his  successful 
practice  and  since  the  date  mentioned  ha= 
been  practically  retired,  having  given  up  all 
legal  practice,  preferring  to  devote  all  his 
time  to  the  post-office  and  his  business  inter- 
ests in  Richland  and  adjoining  counties.  He 
has  large  interests  in  oil. 

In  his  political  relations  our  subject  is  a 
Republican,  always  loyal  to  his  party's  prin- 
ciples and  always  active.  When  he  was 
twenty-one  years  old  he  was  elected  City 


i48 


I'.IOCKAPHICAL    AND    RKM I X  ISfKXT     HISTORY    OF 


Clerk  by  a  majority  of  one,  and  he  so  faith- 
fully did  his  work  that  he  was  re-electe'J  to 
serve  four  years  in  all.  In  1881  he  was 
elected  City  Attorney  for  one  term  of  two 
years.  Then  for  two  terms  of  four  years  as 
County  Judge.  He  made  a  splendid  record 
both  as  City  Attorney  and  as  Judge,  dispos- 
ing of  many  important  cases  in  a  manner  that 
stamped  him  as  an  able  and  learned  jurist  and 
well  versed  in  the  law.  In  1897  he  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  of  Olney  by  President 
McKinley  and  is  now  (1909)  serving  his 
third  term  with  entire  satisfaction. 

Judge  Fritchey's  happy  domestic  life  be- 
gan in  1889,  when  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Mary  Eliza  Bucher,  a  native  of 
Lewisburg,  Pennsylvania,  the  daughter  of 
John  E.  and  Mary  E.  (Eby)  Bucher,  also  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania.  They  moved  to  Ohio, 
where  her  father  became  the  head  of  graded 
and  high  schools  and  where  he  died.  Mrs. 
Bucher  lives  with  her  daughter,  wife  of  our 
subject. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fritchey  are  the  parents  of 
two  children,  both  giving  promise  of  suc- 
cessful futures,  and  who  are  receiving  every 
care  and  attention  from  their  fond  parents. 
They  bear  the  names  Paul  B.  and  Theodore 
A.,  Jr. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Judge  Fritchey 
belongs  to  the  ancient  and  honored  Masonic 
Order,  Knights  Templar,  also  the  Shrine. 
He  is  a  charter  member  of  Olney  lodge  No. 
926,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fritchey  are  faithful 
and  consistent  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  They  have  a  beautiful 


home  in  which  is  a  fine  library  of  choice 
volumes,  where  the  judge  spends  many  hours 
in  reading  and  reflection,  and  they  are  known 
as  people  of  kindness,  integrity  and  culture. 

Judge  Fritchey  stands  admittedly  in  the 
front  ranks  of  Richland  county's  distin- 
guished citizens,  possessing  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  law  and  keeping  in  close  touch 
with  the  trend  of  modern  thought.  He  has 
ever  maintained  his  high  standing,  never  de- 
scending beneath  the  dignity  of  his  profes- 
sion nor  compromising  his  usefulness  by 
countenancing  any  but  legitimate  practice. 


LEANDER  C.  MATTHEWS. 

The  subject  has  spent  his  entire  life  in  this 
county  and  he  has  always  had  deeply  at 
heart  the  well-being  and  improvement  of  the 
county,  using  his  influence  whenever  pos- 
sible for  the  promotion  of  enterprises  cal- 
culated to  be  of  lasting  benefit  to  his  fellow 
men,  besides  taking  a  leading  part  in  all 
movements  for  the  advancement  of  the  com- 
munity along  social,  intellectual  and  moral 
lines. 

Leander  C.  Matthews  was  born  South  of 
Salem,  in  the  edge  of  Jefferson  county,  May 
25,  1848,  the  son  of  Andrew  J.  and  Hulda 
(Swafford)  Matthews,  natives  of  Tennessee 
and  Illinois,  respectively,  and  both  repre- 
sentatives of  honorable  and  well  known 
families  in  their  own  communities. 

Our  subject  remained  under  his  parental 
roof  until  he  reached  man's  estate  and  at- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


149 


tended  the  district  schools  in  his  native  com- 
munity and  in  Centralia,  where  he  applied 
himself  in  a  careful  manner  and  received  a 
good  education. 

Mr.  Matthews  early  decided  to  devote  his 
life  to  a  business  career  and  he  has  bent 
every  effort  to  this  end  with  gratifying  re- 
sults. 

He  commenced  a  general  business  in  1883 
at  Fairman,  Marion  county,  Illinois,  where 
he  remained  ten  years  with  much  success  at- 
tending his  efforts.  He  is  at  this  writing 
engaged  in  the  hay,  grain  and  implement 
business  in  Kinmundy,  this  county,  and  is 
conducting  a  thriving  business,  his  trade 
extending  to  all  parts  of  the  county  and 
penetrating  to  adjoining  counties,  in 
fact  he  is  one  of  the  best  known 
dealers  in  these  lines  in  this  part  of  the  state 
and  the  able  manner  in  which  he  conducts 
his  business  and  his  courteous  treatment 
with  those  with  whom  he  deals  insure  him 
a  liberal  income  from  year  to  year. 

Mr.  Matthews  was  united  in  marriage  Oc- 
tober 8,  1873,  to  S.  Elizabeth  Lydick,  who 
was  born  near  Odin,  this  county,  December 
24,  1854,  the  refined  and  affable  daughter 
of  Isaac  and  Sarah  (Sugg)  Lydick,  a  well 
known  family  of  that  locality. 

The  following  family  has  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Matthews:  Lillian,  Baby, 
Hallie,  Hulda,  Carl.  They  have  all  gone  to 
their  rest  except  Hulda,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Albert  C.  Dunlap,  of  Champaign,  Illinois. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Matthews  is 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  of  Kinmundy,  also  of  the  Knights 


of  Pythias  of  this  place.  In  politics  he  is  a 
loyal  Democrat  and  takes  a  vital  interest  in 
his  party's  affairs,  however,  he  has  never 
aspired  to  positions  of  public  trust.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  and  our  subject  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  substantial  church  workers  of 
Kinmundy,  and  he  has  long  taken  an  active 
part  in  all  religious  affairs.  He  is  a  man 
of  large  public  spirit  and  enterprise,  and  per- 
sonally is  of  the  genial  and  sunny  type, 
pleasant  to  meet  and  makes  friends  readily. 
He  likes  a  good  story  and  enjoys  a  good 
joke,  and  because  of  these  qualities  of  com- 
mendation and  genuine  worth  Mr.  Mat- 
thews has  won  a  host  of  warm  friends  which 
he  retains,  being  popular  with  all  classes  in 
his  community  where  he  maintains  a  home 
that  is  comfortable,  substantial  and  pleasant 
in  all  its  appointments  and  which  is  regarded 
as  a  place  of  generous  hospitality  and  good 
cheer. 


THE  OLNEY  SANITARIUM. 

One  of  the  important  institutions  of  Rich- 
land  county,  Illinois,  in  fact,  one  of  the  best 
known  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  is 
the  Olney  Sanitarium.  Its  phenomenal 
growth  in  a  short  time  from  a  modest  begin- 
ning to  a  prominent  place,  has  been  due  to 
the  untiring  efforts  and  extraordinary  surgi- 
cal and  business  ability  of  the  founder,  Dr. 
George  T.  Weber.  Fourteen  years  ago,  1894, 
he  had  just  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  and  had  begun  practice  as  a  young 


AX1)    KKMIX1SCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


man  without  means ;  however,  he  was  always 
ambitious  and  an  assiduous  worker  and  made 
a  good  record  in  school,  and  it  was  predicted 
by  his  instructors  and  friends  that  the  future 
held  great  things  in  store  for  him.  His  first 
practice  was  in  the  village  of  Ingraham,  Clay 
county,  near  his  birthplace,  where  he  re- 
mained for  four  years  with  growing  popular- 
ity and  success,  during  which  time  his  work 
in  surgery  and  special  cases  had  attracted 
more  than  ordinary  attention  and  had  sug- 
gested to  him  the  necessity  and  desirability 
of  a  central  point,  where  patients  could  be 
cared  for  better  than  at  their  hofnes.  Accord- 
ingly in  1898  he  came  to  Olney  and  purchased 
the  old  Arlington  hotel  building,  a  three- 
story  brick  structure  which  was  duly  remod- 
eled and  equipped  for  hospital  purposes. 

The  hospital  was  thrown  open  for  the  re- 
ception of  patients  in  the  fall  of  1898  and 
from  the  first  the  success  of  the  undertaking 
was  assured.  It  soon  became  necessary  to  em- 
ploy assistants  and  in  due  time  Doctor  Ziliak 
became  a  partner.  During  the  years  1900 
and  1901,  a  three-story  addition,  which  now 
constitutes  the  main  part  of  the  structure,  was 
erected,  making  possible  the  care  of  twenty- 
four  additional  patients  in  as  many  rooms. 
In  the  latter  part  of  1905,  a  brother  of  the 
founder,  F.  J.  Weber,  who  had  recently 
graduated  from  a  medical  college,  bought  the 
interest  of  Doctor  Ziliak,  since  which  time  the 
business  has  been  owned  and  conducted  by 
Webers.  In  1907,  another  brother,  J.  C. 
Weber,  also  a  physician  and  surgeon,  be- 
came interested  in  the  sanitarium,  also  two 
sisters,  Catherine  and  Philomena  Weber, 


both  of  whom  are  graduated  and  very  pro- 
ficient nurses.  A  stock  company  was  accord- 
ingly formed  and  incorporated  March  5, 
1907,  with  a  capital  stock  of  forty  thousand 
dollars  and  the  following  officers  were  elected 
which  continue  to  serve  at  this  writing: 
George  T.  Weber,  president;  Frank  J. 
Weber,  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  stock- 
holders include  the  above  and  Joseph  C.r 
Catherine  and  Philomena  Weber. 

No  institution  of  a  similar  nature  ever  had 
a  more  rapid  growth  and  it  is  today  regarded 
as  one  of  the  best  in  the  state.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  sanitarium  is  devoted  principally 
to  surgical  and  special  cases,  also  chronic 
cases  and  some  mild  forms  of  nervous  dis- 
eases. Hundreds  of  operations  are  annually 
performed  here  and  are  uniformly  successful. 

The  Olney  Sanitarium  is  a  three-story 
brick  structure,  with  a  basement  underneath 
the  entire  building  with  accommodations  for 
thirty-six  patients.  It  is  operated  at  the 
limit  of  its  capacity  all  the  time  and  plans  are 
being  considered  for  further  enlarging  the 
building,  the  numerous  application  of  pa- 
tients all  over  the  country  rendering  more 
room  a  necessity.  The  basement  is  used  for  a 
drug  department,  storage  purposes  and  the. 
keeping  of  fruits,  vegetables,  etc.  The  first 
floor  is  devoted  to  reception  rooms,  offices, 
consultation  rooms,  dining  room  and  kitchen, 
rooms  and  verandas  for  canvalescents,  etc. 
The  upper  floors  are  devoted  to  wards  for 
patients.  The  operating  room  is  on  the  sec- 
ond floor.  It  is  sixteen  by  sixteen  feet  and 
contains  everything  in  modern  equipment 
usually  found  in  institutions  of  like  character. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


Fourteen  trained  nurses  are  employed  con- 
tinually and  six  ether  employes  are  constantly 
in  the  building,  helping  in  various  ways.  Dr. 
Frank  J.  Weber  is  the  house  physician  and 
Miss  Catherine  Weber  is  the  superintendent. 

George  T.  Weber,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  In- 
graham,  Clay  county,  Illinois,  September  10, 
1868,  the  son  of  Benedict  and  Regina  (Scha- 
fer)  Weber,  the  former  a  native  of  Germany, 
who  came  to  the  United  States  when  twenty- 
six  years  old,  and  the  latter  was  born  in  Gib- 
son county,  Indiana,  of  German  parents. 
They  were  married  in  Indiana  and  in  1865 
settfld  in  Jasper  county,  near  Ingraham.  His 
father  was  a  carpenter  and  farmer.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  reared  on  a  farm  in 
his  native  township.  He  received  a  common 
school  education  there  and  an  academic 
training  at  Princeton,  Indiana,  from  which 
institution  he  graduated,  having  taught 
school  in  the  meantime  to  get  money  for  a 
higher  education.  His  parents  were  poor 
and  reared  a  large  family,  there  being  nine 
children  in  number,  of  whom  our  subject  is 
the  oldest  son  living.  He  entered  Washing- 
ton University  at  St.  Louis  in  1891,  taking  a 
medical  course  and  graduating  in  1894.  He 
located  in  his  home  town  and  practiced  for 
four  years,  his  success  having  been  instanta- 
neous, especially  in  surgical  cases.  He  came 
to  Olney  in  1898,  having  purchased  a  build- 
ing here  and  he  had  some  equipment  before 
moving. 

Dr.  George  T.  Weber's  domestic  life  began 
November  28.  1894,  when  he  married  Eliza- 
beth Hausner,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Ger- 
trude (Nix)  Hausner,  former  residents  of 


Clay  county,  a  well  known  and  influential 
family  there  for  many  years.  Mr.  Hausner, 
who  was  a  cabinet  maker,  is  deceased,  as  is 
also  his  wife.  The  subject  and  wife  are  the 
parents  of  nine  children,  namely  :  Gertrude, 
Helen,  Pauline ;  George,  Jr.,  was  killed  in  an 
accident  by  colliding  with  a  horse  and  buggy 
in  1907,  having  been  knocked  from  a  wheel 
and  receiving  a  fracture  to  the  skull ;  Ber- 
nard, Elizabeth,  Mary,  Martha,  George,  sec- 
ond junior. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Democrat,  but 
is  not  active.  However,  he  takes  an  interest 
in  whatever  relates  to  the  development  of 
his  community.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks 
and  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  He  and  his 
family  are  faithful  followers  of  the  Catholic 
church.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  the  Illinois  State  Medi- 
cal Society,  the  Southern  Illinois  State  Medi- 
cal Society,  the  Richland  County  Medical 
Society,  being  influential  and  prominent  in 
all.  He  is  a  very  progressive  man,  is  a  stu- 
dent at  all  times  and  devotes  his  entire  time  to 
his  profession.  In  1907  he  took  a  post-gradu- 
ate course  at  the  Post-Graduate  School  in 
Chicago,  giving  special  attention  to  surgery. 

Joseph  Cornelius  Weber,  M.  D.,  was  born 
in  Jasper  county,  Illinois,  October  i,  1875, 
and  was  reared  on  the  farm,  receiving  his  ed- 
ucation in  the  public  schools,  the  high  school 
at  Ingraham  and  Austin  College,  Effingham, 
Illinois.  In  the  fall  of  1896  he  entered  the 
Missouri  Medical  College  at  St.  Louis,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1899.  He  ranked 
high  in  his  class  and  was  successful  from  the 


152 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


first.  He  practiced  one  year  at  Newton  in  the 
place  of  Doctor  Crawley,  whose  health  was 
impaired.  During  the  following  seven  years 
he  was  at  Clay  City,  Clay  county.  He  then 
came  to  Olney  and  joined  his  brother  in  the 
fall  of  1907,  becoming  a  stockholder  in  the 
Sanitarium  corporation,  as  already  intimated. 

The  married  life  of  Dr.  Joseph  C.  Weber 
began  in  1900  when  he  was  united  in  the 
bonds  of  matrimony  with  Zula  Kepp,  a  native 
of  Ingraham,  Illinois,  the  daughter  of  Corne- 
lius and  Mary  (Pew)  Kepp,  natives  of  Clay 
county,  the  former  having  died  there  in  1906. 
Two  children  have  blessed  the  home  of  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  J.  C.  Weber,  Paul  and  Frank.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
also  a  member  of  the  American  Medical  As- 
sociation, the  Illinois  State  Medical  Associa- 
tion, the  Southern  Illinois  Medical  Associa- 
tion, the  Richland  and  Clay  county  Medical 
societies. 

Frank  J.  Weber,  M.  D.,  was  born  on  a 
farm  in  Jasper  county,  Illinois,  July  23,  1878, 
where  he  was  reared.  He  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  at  Ingraham,  also  Austin  Col- 
lege at  Effingham.  He  entered  \Vashington 
University  at  St.  Louis  in  1900,  having  grad- 
uated with  honor  from  the  medical  depart- 
ment in  1904.  He  located  in  Clay  City  and 
was  there  engaged  in  practice  with  his  broth- 
er, Dr.  J.  C.  Weber,  for  seven  months,  after 
which  he  came  to  Olney  and  purchased  Doc- 
tor Ziliak's  interest  in  the  sanitarium  and 
joined  his  brother.  Dr.  George  T.,  in  the  work. 
When  the  corporation  was  formed  he  became 
the  secretary  and  treasurer,  as  already  stated, 


and  the  resident  physician.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Richland  County  Medical  Society,  the 
Illinois  State  Medical  Society  and  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association.  He  was  united  in 
marriage,  May  29,  1908,  to  Gertrude  Loftin, 
a  native  of  Spencer,  Indiana,  and  the  daugh- 
ter of  J.  C.  and  lola  (Hoover)  Loftin,  now 
residents  of  Marion,  Indiana.  Dr.  Frank  J. 
Weber  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  No.  926.  and  in 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  Like  his  brothers 
he  is  a  man  of  many  commendable  character- 
istics and  they  all  make  friends  easily. 


GEORGE  S.  RAINEY,  M.  D. 

Good  intellectual  training,  thorough  pro- 
fessional knowledge  and  the  possession  and 
utilization  of  the  qualities  and  attributes  es- 
sential to  success,  have  made  the  subject  of 
this  review  eminent  in  his  chosen  calling, 
and  he  stands  today  among  the  enterprising 
and  successful  physicians  in  a  community 
noted  for  its  high  order  of  medical  talent, 
while  at  the  same  time  he  has  won  the  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  the  people  of  Marion 
and  adjoining  counties  for  his  upright  life 
and  genial  disposition. 

Dr.  George  S.  Rainey  was  born  in  Salem, 
Illinois,  May  18,  1849,  and  he  is  the 
son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Rainey, 
Scotch-Irish  people  of  the  best  ancestry  as 
far  back  as  it  can  be  traced.  The  father  was 
a  Kentuckian,  who  came  to  Illinois  as  early 
as  1832,  settling  in  Marion  county  on  a  farm 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


153 


which  he  transformed  from  a  practically 
wild  tract  to  a  highly  improved  and  produc- 
tive farm.  When  the  doctor  was  two  years 
old,  his  father  moved  on  a  farm  near  Wal- 
nut Hill,  Marion  county.  He  was  a  man  of 
many  sterling  qualities,  like  those  of  most 
pioneers,  and  he  became  a  man  of  consider- 
able influence  in  this-  county,  being  known 
as  an  honest  and  worthy  citizen  in  every 
respect.  He  was  called  from  his  earthly 
labors  in  1868.  The  subject's  mother,  a 
woman  of  praiseworthy  character,  was 
known  in  her  maidenhood  as  Margaret 
Cunningham,  and  was  also  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky; her  father,  a  man  of  unusual  forti- 
tude and  sterling  character,  moved  to  Illi- 
nois in  1824.  Seven  children  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Robert  Rainey  died  in  infancy.  Their 
other  children  are:  Dr.  J.  K.  Rainey,  the 
oldest  child,  died  in  Florida;  Matthew  was 
a  surgeon  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry  in  the  Union 
Army,  and  was  the  first  soldier  from  Marion 
county  to  fall  in  the  Civil  war,  having  lost 
his  life  at  the  battle  of  Bellmont  while  a 
member  of  the  Twenty-second  Illinois  Vol- 
unteer Infantry;  Dr.  A.  H.  Rainey,  of  Cen- 
tralia,  Illinois. 

Our  subject  was  a  mere  lad  during  the 
war  between  the  states,  but  he  felt  it  his 
duty  to  sever  home  ties  and  offer  his  services 
in  defense  of  the  flag,  consequently  he  en- 
listed in  the  Thirty-ninth  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry  when  he  lacked  two  months  of 
being  sixteen  years  old,  but  his  bravery  and 
gallantry  were  equal  to  that  of  the  oldest 
veteran  in  the  regiment.  He  served  in  the 


campaign  around  Petersburg,  Richmond, 
and  was  at  the  surrender  of  Lee  at  Appa- 
mattox,  thus  being  in  some  of  the  bloodiest 
engagements  of  the  war.  After  receiving 
an  honorable  discharge  he  returned  home 
and  assisted  his  father  with  the  farm  work, 
attending  the  neighboring  schools,  complet- 
ing the  high  school  course  at  Salem,  stand- 
ing in  the  front  rank  of  his  class,  for  he 
was  a  diligent  student  and  made  the  best  use 
possible  of  his  time.  Believing  that  his  tal- 
ents lay  along  medical  lines  he  began  study- 
ing for  a  career  as  a  physician.  He 
graduated  in  medicine  in  1875  at  the  Louis- 
ville Medical  College.  He  at  once  began 
practice  in  Salem,  his  success  being  instan- 
taneous, and  he  has  been  here  ever  since, 
having  always  had  a  very  large  practice  in 
this  vicinity  and  throughout  the  county. 

Dr.  Rainey  has  taken  a  post-graduate 
course  in  the  New  York  Polyclinic  Institute 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  having  spent 
the  winter  of  1888  in  the  school  just  men- 
tioned. Dr.  Rainey  has  also  taken  special 
courses  in  medical  colleges  in  St.  Louis  and 
Chicago,  consequently  he  is  today  and  has 
been  for  many  years  at  the  head  of  his  pro- 
fession, being  so  recognized  by  the  eminent 
practitioners  of  medicine  in  other  parts  of 
Illinois.  He  has  also  been  connected  with 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  and  Chicago  &  East- 
ern Illinois  railroads  as  surgeon  ever  since 
he  has  been  in  practice. 

The  subject  has  been  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Pension  Board  of  Salem  for 
twenty-five  years.  The  doctor  is  at  all 
times  patriotic  and  ever  ready  to  serve  his 


154 


KIC.K.U'HICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


country,  consequently  when  the  war  with 
Spain  broke  out  he  offered  his  services  and 
was  commissioned  a  surgeon  in  the  United 
States  army,  but  the  war  terminated  before 
he  saw  active  service. 

Doctor  Rainey's  happy  and  tranquil  do- 
mestic life  dates  from  1878,  when  he  was 
married  to  May  McMackin,  the  cultured 
and  accomplished  daughter  of  Col.  W. 
E.  McMackin  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry.  Colonel  McMackin 
was  for  many  years  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  influential  men  in  his  community. 

To  doctor  and  Mrs.  Rainey  one  son  has 
been  born,  Warren  R.,  who,  in  1908,  is  a 
student  in  the  medical  department  of  the 
Northwestern  University  at  Chicago,  where 
he  is  making  an  excellent  record. 

Doctor  Rainey  is  the  owner  of  a  large  and 
fine  fruit  farm  which  is  very  valuable,  and 
he  takes  a  great  interest  in  it  and  horticul- 
tural subjects,  devoting  considerable  time 
to  the  culture  of  fine  fruits.  He  has  been  in 
general  practice  ever  since  his  graduation, 
and  as  indicated  above,  not  only  stands  high 
in  his  immediate  community  but  also  with 
his  fellow  practitioners  at  large,  being  a 
member  of  the  County,  State  and  National 
Medical  Association,  also  of  the  American 
Railway  Surgeons  of  America. 

Fraternally  he  is  a  loyal  member  of  the 
Masonic  Order  and  carries  out  its  sublime 
doctrines  in  his  relations  with  his  fellow 
men.  He  is  a  Presbyterian  in  his  religious 
faith,  and  in  politics  he  is  a  stanch  advocate 
of  the  principles  and  policies  of  the  Repub- 
lican party,  with  which  he  has  always  been 


affiliated.  Though  never  animated  with 
ambition  for  political  preferment  he  has  ever 
lent  his  aid  in  furthering  the  party  cause, 
and  is  well  fortified  in  his  political  convic- 
tions, while  he  is  at  all  times  public-spirited 
to  an  extent  of  loyalty. 


EDMUND  C.  BAUGHMAN. 

Agriculture  has  been  the  true  source  of 
man's  dominion  on  earth  ever  since  the  pri- 
mal existence  of  labor,  and  has  been  the  piv- 
otal industry  that  has  controlled  for  the 
most  part  all  the  fields  of  action  to  which  his 
intelligence  and  energy  have  been  devoted. 
Among  this  sturdy  element  of  Richland 
county  whose  labors  have  profited  alike 
themselves  and  the  community  in  which 
they  live,  is  the  gentleman  whose  name  ap- 
pears at  the  head  of  this  sketch.  . 

Edmund  C.  Baughman,  a  well  known 
farmer  and  stockman  of  Olney,  was  born  in 
Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  December  27, 
1837,  the  son  of  Jacob  and  Matilda  M. 
(Houser)  Baughman,  the  former  having 
been,  born  near  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and 
the  latter  on  the  Potomac  river,  Virginia. 
Grandfather  Baughman  was  a  native  of 
Maryland  and  was  a  contractor  in  Balti- 
more for  many  years,  where  he  also  carried 
an  extensive  factory  for  those  times  in  the 
manufacture  of  sash  and  doors,  blinds,  etc. 
In  an  early  day  in  the  history  of  Coshocton 
county  he  went  there  and  entered  land,  hav- 
ing crossed  the  Alleghany  mountains  on 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARIOX    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


155 


horseback,  and  had  bear  meat  and  wild 
honey  on  the  trip.  However,  he  did  not  live 
in  Ohio  but  died  in  Baltimore,  where  his 
wife  also  died.  Jacob  Baughman  was  reared 
on  a  farm  near  Baltimore,  and  when  young 
went  to  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
bought  land  and  erected  a  hewn  log  cabin 
in  the  heavy  timber,  in  which  there  was  all 
kinds  of  wild  game,  deer,  wild  turkey,  bear, 
etc.  He  married  in  Coshocton  county,  his 
wife  having  come  to  the  county  from  Vir- 
ginia with  her  parents  who  were  pioneers. 
They  cleared  and  improved  the  land,  and 
there  they  lived  and  died.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  militia  but  was  never  called 
upon  to  serve  in  any  war.  He  died  of  pneu- 
monia at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years,  and 
his  wife  survived  for  several  years,  dying  at 
the  advanced  age  of  ninety-two.  Eight 
children  were  born  to  them,  six  of  whom 
are  living.  Two  sons  served  in  the  Civil 
war,  George  and  Zenos,  the  latter  with 
Sherman's  army,  both  serving  until  the  close 
of  the  war,  receiving  honorable  discharges. 
Zenos  suffered  from  sunstroke  from  which 
he  never  fully  recovered.  The  subject,  who 
was  the  fourth  child  in  order  of  birth,  was 
reared  on  the  old  homestead  in  his  native 
county  and  received  a  good  education,  first 
in  the  country  schools,  later  at  the  academy 
in  West  Bedford,  Ohio.  He  remained  at 
home  until  he  was  twenty  years  old,  assist- 
ing with  the  farm  work,  finally  going  to  In- 
diana, where  he  taught  school  for  awhile, 
but  in  the  spring  of  1860  he  came  to  Rich- 
land  county,  bringing  all  the  earthly  pos- 
sessions he  had — a  team,  wagon,  a  shepherd 


dog,  a  trunk  and  less  than  one  hundred  dol- 
lars in  money,  having  driven  the  entire  dis- 
tance. After  reaching  here  he  located  on 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  given 
him  by  his  father  in  Madison  township, 
which  had  previously  been  entered  by  his 
father,  on  which  he  went  to  work  and  im- 
proved it,  making  an  excellent  farm,  build- 
ing a  house,  barn,  etc. 

Our  subject  was  a  good  manager  and  was- 
successful.  After  he  married  he  purchased 
six  hundred  acres  in  Wayne  county,  on 
which  he  lived  for  a  time,  later  moving  to 
Olney,  where  he  has  recently  built  a  beauti- 
ful home,  up-to-date  in  every  detail.  For 
many  years  he  has  been  extensively  engaged 
in  stock  raising,  being  an  excellent  judge  of 
stock  and  always  keeping  many  good  varie- 
ties. He  is  a  man  of  great  energy  and  a 
hard  worker,  possessing  excellent  judgment, 
conservative  in  his  business  transactions.  He 
deserves  a  great  deal  of  credit  for  what  he 
has  accomplished,  for  he  started  with  only 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  raw  land 
and  has  gradually  increased  his  holdings 
until  he  now  owns  four  thousand  acres  of 
valuable  land  in  the  Yazoo  Valley,  Missis- 
sippi, also  three  thousand  acres  of  timber 
land,  together  with  lands  in  Texas  and  the 
old  homestead  in  Ohio,  which  he  bought 
from  the  heirs. 

In  1890  Mr.  Baughman  organized  the 
bank  at  Tuscola,  Illinois,  under  the  name 
Baughman,  Orr  &  Company,  with  a  capital 
stock  of  thirty-five  thousand  dollars,  which 
was  successful  from  the  first,  and  has  con- 
tinued with  increasing  prestige  ever  since,. 


156 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


the  stock  having  been  increased,  it  being  one 
of  the  soundest  institutions  in  this  part  of 
the  state.  One  of  the  subject's  sons  is  look- 
ing after  his  interests.  In  1902  he  disposed 
of  his  interest  in  the  bank  to  his  partners. 
Mr.  Baughman  is  still  very  active  but  does 
not  handle  stock  on  a  very  extensive  scale  at 
present,  which  proved  to  l>e  so  profitable 
during  his  earlier  business  career,  making  a 
fortune,  being  easily  the  richest  man  in 
Richland  county,  and  not  a  dishonest  dollar 
has  passed  through  his  hands. 

Mr.  Baughman  was  married  March  28, 
1 86 1,  to  Gabriella  Reeder,  who  was  born  in 
Cincinnati,  the  daughter  of  Elijah  and  Lu- 
cinda  (Smith)  Reeder,  who  were  born  near 
Dayton,  Ohio,  and  who  came  to  Richland 
county  in  the  fall  of  1853,  settling  on  a  farm 
in  Madison  township.  In  1871  they  moved 
to  Kansas,  later  to  Missouri,  and  died  in 
Harrison,  Arkansas. 

Our  subject  and  wife  are  the  parents  of 
eight  children  who  grew  to  maturity  and  are 
still  living,  as  follows:  Edmund  J.  resides 
in  Duncan,  Mississippi,  where  he  owns  a 
plantation  and  also  manages  that  of  his 
father,  and  is  a  very  successful  business 
man;  Lucinda  married  James  Wilson,  who 
resides  on  a  farm  in  Wayne  county,  where 
she  died  in  1900;  Lottie  married  J.  M.  Wi- 
nans,  a  groceryman  of  Olney;  Harry  C.  re- 
sides in  Greenville,  Mississippi,  where  he 
owns  and  operates  an  extensive  plantation ; 
William  R.  resides  in  Southwestern  Texas, 
being  engaged  in  farming  and  the  land  busi- 
ness; Ola  married  George  H.  Bainum,  who 
died  in  Independence,  Missouri,  in  1904, 


leaving  one  daughter,  Ella  M.,  who  lives 
with  the  subject  and  wife;  Frank  graduated 
from  the  Olney  schools  in  1901,  then  spent 
three  years  at  the  University  of  Illinois,  at 
Champaign,  having  stood  at  the  head  of  his 
class  in  chemistry  and  making  an  excellent 
record  as  a  student.  During  certain  experi- 
mental work  he  was  poisoned  by  gases  from 
which  he  died  in  February,  1907.  Carl  R., 
the  subject's  youngest  child,  resides  at  Rich- 
land,  Washington,  where  he  is  engaged  in 
the  fruit  industry.  These  children  are  in- 
dustrious and  well  situated  in  reference  to 
this  world's  affairs. 

Mr.  Baughman  is  a  Republican,  but  he  is 
not  a  politician,  not  having  time  to  devote 
much  attention  to  the  affairs  of  his  party. 

He  was  appointed  by  Governor  John  P. 
Altgeld  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  State  Nor- 
mal University  at  Carbondale,  having  been 
on  the  financial  and  building  committees.  He 
served  as  Supervisor  of  Richland  county  for 
one  term,  during  which  time  bonds  were  re- 
funded to  the  amount  of  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  redeemed  the  bonds  over 
which  there  had  been  litigaton  to  the  amount 
of  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baughman  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Olney, 
and  liberal  subscribers  to  the  same,  Mr. 
Baughman  having  been  one  of  the  principal 
supporters  of  the  new  church  building  recent- 
ly erected,  which  would  be  a  credit  to  cities 
much  larger  than  Olney. 

In  business  matters  Mr.  Baughman  is 
prompt,  energetic,  trustworthy.  He  has  a 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS 


157 


good  fund  of  that  quality  too  often  lacking 
in  the  business  world — common  sense. 
Since  starting  out  in  life  for  himself  he  has 
been  self-reliant  and  progressive.  It  is  all 
attributable  to  the  splendid  qualities  of  head 
and  heart  of  which  he  is  possessed,  and 
which  he  has  most  judiciously  exercised. 
And  because  of  his  honest  and  active  career 
no  resident  in  Richland  county  is  more  de- 
serving of  honorable  mention  in  this  vol- 
ume. 


WILLIAM  JASPER  YOUNG. 

The  subject  of  this  biographical  review 
is  among  the  pioneer  farmers  of  luka  town- 
ship, Marion  county,  where  he  has  long 
maintained  his  home,  being  one  of  the  na- 
tive sons  of  the  county  who  have  done  so 
much  to  develop  Marion  in  all  her  phases 
until  she  ranks  with  the  leading  counties 
of  the  great  Prairie  state,  and  now  in  the 
golden  evening  of  his  life  this  venerable 
citizen  is  enjoying  the  fruits  of  a  well  spent 
life  and  the  esteem  of  a  wide  circle  of 
friends.  . 

William  Jasper  Young  was  born  in  Mar- 
ion county,  Illinois,  June  21,  1826,  in  Cen- 
tralia  township,  the  son  of  Edward  and 
Sarah  C.  (Duncan)  Young,  the  former  a 
native  of  Virginia  and  the  latter  of  Ten- 
nessee. Edward  Young  grew  up  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  when  he  reached  maturity  he 
moved  to  Kentucky,  later  came  to  Indiana 
and  prior  to  1826  settled  in  Marion  county, 
Illinois.  He  was  a  plasterer  and  bricklayer, 


and  he  made  his  home  in  several  different 
places  after  coming  to  Illinois,  among  them 
being  Alton,  St.  Louis,  Belleville,  Centralia 
and  Salem.  Later  in  life  he  settled  on  the 
farm.  Edward  Young  was  born  June  8, 
1803,  and  died  June  9,  1876.  He  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Black  Hawk  war.  He  was, 
early  in  life,  a  Democrat,  and  he  cut  down 
the  first  Whig  pole  ever  erected  in  Salem. 
However,  he  later  became  a  Republican. 
These  children  were  bom  to  Edward  Young 
and  wife,  as  follows:  Lysander  Franklin, 
William  Jasper,  our  subject;  Julia  Ann,  de- 
ceased; Letta  Jane,  deceased;  James,  de- 
ceased; Harriet,  deceased;  Edward,  living 
in  Minnesota ;  Sarah  also  lives  in  Minnesota. 

Sarah  C.  Duncan,  mother  of  the  subject, 
was  born  July  22,  1808,  and  died  November 
9,  1886.  She  was  a  woman  of  many  beau- 
tiful traits  of  character. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  worked  on  his 
father's  farm  from  the  time  he  was  old 
enough  to  work,  and  he  has  followed  farm- 
ing all  his  life.  In  1852  he  came  to  his 
present  farm  in  luka  township,  Marion 
county,  having  bought  a  part  of  it  from  the 
government  or  state.  At  that  time  the  for- 
ests abounded  in  much  wild  game,  such  as 
deer,  wolves,  wild  turkey.  He  has  seen 
many  a  herd  of  deer  from  his  cabin  door. 
He  cleared  up  the  land  and  now  has  a  model 
farm  and  modern  farm  buildings,  all  well 
kept,  and  his  home  is  nicely  and  comfort- 
ably furnished.  A  glance  over  his  well 
tilled  and  well  fenced  fields  is  sufficient  to 
show  that  he  is  a  man  of  thrift  and  rare 
soundness  of  judgment.  He  has  in  all  about 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


three  hundred  acres,  but  he  now  rents  out 
the  land  and  is  practically  retired.  He  han- 
dles some  good  stock  of  various  varieties. 

April  13,  1847,  Mr.  Young  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Sarah  J.  Songer,  who  was 
born  in  Washington  county,  Indiana,  Au- 
gust 7,  1828,  the  daughter  of  Frederick  and 
Jane  (Helm)  Songer,  natives  of  Virginia, 
but  they  came  to  Washington  county,  In- 
diana, when -young  and  married  there,  and 
in  1828  came  to  Clay  county,  Illinois,  where 
they  lived  for  a  time.  In  1835  they  came 
to  Marion  county,  settling  in  Omega  town- 
ship, where  they  farmed  and  where  they 
died.  They  were  members  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church. 

Eleven  children  have  been  born  to  the 
subject  and  wife,  namely:  Amanda  Elmira 
died  in  childhood;  Marcus  D.  married 
Sarah  Bobbett  and  they  have  two  children. 
Franklin  and  Ada;  Mary  E.  is  the  wife  of 
George  Cox,  of  Salem,  Illinois;  Emily  El- 
vina  is  the  wife  of  William  Robinson,  a 
farmer  living  in  luka  township,  and  she  is 
the  mother  of  two  children,  Ernest  Roy  and 
Flo;  Eliza  Alice,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of 
Perry  Cox  and  she  left  two  children,  Wil- 
liam  Jasper  and  George;  Jennie  is  the  wife 
of  Grant  Bumgarner,  who  lives  in  Texas; 
Douglas  married  Irena  Buffington  and  they 
have  two  children,  Charles  and  Ruth ;  Paul 
married  Martha  Criffield;  Fred  married 
Elva  Wooden  and  they  have  three  children, 
Pearl,  Winafred  and  Verl ;  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  children  of  the  subject  died  un- 
named. 

Our  subject    has    three    great-grandchil- 


dren. He  and  his  good  wife  are  now  both 
more  than  eighty  years  old  and  are  remark- 
ably bright  and  active  people  for  their  years 
and  considering  the  long  years  of  hard  work 
they  both  have  done.  Their  happy,  pros- 
perous and  harmonious  wedded  life  extends 
over  sixty  years  of  time  and  they  have  cele- 
brated their  golden  wedding  anniversary. 
They  are  among  the  highly  respected  and 
prominent  citizens  of  the  county  and  greatly 
admired  and  beloved  by  everyone  who 
knows  them.  Our  subject  is  a  loyal  Demo- 
crat. He  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  luka.  They 
have  always  contributed  liberally  to  church 
work,  also  have  helped  out  school  work  and 
all  kinds  of  public  enterprises.  Fraternally 
Mr.  Young  has  belonged  to  the  Masons 
since  1863. 

Mr.  Young  was  one  of  the  brave  and 
patriotic  supporters  of  the  Union  who  of- 
fered his  services  and  his  life  in  its 
defense  during  the  War  of  the  Re- 
bellion, having  enlisted  in  Company 
E,  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illi- 
nois Volunteer  Infantry,  August  8,  1862, 
and  served  in  a  most  gallant  manner  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  mustered  in 
at  Salem,  Illinois,  and  mustered  out  in 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  and  dis- 
charged at  Springfield,  Illinois.  He  was  in 
the  Second  Brigade,  Second  Division,  Fif- 
teenth Army  Corps,  under  General  John  A. 
Logan.  He  first  did  post  duty  at  Columbus, 
Ohio,  awhile,  and  then,  in  1864,  joined 
Sherman  in  his  campaign  about  Atlanta, 
and  was  in  the  first  battle  of  Resaca  and  in 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


159 


the  last  battle  of  Shiloh.  He  also  fought  at 
Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain  and  Atlanta;  in 
fact,  he  was  in  all  the  fighting  around  At- 
lanta. The  last  hard  fight  he  was  in  was  at 
Atlanta,  Georgia.  He  was  taken  prisoner 
in  front  of  Atlanta  July  22,  1864,  and  after 
being  transferred  to  various  prisons  in  the 
South  for  a  period  of  seven  months,  was 
finally  paroled  and  later  exchanged  at  Wil- 
mington, North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Young  has  always  been  a  man  of  in- 
dustry and  he  has  honestly  made  what  he 
has,  having  been  a  hard  worker  and  a  good 
manager.  He  has  led  a  life  of  which  no  one 
might  be  ashamed  in  any  way,  for  it  has 
been  one  of  sobriety  and  filled  with  good 
deeds. 


HIRAM  ORR. 

Now  that  the  summertime  of  life  has 
ended  and  the  autumn  winds  of  old  age 
have  come,  the  subject  of  this  review  can 
look  backward  over  a  career  that  has  been 
well  spent,  resulting  in  good  to  those  whom 
it  touched  and  has  brought  comfort  to  him- 
self. 

Hiram  Orr  was  born  in  Licking  county, 
Ohio,  December  16,  1828,  the  son  of  Zach- 
ariah and  Mary  (Dusthimer)  Orr,  early 
settlers  of  the  Buckeye  state,  where  it  is 
snpposed  they  were  born.  Zachariah  was  a 
farmer,  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church.  He  passed  away  in  Lick- 
ing county,  Ohio,  in  1891,  his  wife  having 
died  there  at  an  earlier  date.  Six  children 


were  born  to  them,  namely:  Robert,  living 
in  Licking  county,  -  Ohio ;  Hiram,  our  sub- 
ject; Sarah,  deceased;  John,  who  is  living 
in  Kansas,  a  retired  farmer;  Cyrus,  de- 
ceased; Eliza,  also  deceased.  Zachariah 
was  married  a  second  time.  When  he  died 
he  had  accumulated  quite  a  competency, 
having  been  a  very  successful  farmer. 

Our  subject  remained  at  his  parental 
home,  assisting  with  the  work  about  the 
place  and  attending  the  old  pioneer  schools 
in  cabins  with  puncheon  floors  and  seats 
and  windows  where  greased  paper  was  used 
for  panes,  until  he  was  twenty-one  years 
old.  He  has  since  added  very  much  to  the 
rudiments  of  education  he  gained  there  by 
systematic  home  reading  and  study,  and 
close  observation.  When  of  age  Mr.  Orr 
decided  to  devote  his  life  work  to  farming 
and  consequently  bought  a  farm  in  his  na- 
tive county,  having  managed  it  in  a  most 
successful  manner  until  October  i,  1868. 
when  he  moved  to  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
believing  that  still  greater  advantages  ex- 
isted here  on  the  less  crowded  western 
prairies  than  in  the  East  and  where  land 
was  much  cheaper,  having  sold  his  Ohio 
farm  at  good  figures. 

Mr.  Orr  purchased  two  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-four acres  of  land  in  Stevenson  town- 
ship on  which  he  continuously  lived,  bring- 
ing it  up  to  a  high  state  of  improvement,  in 
fact,  making  it  one  of  the  "show"  farms  of 
this  locality,  the  fields  being  well  fenced 
and  well  drained  and  kept  in  first  class  pro- 
ductive condition  through  the  careful  rota- 
tion of  crops  and  the  application  of  home 


i6o 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


fertilizers,  and  on  this  place  may  always  be 
found  large  numbers  of  all  kinds  of  live 
stock  of  the  best  grade,  Mr.  Orr  having 
ever  taken  a  great  interest  in  stock  of  vari- 
ous kinds.  A  modern,  substantial  and  nice- 
ly furnished  residence  is  owned  by  Mr.  Orr 
and  good  bams  and  outbuildings  in  gen- 
eral are  found  about  the  place.  Mr.  Orr  at 
present  rents  most  of  his  land,  but  still  over- 
sees it,  keeping  it  up  to  the  high  standard 
of  former  years. 

In  1849  our  subject  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Mary  Basom,  who  was  born  in 
Perry  county,  Ohio,  about  1830,  the 
daughter  of  Joshua  and  Elizabeth  Emery, 
natives  of  New  England.  Three  children 
were  born  to  this  union,  namely:  Frances, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Peter  M.  Mechling,  a 
farmer  living  in  Perry  county,  Ohio.  They 
are  the  paraits  of  four  children,  namely: 
Hiram  Orvil,  Bertha,  Frank  and  Fred,  the 
last  two  twins;  Martha,  the  second  child  of 
our  subject,  is  the  wife  of  Marion  Tolliver 
Stevenson,  who  is  living  in  Alma  township, 
Marion  county,  this  state,  and  are  the  par- 
ents of  these  children,  Edgar,  Mabel,  Orin, 
Roy,  Edna,  Claud  and  Lloyd.  Edith,  the 
subject's  third  child,  is  the  wife  of  John  P. 
Brubaker,  who  is  also  living  in  Alma  town- 
ship, being  the  mother  of  two  children,  Ha- 
zel and  Ada. 

These  children  received  all  the  home 
training  possible  and  were  given  good  edu- 
cations, each  being  .well  situated  in  life. 

Mr.  Orr  is  a  staunch  Democrat  in  his 
political  affiliation,  although  he  has  never 


taken  a  very  active  part  in  public  affairs. 
He  ably  filled  the  position  of  School  Director 
and  his  support  is  always  to  be  depended 
upon  in  any  issue  having  for  its  object 
the  betterment  of  the  community  in  any 
way.  The  subject  and  wife  are  kind,  hos- 
pitable and  good  natured,  making  all  who 
enter  their  home  feel  like  they  were  among 
friends. 


RICHARD  J.  HOLSTLAW. 

Among  the  best  known  and  highly  re- 
spected families  of  Marion  county  is  found 
the  one  bearing  the  name  that  forms  the 
caption  of  this  article.  Richard  J.  Holstlaw 
was  born  in  this  county  on  the  3d  of  April, 
1837.  He  still  lives  on  the  farm  where  he 
was  born  and  during  this  span  of  life  he  has 
witnessed  most  wonderful  changes  in  the 
progress  and  development  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Holstlaw  is  descended  from  those 
hardy  pioneers  that  crossed  the  mountains 
into  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  blazing  the 
way  through  the  wilderness,  opening  up  for 
colonization  and  occupancy  the  rich  hunting 
grounds  south  of  the  Ohio.  This  tide  of 
immigrants  gradually  worked  its  way 
westward  and  northward,  crossing  the  Ohio 
into  Indiana  and  Illinois  and  blending  here 
with  the  settlers  coming  from  Pennsylvania, 
New  York  and  New  England. 

Our  subject's  father,  Daniel  S.  Holstlaw, 
was  born  near  Glasgow,  Kentucky,  in  1813, 
toward  the  close  of  the  second  war  with 


R.  J.  HOLSTLAW. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


161 


England.  The  treaty  at  the  conclusion  of 
this  war  stimulated  the  westward  movement 
and  when  Daniel  was  eight  years  old  he 
came  to  Paoli,  Indiana,  with  his  parents. 
His  mother,  Ruth  (Middleton)  Holstlaw, 
a  native  of  Tennessee,  was  the  eleventh  of 
fourteen  children  and  came  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1833.  At  the  age  of 
nineteen  years,  Daniel  Holstlaw  left  the 
Hoosier  state  and  immigrated  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois.  Here  he  entered  a  claim  and 
also  purchased  some  land,  paying  seven 
dollars  per  acre.  At  this  time  the  country 
was  still  in  its  primitive  state,  and  the  six 
children,  of  whom  our  subject  was  the  sec- 
ond, became  quite  familiar  with  early  day 
methods  of  getting  along. 

Among  other  things  that  Mr.  Holstlaw 
relates  are  his  school  experiences.  The  ex- 
pense of  paying  for  an  instructor  was  met 
on  the  subscription  plan,  and  all  the  neigh- 
bors joined  in  to  obtain  the  privilege  of  a 
schooling  for  their  children.  Wild  game  of 
all  kinds  still  abounded  in  the  forests  and 
furnished  part  of  the  food  for  the  settlers. 
One  morning  Mr.  Holstlaw  counted  thirty- 
seven  deer — after  a  night  when  the  prairie 
was  on  fire,  when  they  could  be  seen  clearly 
— to  say  nothing  of  other  game,  so  abundant 
then,  but  so  rarely  seen  now.  When  we  re- 
flect over  to  the  fact  that  such  a  span  of 
years  has  witnessed  so  great  a  contrast  be- 
tween the  present  conditions  and  those  of 
that  day,  it  seems  almost  a  fiction.  Yet  one 
needs  but  to  ponder  over  the  wonderful 
changes  of  the  last  decade  to  convince  him 
ii 


that  we  are  even  now  already  in  the  shadow 
of  what  will  come  tomorrow.  While  now 
the  traction  engine  pulls  the  series  of  break- 
ing plows  rapidly  through  the  sod,  Mr. 
Holstlaw  recalls  the  time  when  he  followed 
the  four  yoke  of  patient  oxen  that  com- 
posedly drew  through  the  virgin  soil  the 
hand-made  plow  of  hickory  wood.  Today 
the  hay-loader  puts  the  sweet-scented  prod- 
uct of  the  meadow  on  the  wagon  and  at  the 
driver's  feet,  while  then  the  dogwood  fork, 
whittled  by  hand,  was  the  only  tool  avail- 
able. Fur  and  hides  were  hauled  to  St. 
Louis,  seventy-five  miles  away,  and  court 
was  held  in  a  log  structure  at  the  county 
seat  of  Salem. 

We  shall  now  turn  our  attention  to  the 
domestic  relations  of  our  subject.  In  1863 
he  was  joined  in  marriage  to  Mary  (Gag- 
ger)  Barry.  This  union,  though  happy,  was 
destined  to  be  brief,  for  ere  long  the  young 
wife  was  called  hence,  followed  soon  after 
by  her  infant  child.  On  July  18,  1869, 
Mr.  Holstlaw  took  as  his  second  wife  Ra- 
chel Barry,  this  union  resulting  in  the  birth 
of  the  following  children:  Effie  I.,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Louis  Barksdale;  the 
son  is  Forrest  D.,  the  second  daughter  of  the 
family,  Carrie  A.,  has  become  the  wife  of 
Walter  K.  Shook. 

In  his  political  affiliations  Mr.  Holstlaw 
has  adhered  to  the  Democratic  party,  and 
he  is  a  devoted  member  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church.  He  and  his  wife  are 
well  known  in  the  entire  community  as  ex- 
emplary and  worthy  citizens. 


1 62 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


HENRY  SPRING. 

This  biographical  memoir  has  to  do  with 
a  character  of  unusual  force  and  eminence, 
for  Henry  Spring,  whose  life  chapter  has 
been  closed  by  the  fate  that  awaits  us  all, 
was  for  a  long  lapse  of  years  one  of  the 
prominent  citizens  of  Richland  county,  hav- 
ing come  to  this  section  in  pioneer  times, 
and  he  assisted  in  every  way  possible  in 
bringing-  about  the  transformation  of  the 
county  from  the  wild  condition  found  by  the 
first  settlers  to  its  later  day  progress  and 
improvement.  While  he  carried  on  a  special 
line  of  business  in  such  a  manner  as  to  gain 
a  comfortable  competence  for  himself,  he 
also  belonged  to  that  class  of  representative 
citizens  who  promote  the  public  welfare 
while  advancing  individual  success.  There 
were  in  him  sterling  traits  which  com- 
manded uniform  confidence  and  regard,  and 
his  memory  is  today  honored  by  all  who 
knew  him,  and  is  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of 
his  many  friends. 

Henry  Spring  was  born  near  Sheffield, 
England,  December  2,  1806,  the  son  of 
Thomas  and  Margaret  (Bishop)  Spring, 
also  natives  of  England.  Thomas  Spring 
was  a  professional  landscape  gardener.  He 
was  the  father  of  five  sons,  namely :  Sidney, 
Archibald,  Henry,  John  and  George.  The 
family  emigrated  to  America  in  1819,  the 
father  dying  in  Pennsylvania  on  the  over- 
land trip  to  Illinois.  The  mother  and  chil- 
dren located  on  a  farm  in  Edwards  county, 
near  Albion,  this  state.  Henry  and  John 
remained  on  the  farm  during  the  lifetime 


of  their  mother.  Henry  Spring,  our  sub- 
ject, was  thirteen  years  old  when  he  came 
to  Illinois,  and  where  he  received  most  of 
his  education  in  the  subscription  schools. 
However,  he  began  his  education  in  England. 
The  mother  was  highly  educated  and  taught 
at  home.  Henry  was  in  business  a  short 
time  near  Evansville,  Indiana,  later  return- 
ing to  Edwards  county,  where  he  married 
in  January,  1842.  He  came  to  Olney  and 
was  the  second  merchant  to  engage  in  busi- 
ness. His  store  was  located  in  a  small  room 
belonging  to  T.  W.  Lilley,  being  a  part  of  his 
residence.  He  was  a  typical  pioneer  and  had 
a  country  stock  of  goods  which  he  bought 
on  credit,  which  proved  to  be  the  foundation 
of  a  later  fortune.  In  the  fall  of  1842  he 
built  a  frame  building  at  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Fair  streets,  with  living  rooms  in  the 
rear.  About  1855  he  sold  out  to  P.  P. 
Bower.  In  1856  he  built  a  brick  building  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  Main  and  Boone 
streets,  and  about  1859  again  engaged  in 
the  merchandise  business.  The  ground  on 
which  the  building  stands  was  bought  from 
the  government  by  T.  W.  Lilley,  transferred 
to  John  Allen  and  then  to  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  and  is  still  owned  by  his  family.  In 
1848  he  built  a  two-story  frame  building  for 
a  residence  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Main 
and  Fair  streets,  which  was  very  pretentious 
for  those  days.  In  1866  he  retired  from  the 
mercantile  business  and  in  the  store  build- 
ing now  owned  by  his  sons,  plans  for  the 
organization  of  the  First  National  Bank 
were  consummated  in  December,  1865,  he 
being  one  of  the  instigators  and  the  leading 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


i63 


spirit  in  the  enterprise,  and  Mr.  Spring  was 
made  its  first  president,  which  position  he 
held  with  great  credit  to  his  ability  for  a  pe- 
riod of  twenty  years,  with  the  exception  of 
one  year.  In  the  same  store  room  in  1883 
plans  were  formulated  for  the  organization 
of  the  Olney  National  Bank,  and  our  sub- 
ject having  severed  his  connection  with  the 
First  National  Bank,  became  president  and 
principal  stockholder  of  the  new  bank,  re- 
maining at  the  head  of  the  same  for  six 
years.  He  became  known  as  a  man  of  the 
strictest  integrity,  his  word  being  as  good 
as  his  bond,  and  those  dealing  with  him 
were  required  as  much.  His  life  was  de- 
voted to  his  family,  for  he  avoided  society, 
not  caring  for  any  public  display,  and  he  be- 
longed to  no  secret  orders  and  was  affiliated 
with  no  church,  neither  had  he  any  political 
aspirations  except  to  vote  the  Republican 
ticket,  having  originally  been  a  Whig.  He 
was  a  very  successful  business  man,  being 
conservative,  careful  and  exercised  various 
English  traits  of  character,  and  he  accumu- 
lated an  honest  fortune.  He  was  a  patriotic 
man  and  served  in  the  Black  Hawk  war. 

After  a  long,  honorable  and  successful 
career,  Henry  Spring  was  called  from  his 
labors  August  20,  1890,  being  nearly 
eighty-four  years  old,  having  been  active 
and  in  possession  of  all  his  faculties  up  to 
within  a  few  years  prior  to  his  death.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  strength  and  vitality  in 
his  prime. 

Henry  Spring  was  united  in  mariage  De- 
cember 31,  1841,  to  Caroline  Russell 
Mount,  a  native  of  Nantuckett  Island,  the 


daughter  of  Freeman  Marshall  and  Mary 
Ann  (Russell)  Mount,  natives  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Twelve  children  were  born  to  the  subject 
and  wife,  four  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
The  eight  living  children  are  as  follows : 
Mary,  who  was  the  first  white  child  born  in 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Olney,  having  been 
born  November  22,  1842;  she  married 
Thomas  W.  Scott,  who  was  in  partnership 
with  her  father  in  1865.  He  is  now  Attor- 
ney General  of  Illinois.  Florence  is  the 
second  living  child,  and  is  the  wife  of  John 
H.  Senseman,  cashier  of  the  Olney  bank; 
Edward  M.,  is  a  business  man  in  Olney; 
Caroline  M.  is  living  at  home;  Elizabeth  is 
the  wife  of  Medford  Powell,  of  Olney; 
Laura  is  a  member  of  the  family  circle; 
Harry  B.  is  in  business  in  Olney;  Kate  L. 
is  the  wife  of  Doctor  Watkins,  of  Olney. 

Mrs.  Spring,  a  woman  of  gracious  per- 
sonality, survived  her  husband  until  June 
20,  1904,  when  she  passed  to  her  rest,  being 
past  eighty-three  years  of  age. 

Edward  M.  Spring,  son  of  our  subject, 
was  born  in  Olney,  Illinois,  July  30,  1852, 
being  reared  in  Olney,  where  he  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools.  He  also 
attended  Asbury  College,  now  DePauw 
University,  but  he  did  not  graduate  from 
that  institution,  however,  he  made  a  splen- 
did record  for  scholarship.  When  eighteen 
years  of  age  he  went  to  Kansas,  where  he 
spent  two  years.  In  1872  he  engaged  in  the 
seed  and  produce  business,  and  has  success- 
fully continued  in  the  same  ever  since,  be- 
ing in  the  store  room  formerly  built  and  oc- 


164 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


cupied  by  his  father.  James  G.  Hollister 
was  his  partner  for  sixteen  years,  and  in 
1888  the  firm  became  Spring  Brothers, 
which  is  still  the  name  of  the  firm.  A  very 
large  business  has  been  built  up  and  a  good 
trade  is  carried  on  throughout  this  locality. 
Edward  M.  Spring  was  united  in  mar- 
riage December  25,  1873,  to  Kate  Radens- 
croft,  a  native  of  New  Albany,  Indiana,  the 
daughter  of  William  E.  and  Anna  C.  (Jack- 
son) Radenscroft,  formerly  of  England, 
who  came  to  Philadelphia.  The  father  of 
the  subject's  wife  was  formerly  a  Methodist 
minister.  Both  are  now  deceased.  Two 
children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Edward  Spring:  Lawrence  E..  who  lives 
in  Owensboro,  Kentucky,  in  the  milling 
business ;  Ethel  is  living  at  home.  She  was 
educated  at  Olney  and  in  Indianapolis,  and 
received  a  musical  education  in  Cincinnati 
and  Chicago,  becoming  a  proficient  musi- 
cian. She  is  at  this  writing  (1909)  super- 
visor of  music  in  the  public  schools  of  Ol- 
ney. Mr.  Spring  is  a  Republican  but  not  a 
politician.  He  served  one  term  as  Alder- 
man. He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Modern 
Woodmen  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He 
has  a  beautiful  home  and  there  is  a  large 
oak  tree  in  his  yard  under  which  John  A. 
Logan  made  his  first  speech  in  behalf  of  the 
Republican  party,  October  12,  1866,  as  a 
candidate  for  Congressman  at  large.  At 
that  time  the  place  of  residence  of  the  sub- 
ject was  a  part  of  the  splendid  grove  adjoin- 
ing the  village  of  Olney,  where  picnics  and 
rallies  were  held. 


Harry  Bishop  Spring,  son  of  Henry 
Spring,  our  subject,  was  born  in  Olney,  Il- 
linois, where  he  was  reared  and  where  he 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools. 
He  was  also  a  student  of  the  University  of 
Illinois  at  Champaign.  He  obtained  a  good 
education,  and  after  leaving  school  spent  six 
or  seven  years  in  the  South  and  West,  being 
on  the  coast  for  some  time.  After  return- 
ing to  Olney  he  engaged  in  the  seed  and  pro- 
duce business  in  1888,  with  his  brother,  un- 
der the  firm  name  of  Spring  Brothers. 

Harry  B.  Spring  was  united  in  marriage 
June  17,  1890,  to  Victoria  Eckenrode,  a  na- 
tive of  Sumner,  Illinois,  the  daughter  of 
Sylvester  J.  and  Mary  Eckenrode,  a  former 
business  man  of  Olney.  One  daughter  was 
bom,  a  winsome  little  girl  named  Marjorie. 
Mrs.  Spring  was  called  to  her  rest  January 
4,  1905.  Harry  Spring  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

The  family  of  our  subject  has  long  been 
recognized  as  leaders  in  industrial  affairs  in 
Richland  county,  being  people  of  the  high- 
est integrity  and  worth,  for  when  Henry 
Spring  passed  away  he  left  his  family  the 
priceless  heritage  of  an  untarnished  name, 
to  the  county  the  value  of  good  citizenship, 
and  to  the  young  an  example  well  worthy  of 
emulation.  Public  opinion  in  passing  judg- 
ment upon  his  life  work,  classed  him  with 
the  men  of  honor  and  worth,  and  with  the 
pioneers  of  Richland  county  his  name  is  for- 
ever inscribed,  shinging  out  with  peculiar 
luster. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


JUDGE  JOHN  S.  STONECIPHER. 

No  history  of  Marion  county  could  be 
consistent  with  itself  were  there  failure  to 
make  specific  mention  of  the  honored  pio- 
neer family  of  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  a  worthy  scion,  and  no  better  or 
more  significant  evidence  as  to  the  long 
identification  of  the  name  with  the  annals  of 
this  section  of  the  state  can  be  offered  than 
implied  in  the  simple  statement  that  the  rec- 
ord of  this  interesting  and  representative 
family  has  been  one  of  highest  honor  for  a 
period  of  sixty-five  years  to  the  time  of  this 
writing.  The  subject  has  passed  his  entire 
life  in  Marion  county,  and  has  ably  upheld 
the  high  prestige  of  the  honored  name  which 
he  bears.  He  is  one  of  the  prominent  and 
influential  representatives  of  the  legal  and 
industrial  world  of  the  county,  and  it  is  with 
much  satisfaction  that  we  offer  in  this  work 
a  review  of  his  genealogical  and  personal 
history. 

Judge  John  S.  Stonecipher,  like  scores  of 
our  best  citizens  in  every  line  of  endeavor, 
was  born  on  a  farm,  the  old  homestead  be- 
ing located  about  ten  miles  southeast  of 
Salem,  his  birth  occurring  on  July  7,  1868. 
His  father  was  Samuel  Stonecipher,  a  Ten- 
nesseean  who  came  to  Marion  county,  Illi- 
nois, about  1843,  having  successfully  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits  and  became  a 
man  of  considerable  influence  in  his  com- 
munity. He  here  erected  a  primitive  dwell- 
ing which  was  the  family  domicile  for  a 
number  of  years.  The  tales  of  the  pioneer 
•days  have  been  often  told,  and  it  is  needless 


to  here  recapitulate  the  same,  for  privations, 
vicissitudes  and  strenuous  labors  of  the  early 
settlers  have  been  so  recorded  as  to  make 
special  mention  superfluous,  though  it  is  well 
in  such  connection  to  refer  to  those  who 
lived  and  labored  so  earnestly  in  laying  the 
foundation  for  the  opulent  prosperity  which 
marks  this  favored  section  of  the  state  at 
the  present  time.  Samuel  Stonecipher  was 
called  from  his  earthly  labors  in  1898,  while 
living  on  a  farm  in  Haines  township,  two 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  old  Foxville.  The 
mother  of  our  subject  was  Susan  (Ross) 
Stonecipher,  also  a  native  of  Tennessee  who 
passed  to  her  rest  when  Judge  Stonecipher 
was  one  and  one-half  years  old.  Eight  chil- 
dren were  born  to  the  union  of  Samuel  and 
Susan  Stonecipher,  four  of  whom  are  living 
in  1908.  These  are,  besides  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  Alexander,  a  farmer  in  Haines 
township,  Marion  county;  Joseph  C,  a  far- 
mer in  southeastern  Kansas;  M.  C,  a  Pres- 
byterian minister  at  Troy  Grove,  Illinois. 
Samuel  Stonecipher,  father  of  the  subject, 
was  three  times  married.  His  first  wife  was 
a  Miss  Henderson ;  the  second  a  Miss  Ross, 
mother  of  the  subject;  and  the  third  was 
Mary  Chance,  who  died  three  months  after 
her  husband's  death. 

Grandfather  Stonecipher  reached  almost 
the  unprecedented  age  of  one  hundred  and 
ten  years.  He  was  reared  in  Knox  county, 
Tennessee. 

Judge  Stonecipher  was  reared  on  the 
parental  farm,  and  after  attending  the 
country  schools  he  entered  Ewing  College 
in  Franklin  county,  Illinois,  where  he  made 


1 66 


RIOGUAPHICAL    AM)    KKM  I  MSCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


a  brilliant  record  for  both  scholarship  and 
deportment,  taking  a  two  years'  general 
course.  He  then  attended  the  Southern  Illi- 
nois Normal  School  for  two  years,  and  be- 
gan teaching  school,  which  he  continued  for 
three  successful  terms,  but  believing  that  his 
true  life  work  lay  in  another  channel  he  be- 
gan reading  law  with  Judge  John  B.  Kagy, 
of  Salem.  After  reading  law  for  one  year 
he  attended  the  Valparaiso  University,  law 
department,  for  one  year,  in  which  he  made 
rapid  progress.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Salem  in  1891  and  began  practice 
soon  afterward.  His  success  was  instanta- 
neous, and  his  friends  were  not  mistaken  in 
their  prediction  that  the  future  held  many 
honors  in  store  for  him.  He  was  early  in 
life  singled  out  for  political  preferment  and 
served  as  Deputy  Sheriff  from  1889  to  1890, 
while  reading  law.  He  has  ably  served  two 
terms  as  City  Attorney  of  Salem,  and  was 
Master  in  Chancery  for  four  years,  from 
1896  to  1900,  having  first  been  appointed 
by  Judge  Burroughs,  and  later  by  Judge 
Dwight.  In  1906  our  subject  had  attained 
such  general  popularity  in  the  legal  world 
that  he  was  elected  Judge  of  Marion  county 
on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  which  capacity 
he  is  still  serving  in  1908,  with  entire  satis- 
faction to  his  constituents  and  all  concerned. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  County 
Central  Committee  at  the  time  of  his  elec- 
tion to  the  judgeship.  He  was  selected  as 
alternate  to  the  Democratic  national  conven- 
tion held  in  St.  Louis  in  1904.  Having 
become  so  well  known  in  the  political  arena 
of  his  native  community  the  judge  will 


doubtless  be  honored  by  many  other  offices 
of  public  trust  by  his  party  in  the  future. 

Judge  Stonecipher  has  been  equally  suc- 
cessful in  industrial  affairs,  being  something 
of  a  wizard  in  organizing,  promoting  and 
carrying  to  successful  issues  various  lines  of 
business,  and  it  is  due  to  his  clear  brain, 
well  grounded  judgment  and  indomitable 
energy  that  many  of  Marion  county's  suc- 
cessful industrial  institutions  owe  their  ex- 
istence. At  present  he  is  vice-president  of 
the  Salem  State  Bank,  president  of  the 
Salem  Box  Company,  the  leading  manufac- 
turing enterprise  of  Salem;  he  is  also  trus- 
tee of  the  Sandoval  Coal  and  Mining  Com- 
pany, now  bankrupt,  a  large  and  important 
trusteeship.  He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the 
Salem  National  Bank  and  a  director  of  the 
Salem  Building  and  Loan  Association.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  building  committee  that 
built  the  new  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
in  Salem,  one  of  the  finest  in  Illinois,  and  it 
was  largely  due  to  his  energy  and  keen  busi- 
ness sagacity  that  this  handsome  structure, 
which  will  ever  be  a  monument  to  his  mem- 
ory as  well  as  a  pride  and  splendid  adver- 
tisement to  the  city  of  Salem,  assumed 
definite  form. 

Fraternally  Judge  Stonecipher  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the 
Woodmen.  He  has  occupied  the  chairs  in 
the  Odd  Fellows,  and  his  daily  life  would 
indicate  that  he  believes  in  carrying  out  the 
noble  precepts  advocated  by  these  praise- 
worthy orders. 

Judge  Stonecipher's  domestic    life    dates 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


:67 


from  August  17,  1904,  when  he  was  hap- 
pily married  to  Amy  Bachman,  the  refined 
and  cultured  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A. 
H.  Bachman,  the  latter  the  well  known  and 
influential  president  of  the  Salem  National 
Bank.  Mrs.  Stonecipher  received  a  good 
education,  having  applied  herself  diligently 
to  her  educational  work  and  the  success  of 
her  worthy  life  companion  is  due  in  no  small 
measure  to  the  encouragement  and  sympa- 
thy of  this  most  estimable  woman,  who  pre- 
sides over  her  model  and  harmonious 
household  with  grace  and  dignity. 

Two  bright  and  interesting  children  have 
blessed  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stone- 
cipher  with  cheer  and  sunshine.  They  are: 
Frank  G.,  born  July  8,  1905,  and  Maude 
Louise,  born  July  24,  1907. 

Judge  Stonecipher  has  been  very  success- 
ful in  both  his  business  and  political  life.  He 
is  regarded  as  a  man  of  exceptional  sound- 
ness of  judgment,  and  when  his  name  is 
connected  with  any  business  institution  the 
public  knows  that  the  same  is  sound  and 
does  not  hesitate  to  place  its  funds  at  his 
disposal,  whether  it  be  in  a  banking  institu- 
tion or  manufacturing  enterprise. 


HON.  EDWARD  S.  WILSON. 

It  will  invariably  be  found,  if  an  examina- 
tion be  made  into  the  life  records  of  self- 
made  men,  that  untiring  industry  forms  the 
basis  of  their  success.  It  is  true  that  many 
other  elements  enter  in,  such  as  fortitude, 


perseverance,  keen  discernment  and  honesty 
of  purpose  which  enables  one  to  recognize 
business  opportunities,  but  the  foundation 
cf  all  worthy  achievements  in  earnest,  per- 
sistent labor.  The  gentlemen  whose  name 
forms  the  caption  of  this  article  recognized 
this  fact  early  in  life  and  did  not  seek  to 
gain  any  short  or  magical  method  to  the  goal 
cf  prosperity.  On  the  contrary,  he  began 
to  work  earnestly  and  diligently  in  order  to 
advance  himself  along  laudable  lines  and 
from  a  humble  beginning  he  has  become  one 
of  the  prominent  men  of  the  great  Prairie 
state.  As  a  lawyer,  Hon.  Edward  S.  Wilson 
had  few  equals  in  Southern  Illinois  for  up- 
wards of  half  a  century.  He  was  for  years  a 
leading  member  of  the  bar  in  Olney  and  is  one 
of  the  old  and  highly  esteemed  citizens  of  this 
place,  now  living  in  quiet  retirement,  enjoy- 
ing the  respite  due  a  long  and  strenuous  ca- 
reer. Finding  him  in  a  retrospective  and  rem- 
iniscent mood  we  quote  from  an  interview 
with  this  distinguished  character  as  follows : 
"My  grandfather,  James  Wilson,  migrated 
frcm  Hardy  county,  Virginia,  to  South  Bend, 
Indiana,  in  the  year  1813,  and  the  next  year 
removed  to  Palestine,  Crawford  county,  Illi- 
nois, bringing  with  him  a  numerous  family 
of  sons  and  daughters,  among  them  my  fa- 
ther, Isaac  N.  Wilson,  who  was  born  July  21, 
1804.  On  October  13,  1829,  he  married 
Hannah  H.  Decken,  who  was  born  December 
13,  1810,  at  the  town  of  Vincennes,  Indiana, 
to  which  place  her  father  moved  from  Rom- 
ney,  Virginia,  in  1808  or  1809,  from  whence 
he  soon  moved  to  a  farm  three  miles  north  of 
Palestine.  There  were  nine  boys  and  two 


1 68 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


daughters  born  to  my  father  and  mother. 
Three  of  us  still  survive.  I  was  born  June 
25-  J^39-  I  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  Palestine,  and  was  always  of  a 
reading  rather  than  of  a  studious  disposi- 
tion. Any  book  of  history  or  romance  could 
attract  my  attention  from  more  serious  study. 
So  my  mind  is  a  hotch-potch  of  useless  lum- 
ber. I  know  a  great  amount  of  'worthless 
things  and  nothing  well. 

"I  can  distinctly  remember  the  pioneer 
days  of  Illinois  when  the  flax  and  cotton  with 
which  we  were  largely  clothed  were  raised 
by  the  farmers  of  Crawford  county,  which 
were  spun  and  woven  by  the  mothers  and 
daughters  of  the  farmers  who  were  entirely 
from  the  Southern  States,  Virginia,  North 
and  South  Carolina,  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see. The  wheels  of  the  wagons  consisted  of 
sections  sawn  off  a  log,  usually  a  sycamore. 
Oxen  were  more  common  than  horses. 

"The  principal  amusements  in  those  days 
were  bear  basting,  horse  racing,  and  last,  but 
not  least,  fist  fighting.  Residents  of  the 
county  would  gather  at  Palestine  every  Sat- 
urday and  most  of  them  would  fill  up  on 
old  Monongahela  whisky  and  by  noon  the 
fighting  would  begin.  I  have  seen  sixty 
fights  in  progress  at  one  time.  When  the 
fight  was  over  there  was  no  malice  nor  de- 
sire for  revenge,  and  the  victor  was  the  best 
man  until  at  a  later  date  the  fight  could  be 
repeated,  if  the  conquered  was  not  satisfied, 
when  frequently  the  outcome  was  reversed. 
I  was  eighteen  years  of  age  before  I  saw  a 
railroad  or  a  train  of  cars. 

"When  about  eighteen  years  old  I  began 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  James  C.  Al- 


len, of  Palestine,  then  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from  the  Tenth  District  from  Illinois. 
I  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1861,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  at  Robinson, 
Crawford  county,  Illinois.  In  1864,  I  re- 
move to  Olney,  Richland  county,  where  I  still 
reside.  I  practiced  in  the  courts  of  this  and 
adjoining  counties  until  1890,  at  which  time 
I  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  for 
State  Treasurer  and  was  elected  to  that  of- 
fice. For  many  years  my  hearing  had  been 
defective  and  it  grew  worse,  and  after  retir- 
ing from  the  office  of  State  Treasurer  I  never 
resumed  practice  on  account  of  my  hearing. 
Since  that  time  I  have  lived  the  life  of  a 
farmer  and  man  of  leisure,  reading  much,  but 
only  for  entertainment.  I  have  pursued  no 
settled  line,  but  have  read  everything  from 
theology  to  the  flimsiest  romance,  but  I  have 
spent  more  time  on  history  than  any  other 
line  and  would  be  a  good  historian  if  I  had 
been  a  student  instead  of  a  mere  reader. 

"On  June  17.  1867,  I  married  Ann  C. 
Rowland,  daughter  of  Townsend  and  Eliza 
S.  Rowland,  of  Olney,  Illinois.  To  us  have 
been  born  four  sons,  three  living,  and  one 
daughter,  who  died  leaving  one  son.  One 
son  died  in  infancy.  My  wife  is  still  living, 
and  divides  with  me  the  burden  of  reading  all 
the  latest  works,  historical  and  fiction." 

Agriculture,  horticulture  and  stock  raising 
have  occupied  Mr.  Wilson's  attention  of  late 
years.  He  owns  about  one  thousand  acres  of 
valuable  land  in  Richland  county,  a  part  of 
which  is  devoted  to  the  propagation  of  fruit 
for  commercial  purposes.  Part  of  the  farm 
is  in  the  city  limits  of  Olney  where  he  has  a 
modern  and  commodious  residence,  sur- 


HIGHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS 


169 


round  by  beautiful  grounds,  extensive  and 
carefully  kept.  His  home  is  one  of  the  most 
pretentious  in  the  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wilson  are  widely  known  for  their  hospital- 
ity and  their  home  is  often  the  gathering 
place  for  their  numerous  friends  and  admir- 
ers where  good  cheer  is  always  to  be  found. 
For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Wilson  paid  con- 
siderable attention  to  the  breeding  of  Clydes- 
dale horses  and  Shetland  ponies,  and  he  pro- 
duced some  fine  specimens  which  were  prize 
winners  at  state  fairs.  The  subject  was  large- 
ly instrumental  in  securing  the  state  fair  for 
Olney  for  two  years,  1887  and  1888.  Mr. 
\Vilson  is  the  founder  and  principal  stock- 
holder of  the  ice  plant  at  Olney.  where  large 
quantities  of  artificial  ice  are  manufactured, 
in  connection  with  a  cold  storage,  packing  in- 
dustry, etc. 

Mr.  Wilson  has  always  been  a  staunch 
Democrat  and  active  politically.  He  has  al- 
ways been  interested  in  whatever  tended  tc 
promote  the  interests  of  his  city  and  county. 
For  twenty  years  he  was  Master  in  Chan- 
cery. Because  of  his  public-spirit,  his  hon- 
esty of  purpose,  genuine  worth  and  congenial 
disposition,  no  man  is  better  or  more  favor 
ably  known  in  Southern  Illinois  than  he. 


J.  E.  CASTLE. 

Those  who  belong  to  the  respectable  mid- 
dle classes  of  society,  being  early  taught  the 
necessity  of  relying  upon  their  own  exer- 
tions, will  be  more  apt  to  acquire  that 
information  and  those  business  habits  which 
alone  can  fit  them  for  the  discharge  of  life's 


duties,  and,  indeed,  it  has  long  been  a  no- 
ticeable fact  that  our  great  men  in  nearly 
all  walks  of  life  in  America  spring  from 
this  class.  The  subject  of  this  sketch,  whose 
life  history  we  herewith  delineate  is  a  worthy 
representative  of  the  class  from  which  the 
true  noblemen  of  the  Republic  spring. 

J.  E.  Castle  was  born  in  Gallipolis,  Ohio, 
in  1845,  the  son  of  George  W.  Castle,  also 
a  native  of  the  Buckeye  state,  where  he  was 
born  in  Zanesville  in  that  conspicuous  year 
in  American  history,  1812.  He  came  to 
Illinois  with  his  family  in  1861,  settling  at 
Salem.  By  profession  he  was  a  contractor 
and  builder,  but  he  was  in  the  drug  business 
while  in  Salem,  and  was  also  interested  in 
farming,  however,  he  did  some  contracting 
here,  and  in  all  made  a  success,  for  he  was 
a  man  of  much  business  ability.  While  a 
resident  of  Ohio  he  was  for  some  time  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  having  always  taken 
considerable  interest  in  political  and  public 
affairs.  He  was  called  from  his  earthly  la- 
bors in  1872  after  an  active  and  useful  life. 

George  Washington  Castle  was  the  sub- 
ject's grandfather,  of  Irish  ancestry.  He 
was  loyal  to  the  American  government  and 
was  a  captain  of  a  company  in  the  War  of 
1812,  having  met  his  death  while  gallantly 
leading  a  battalion  of  volunteers  at  Fort 
Erie  in  1812,  the  same  year  the  father  of 
our  subject  was  born,  as  already  indicated. 
The  original  Castle  family  is  related  to  the 
Newtons,  a  prominent  and  influential  family 
of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Grandfather  Castle's 
family  consisted  of  three  children,  two  sons 
and  one  daughter. 

The  mother  of  our  subject  was  known  in 


BIOC.RAI'IIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


her  maidenhood  as  Eliza  Bing,  a  native  of 
Gallia  county,  Ohio,  her  people  being  natives 
of  the  Buckeye  state.  She  was  a  woman  of 
many  praiseworthy  traits,  and  she  was 
united  in  marriage  with  George  W.  Castle 
about  1832.  She  was  called  to  her  rest  in 
1858  while  living  at  Gallipolis,  Ohio.  Six 
children  constituted  the  family  of  this 
couple,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor. The  names  of  these  children  follow 
in  order  of  their  birth:  Dr.  W.  H.,  who 
died  in  St.  Louis  in  1882;  Captain  George 
E.,  who  died  in  Salem,  Illinois,  in  1887; 
Eva  M.,  who  died  at  Tonti,  Marion  county, 
June  30,  1903 ;  Dr.  Charles  E.,  who  died  at 
Great  Bend,  Kansas,  in  1897;  John  E.  died 
at  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  in  1859,  when  eight 
years  old;  J.  E.,  our  subject,  was  the  fourth 
in  order  of  birth. 

J.  E.  Castle  spent  his  boyhood  in  Gal- 
lipolis, Ohio,  where  he  attended  the  public 
schools  and  received  in  part  a  good  educa- 
tion, for  he  was  always  an  ambitious  lad  and 
applied  himself  in  a  commendable  manner  to 
his  text-books.  He  came  to  Salem,  Illinois, 
in  1 86 1,  and  in  the  spring  of  1862,  immedi- 
ately after  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  he  enlisted 
in  the  Union  army,  believing  that  it  was  the 
duty  of  loyal  citizens  of  the  Republic  to 
sever  home  ties  and  do  what  they  could  in 
saving  the  nation's  integrity.  He  was  in 
the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps  under  John  A. 
Logan,  with  General  James  Stewart  Martin 
in  Company  H,  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  having  been 
sergeant  of  the  company  of  which  his 
brother,  George  E.  Castle,  was  captain.  He 


served  with  distinction  in  this  regiment,  the 
operations  of  which  is  given  in  detail  in  the 
sketch  of  General  Martin  in  this  work,  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  he  passed  in  the 
grand  review  in  Washington  City  before 
the  President  and  all  the  generals  of  the 
army.  He  brought  home  a  Confederate 
flag. 

On  June  27,  1864,  the  subject  was  in  the 
battle  of  Kenesaw  Mountain  when  the  whole 
of  Sherman's  army  charged  the  forces  of 
General  Johnson  entrenched  on  the  moun- 
tain. 

He  took  part  in  two  months  of  continuous 
fighting  about  Atlanta,  July  22  and  28, 
1864,  being  memorable  dates  in  that  city's 
history.  On  the  first  mentioned  date,  Gen- 
eral McPherson  was  killed  and  on  this  date, 
General  James  S.  Martin,  of  Salem,  was 
made  a  brigadier  general.  On  July  28th 
was  fought  a  desperate  battle  lasting  all  day, 
on  which  day  General  Martin's  line  received 
seven  terrific  charges  and  never  moved  a 
foot.  On  August  3d  another  hard  battle 
was  fought  in  the  siege  of  Atlanta,  when 
Sherman's  army  escaped  from  Hood. 

On  August  3  ist  the  subject  was  in  the 
capture  of  Atlanta,  after  which  he  went  with 
Sherman  on  his  march  to  the  sea.  On  De- 
cember 1 4th,  following  the  battle  at  Fort 
McAllister  was  fought  and  captured  by 
Hazen's  division,  which  meant  virtually  the 
capture  of  Savannah,  as  Johnson  then  evacu- 
ated this  place.  The  army  then  went  on  to 
Hitton  Head,  South  Carolina,  and  then  Co- 
lumbia, Couth  Carolina,  was  captured.  At 
Fort  McAllister  our  subject  and  his  brother 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


171 


captured  a  Confederate  flag  and  many  other 
relics  which  they  brought  home. 

After  his  career  in  the  army  Mr.  Castle 
returned  to  Salem  and  took  a  course  in  the 
high  school,  after  which  he  went  to  Wes- 
leyan  University  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  taking 
a  three  years'  course  in  the  sciences  and 
making  a  brilliant  record  in  the  same.  Upon 
his  return  to  Salem  he  went  into  the  hard- 
ware business  in  which  he  remained  until 
1878,  building  up  an  excellent  trade  in  the 
meantime.  He  then  traveled  for  ten  years 
for  the  Champion  Harvesting  Machine 
Company,  giving  entire  satisfaction  to  this 
company,  the  patronage  of  which  he  caused 
to  be  greatly  increased.  Then,  much  to  the 
regret  of  his  employers,  he  severed  his  con- 
nection with  the  Champion  people  and  en- 
gaged with  his  brother,  Captain  George  E. 
Castle,  in  the  cattle  business  in  Southwest 
Kansas,  which  enterprise  was  continued 
with  the  most  gratifying  results  up  to  the 
time  of  the  latter's  death.  Since  then  our 
subject  has  been  farming.  He  has  an  excel- 
lent farm  property  which  is  kept  in  a  high 
state  of  improvement,  and  which  yields  a 
comfortable  income  from  year  to  year 
through  the  skillful  management  of  the  sub- 
ject. On  this  farm  is  to  be  found  an  ex- 
cellent orchard  of  thirty  acres,  Mr.  Castle 
having  been  an  enthusiastic  horticulturist 
for  several  years.  He  has  a  substantial 
dwelling  house  and  many  convenient  out 
buildings  on  his  farm  which  he  oversees,  but 
does  not  live  on. 

The  domestic  life  of  Mr.  Castle  dates 
from  1897  when  he  was  united  in  marriage 


with  Arabella  Whittaker,  the  refined  and 
affable  daughter  of  R.  H.  Whittaker.  The 
parents  of  Mrs.  Castle  were  both  born  in 
Ireland.  They  came  to  Salem,  Illinois,  in 
1852,  the  father  of  our  subject's  wife  hav- 
ing been  one  of  the  civil  engineers  that  sur- 
veyed the  route  for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Southwestern  Railroad,  at  that  time  known 
as  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad.  R.  H. 
Whittaker  passed  away  in  June,  1889,  at 
Salem,  his  life  companion  having  preceded 
him  to  the  silent  land  in  1881. 

The  subject's  wife  was  the  only  child  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  H.  Whittaker.  She  is  a 
highly  accomplished  woman,  well  educated 
and  talented.  She  is  an  able  and  noted 
teacher  of  both  music  and  painting,  being 
the  only  art  teacher  in  Salem.  She  is  re- 
garded by  every  one  who  has  seen  her  work 
as  being  a  finished  and  accomplished  artist 
and  she  has  a  beautiful  studio  in  connection 
with  her  home.  She  reveres  the  memory  of 
her  parents  and  likes  to  tell  of  the  happy 
days  when  R.  H.  Whittaker  was  station 
agent  for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Southwest- 
ern road  at  Salem,  which  position  he  held 
for  several  years.  He  was  also  fuel  agent 
for  many  years  and  had  a  wide  acquaint- 
ance among  railroad  men.  He  quit  railroad 
business  several  years  before  he  died,  and 
engaged  in  the  lumber  business  in  Salem, 
which  he  was  engaged  in  at  the  time  of  his 
death. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Castle  have  no  children. 

Mr.  Castle  is  a  member  of  the  ancient  and 
honorable  order  of  Masons,  also  the  Knights 
Templar  and  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 


UIOCKAPIIICAL    AXI)    KEM  I  MSCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


public.  And  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Castle  are  both 
ardent  members  of  the  Episcopal  church. 
Our  subject  was  a  member  of  the  building 
committee  that  erected  the  handsome  new 
edifice  in  Salem,  and  he  takes  a  special  in- 
terest in  all  the  affairs  of  this  church. 

In  the  modern,  substantial  and  beautiful 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Castle  which  stands 
on  Whittaker  street  in  Salem,  is  to  be  found 
many  curios  and  relics,  especially  of  the 
Civil  war.  The  beautiful  art  treasures  of 
Mrs.  Castle  are  numerous,  the  walls  being 
hung  with  many  excellent  pictures,  the  han- 
diwork of  Mrs.  Castle,  and  their  elegantly 
furnished  home  is  regarded  as  a  place  where 
hospitality  is  always  unstintingly  dispensed. 


JAMES.  F.  HYATT. 

"Through  struggle  to  triumph"  seems  to 
be  the  maxim  which  holds  sway  for  the  ma- 
jority of  our  citizens,  and,  though  it  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  many  fall  exhausted  in 
the  conflict,  a  few  by  their  inherent  force  of 
character  and  strong  mentality,  rise  above 
their  environment!  and  all  which  seems  to 
hinder  them,  until  they  reach  the  plane  of 
affluence  toward  which  their  face  was  set 
through  the  long  years  of  struggle  that  must 
necessarily  precede  any  accomplishment  of 
great  magnitude.  Such  has  been  the  history 
of  Mr.  Hyatt,  proprietor  of  the  well  known 
Linden  Lawn  Dairy,  and  in  his  life  record 
many  useful  lessons  may  be  gleaned. 

James  F.  Hyatt  was  bom  in  Versailles. 
Indiana,  January  7,  1855,  the  son  of  Hiram 
and  Bythynia  (Alley)  Hyatt,  the  former  a 


native  of  Indiana,  and  the  latter  of  Ken- 
tucky. The  subject's  father  was  a  stockman 
and  farmer,  and  for  many  years  carried  on 
a  stock  business  on  an  extensive  scale  near 
Versailles,  having  died  in  Clay  City.  Indi- 
ana, in  1905.  His  widow,  a  woman  of  many 
praiseworthy  traits,  like  those  of  her  hus- 
band, is  still  living  at  this  writing  (1908). 
They  were  the  parents  of  five  children  who 
grew  to  maturity,  and  who  reside  in  Indi- 
ana, with  the  exception  of  the  subject,  who 
is  the  eldest  of  the  family.  He  was  reared 
in  his  native  county  where  he  received  a 
common  school  education,  having  attended 
the  Quaker  Academy  for  two  years  at  But- 
lerville,  Indiana.  He  decided  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  manufacture  of  woolen 
goods,  and  accordingly  early  in  life  went  to 
work  in  a  woolen  mill,  also  worked  in  a  flour 
mill  owned  by  his  father,  where  he  remained 
for  several  years.  When  twenty  years  old 
he  went  to  what  is  now  Clay  City,  Indiana, 
it  being  a  railroad  terminus  before  a  post- 
office  was  established.  A  coal  mine  had  been 
developed  there.  He  secured  employment 
with  the  coal  company  as  weigh  boss,  later 
in  a  clerical  capacity,  having  given  the  com- 
pany entire  satisfaction  in  this  work.  In 
1878  he  started  a  small  merchandise  busi- 
ness which  was  successful  from  the  first,  and 
also  became  interested  in  coal  mining,  brick 
manufacturing,  milling  and  various  enter- 
prises which  he  carried  on  with  his  usual 
successful  methods,  and  operated  stores  in 
a  number  of  different  places,  in  fact,  he  pur- 
chased large  stocks  of  goods  in  various  east- 
ern cities,  shipping  the  same  to  different 
states  and  closing  them  out.  His  advance- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


173 


ment  was  rapid  and  most  successful.  In 
1894  to  1896  he  sold  all  his  interests  in  In- 
diana, having  previously  got  possession  of 
large  tracts  of  land  in  Arkansas,  establish- 
ing a  colony  in  northeastern  Arkansas,  and 
has  been  instrumental  in  locating  many  fami- 
lies from  the  northern  and  eastern  states  on 
the  same.  He  still  carries  on  this  business 
with  gratifying  results.  He  went  to  Chicago 
to  live,  where  he  resided  until  coming  to  Ol- 
ne\  in  1900. 

At  the  time  he  came  to  Olney  he  pur- 
chased the  Linden  Lawn  Dairy,  which  he 
has  since  managed  in  a  most  successful 
manner,  having  made  many  improvements, 
increasing  the  capacity  of  the  dairy,  enlarg- 
ing the  barns,  improving  the  fertility  of  the 
land,  and  in  many  ways  making  it  one  of 
the  model  dairies  of  the  state.  He  has  one 
hundred  head  of  dairy  stock.  There  is  a 
great  demand  for  all  that  his  dairy  produces 
in  Olney,  where  all  his  dairy  products  are 
readily  disposed  of.  This  business  was  orig- 
inally established  by  the  Linden  Lawn 
Fanning  Company,  -a  corporation  organized 
or  promoted  by  C.  S.  Mace,  now  deceased. 
Mr.  Mace  conceived  the  idea  of  forming  a 
corporation  for  carrying  on  farming  and 
dairying  on  an  extensive  scale,  with  the  idea 
of  also  making  it  a  co-operative  institution. 
All  employes  invested  twenty-five  per  cent,  of 
wages  in  stock  and  received  pro  rata  of  pro- 
fits of  the  business.  It  grew  to  extensive 
proportions,  consisting  of  farming,  horticul- 
ture, dairying  and  stock  raising.  Modern 
buildings  and  equipment  were  provided.  At 
the  time  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Mace,  the  pro- 
moter, in  1900,  the  stockholders  decided  to 


close  the  corporation  and  sell  the  property. 
Accordingly  in  September  of  that  year, 
James  F.  Hyatt,  our  subject,  purchased  the 
same  and  has  since  carried  on  the  work  on 
a  paying  basis,  assisted  by  his  wife,  who  is 
actively  connected  with  the  management. 
The  dairy  has  eighty  stalls  for  milch  cows, 
besides  large  sheds  in  close  proximity.  There 
is  a  silo  with  four  hundred  tons  capacity, 
which  was  one  of  the  first  built  in  this 
county.  Linden  Lawn  consists  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-three  acres,  all  inside  the 
corporate  limits  of  Olney.  Land  on  part  of 
three  sides  is  platted  and  partly  improved. 
The  land  is  in  a  high  state  of  fertility.  Six- 
ty-five acres  are  in  bearing  order  in  fine  con- 
dition. The  dwelling  is  of  pressed  brick, 
stone  trimmings,  slate  roof,  is  commodious, 
convenient,  and  has  all  modern  conveniences 
and  appliances,  large  verandas,  stone,  brick 
and  concrete  walks,  large  well,  beautifully 
shaded  lawn.  The  building  occupies  elevated 
ground,  giving  a  splendid  view  of  the  city. 
The  barn  is  metal  roofed  and  has  every 
modern  equipment  for  furnishing  high 
grade,  sanitary  milk.  The  barn  has  steam 
and  electric  power,  electric  lights,  running 
water,  concrete  floors,  and  is  in  every  way 
up-to-date.  The  dairy  herd  is  mostly  full 
blood  Jersey.  In  fact,  this  is  without  doubt 
one  of  the  very  finest  farms  in  Illinois,  and 
one  would  be  compelled  to  search  long  and 
far  to  surpass  it  in  any  state. 

Mr.  Hyatt  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1888  to  Iva  Grim,  a  native  of  Coal  City.  In- 
diana, the  daughter  of  Henry  and  Charity 
(Gray)  Grim,  natives  of  Ohio,  both  now  de- 
ceased. The  father  of  Mrs.  Hyatt  was  a 


174 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AXI)    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


farmer  and  merchant,  a  civil  engineer  and 
surveyor,  and  a  pioneer  of  Coal  City.  One 
son,  Frederick,  a  lad  of  much  business  pro- 
mise, now  seventeen  years  old,  has  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hyatt. 

In  1902  Mr.  Hyatt  purchased  the  opera 
house  block,  a  three-story  brick  structure. 
He  remodeled  the  interior  and  converted  the 
top  floors  into  a  modern  opera  house,  refur- 
nished and  entirely  overhauled  the  same. 
The  interior  decorations  and  arrangements 
compare  favorably  with  the  smaller  opera 
houses  in  the  large  cities.  This  splendid, 
safe  and  comfortable  play-house  is  greatly 
appreciated  by  the  citizens  of  this  commu- 
nity and  much  credit  is  given  the  owner  for 
its  establishment. 

In  his  political  relations  Mr.  Hyatt  is  a 
Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Lodge 
No.  926,  at  Olney.  He  is  president  of  the 
Business  Men's  Association  of  Olney.  Mrs. 
Hyatt  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church. 

James  F.  Hyatt  is  a  thoroughly  practical 
business  man,  which  fact,  coupled  with  his 
undoubted  ability  as  an  organizer  and  pro- 
moter, contains  the  secret  of  the  success  of 
the  institution  of  which  he  is  the  head. 


WILLIAM  L.  DRAPAR. 

Mr.  Drapar  has  for  many  years  been  an 
honored  resident  of  Marion  county,  whose 
interests  he  has  ever  had  at  heart,  and  who 
has,  while  advancing  his  own  welfare  done 


much  toward  promulgating  the  civic,  in- 
dustrial and  moral  tone  of  the  vicinity.  His 
career  has  been  one  of  hard  work  and  in- 
tegrity, consequently  he  is  deserving  of  the 
respect  in  which  he  is  held  by  everyone. 

William  L.  Drapar  was  bom  in  Fayette 
county,  Illinois,  October  29,  1850,  the  son 
of  John  B.  Drapar,  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
who  came  to  Illinois  when  a  mere  lad,  in 
the  days  when  the  inhabitants  wore  buck- 
skin breeches  and  when  the  forests  abounded 
in  wild  game  and  the  hills  and  prairies  were 
overrun  by  the  red  men.  Grandfather  Dra- 
par was  also  a  native  of  Tennessee,  who 
brought  his  son,  father  of  our  subject,  to 
this  state,  settling  in  Fayette  county.  Grand- 
father was  a  well  known  lawyer  in  his  day 
and  served  as  Judge  of  Lafayette  county. 
Vandalia,  the  county  seat,  was  then  the 
state  capital.  Judge  Drapar,  like  most  pio- 
neer men,  was  the  father  of  a  large  family, 
he  and  his  faithful  life  companion  becoming 
the  parents  of  fifteen  children,  three  pairs 
of  twins.  He  was  a  Jeffersonian  Democrat 
and  a  soldier  in  the  Mexican  war.  He  sub- 
sequently moved  to  Salem  where  he  was 
called  from  his  earthly  labors  at  the  age  of 
fifty-six  years,  and  he  was  buried  at  Xenia, 
Clay  county. 

John  B.  Drapar  moved  to  Salem  in  1856. 
He  was1  a  blacksmith  of  extraordinary  skill, 
and  for  some  time  drove  a  stage-coach  on 
the  old  Vandalia  line.  He  enlisted  in  the 
Union  army  during  the  Civil  war,  but  never 
saw  service.  He  died  about  1896. 

The  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  known  in  her  maidenhood  as  Jeanette 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


175 


Abel,  who  was  born  in  Bowling  Green, 
Kentucky,  the  representative  of  a  South- 
ern family  of  honorable  repute.  The 
date  of  her  birth  occurred  February  16, 
1828,  and  she  was  summoned  to  join  the 
"choir  invisible"  in  1904,  while  living  at 
the  home  of  our  subject  in  Salem  and  she 
is  buried  in  the  cemetery  here.  The  follow- 
ing children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  B.  Drapar:  Margaret,  widow  of  Eli- 
sha  Ledgerwood,  who  is  living  in  the  state 
of  Washington;  William  L.,  our  subject; 
Edwin,  who  died  when  four  years  old;  an 
infant  girl,  deceased. 

William  L.  Drapar,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  reared  in  Salem  where  he  re- 
ceived the  customary  common  school  edu- 
cation. At  an  early  age  he  assisted  his 
father  in  a  blacksmith  shop.  When  twenty- 
one  he  was  thrown  on  his  own  resources,  but 
being  a  youth  of  indomitable  energy  and 
courage,  he  went  to  work  with  a  will  and 
has  prospered  all  his  subsequent  life.  He 
went  into  the  milling  business  in  1872  at 
Salem  and  has  been  thus  engaged  since  that 
time,  becoming  known  as  one  of  the  leading 
milling  men  in  this  part  of  the  state,  having 
been  eminently  successful  in  this  enterprise 
from  the  first.  He  worked  for  E.  Hull, 
father  of  Senator  C.  E.  Hull,  for  eighteen 
years.  Since  January,  1890,  he  has  been 
associated  with  Senator  Hull  in  business,  op- 
erating the  Salem  Brick  Mill,  the  style  of 
the  firm  being  Hull  &  Drapar.  The  present 
building  which  this  firm  occupies  was 
erected  in  1860,  but  has  since  been  remod- 
eled into  a  modem  and  substantial  build- 


ing. They  do  a  general  milling  business 
and  their  products  are  known  not  only 
throughout  Marion  county  where  they  have 
a  very  extensive  trade,  but  all  over  this 
part  of  the  state  and  to  remote  sections  of 
this  and  other  states. 

Mr.  Drapar  was  united  in  marriage  first 
in  1872  with  Sarah  J.  Fair,  whose  parents 
died  when  she  was  two  years  old  and  she 
was  reared  by  a  family  named  Castle  who 
came  to  Salem  from  Ohio  at  the  close  of 
the  war.  She  was  a  woman  of  many  com- 
mendable traits  of  character,  and  to  this 
union  the  following  interesting  family  was 
born:  Ira  and  Louie,  twins,  born  July  u, 
1874.  The  first  named  is  living  in  Holden- 
ville,  Oklahoma,  where  he  is  Assistant 
Cashier  of  the  Second  National  Bank.  He 
is  also  City  Recorder  of  Holdenville.  He  is 
a  graduate  of  the  Salem  high  school  in 
which  he  made  a  splendid  record,  and  he 
is  also  a  graduate  of  the  Flora  Business 
College.  For  three  years  he  was  manager 
of  a  large  lumber  company  in  Oklahoma 
in  which  state  he  is  very  popular.  Louie 
lives  in  Chicago  where  he  has  a  responsible 
position  with  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Com- 
pany, which  regards  him  as  one  of  their 
most  faithful  and  trusted  employes.  Leslie, 
the  third  child,  was  born  July  28,  1878. 
He  is  also  a  graduate  of  the  Salem  high 
school.  He  is  now  living  in  New  Mexico 
in  the  employ  of  the  Harvey  Dining  Service 
Company.  He  has  been  a  dining  car  con- 
ductor for  years.  He  had  the  distinction  of 
serving  for  one  year  as  superintendent  of 
the  dining  service  at  Yale  University.  He 


,7r, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


is  an  expert  at  this  line  of  business  and 
has  gained  wide  notoriety  among  the  peo- 
ple of  this  business.  George,  the  fourth 
child,  was  born  November  12,  1882.  He 
holds  the  responsible  position  as  cashier 
and  bookkeeper  of  the  Sherman  House  in 
Chicago.  Babel,  the  winsome  and  accom- 
plished daughter  of  the  subject  and  wife, 
was  born  March  5,  1890,  and  she  is  yet  a 
member  of  the  family  circle,  keeping  house 
for  her  father. 

Mrs.  Drapar  passed  to  her  eternal  rest 
on  August  15,  1894,  after  a  useful  and 
beautiful  life.  Mr.  Drapar  was  again  mar- 
ried on  June  14,  1899,  to  Isabel  Bell,  daugh- 
ter of  Philo  Bell,  of  Sumner,  Illinois.  Mr. 
Bell  was  a  stage  driver  on  the  old  Vin- 
cennes  &  St.  Louis  line  before  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  Railroad  was  built.  This  wife  died 
without  issue  May  3,  1907,  of  a  paralytic 
stroke.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong  char- 
acter and  had  many  faithful  friends. 

Mr.  Drapar  has  always  taken  consider- 
able interest  in  political  affairs.  He  served 
as  City  Alderman  for  six  years  in  a  most 
creditable  manner.  He  was  school  director 
for  five  years,  during  which  time  the  local 
schools  felt  a  great  impetus.  He  was  tax 
collector  for  one  year,  refusing  to  serve 
longer,  much  to  the  regret  of  every  one  con- 
cerned. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Drapar  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows since  1874,  occupying  all  the  chairs, 
both  Subordinate  and  Encampment.  He 
has  attended  the  Grand  Lodges  regularly 
for  twenty-two  years.  He  met  with  the 


Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  at  St.  Louis  several 
years  ago.  Mr.  Drapar  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  church  since  a  boy. 
He  belongs  to  that  class  of  citizens  who 
by  their  support  of  the  moral,  political  and 
social  status  for  the  general  good,  promote 
the  real  welfare  of  their  respective  commu- 
nities. 


A.  M.  PEDDICORD. 

It  is  interesting  to  study  the  life  record 
of  such  a  man  as  the  gentleman  whose 
name  appears  above  owing  to  the  fact  that 
he  began  life  under  no  favorable  auspicies 
and  has  had  to  battle  his  own  way  through 
the  world,  but  he  has  succeeded  remarkably 
well  and  has  shown  how  a  man  can  "go 
it  alone"  when  once  his  face  is  set  in  the 
right  direction  and  he  has  the  courage  of  his 
convictions.  Therefore,  for  this  and  many 
other  reasons,  not  the  least  of  which  is  the 
fact  that  he  is  one  of  the  brave  veterans  of 
the  great  war  of  the  Rebellion,  efficiently 
serving  his  country  during  its  dark  days, 
we  take  pleasure  in  giving  him  a  place  in 
this  work. 

A.  M.  Peddicord  was  born  in  Bracken 
county,  Kentucky,  June  4,  1841,  and  he  was 
about  fourteen  years  old  when  he  came  to 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  and  spent  most  of 
the  time  since  then  in  Carrigan  township. 
He  is  the  son  of  Nelson  and  Rebecca  Peddi- 
cord, the  subject's  parents  having  been 
cousins.  The  father  died  when  the  subject 
was  very  young  and  he  has  but  little  recol- 


A.  M.  PEDDICORD. 


Of  THE 
UNIVERSITY  <»  ILLINOIS. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COfNTIKS.    ILLINOIS. 


177 


lection  of  him.  The  subject's  mother  was 
born  in  Mason  county,  Kentucky,  and  died 
about  fifteen  years  ago.  There  were  six 
children  in  the  family  of  Nelson  Peddicord 
and  wife,  namely:  Emanuel  J.,  who  first 
married  Hester  Lawrence,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  three  children ;  his  second  wife 
was  Sallie  Hooker  and  they  became  the  par- 
ents of  five  or  six  children ;  Emanuel's  third 
wife  was  Nancy  Roberts ;  A.  E.,  the  second 
child  of  Nelson  and  Rebecca  Peddicord, 
served  in  the  Union  army  in  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Eleventh  Illinois  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, having  remained  single,  and  he  died 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  war ;  F.  M.  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Faggin  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  five  children ;  A.  M.,  our  subject,  was  the 
fourth  child  in  order  of  birth ;  Sarah  M. 
was  twice  married;  Priscilla  died  when 
young. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  compelled 
to  make  his  own  way  after  he  was  four- 
teen years  old  and  he  has  succeeded  admir- 
ably well.  When  he  reached  maturity  he 
was  married  to  Eliza  Britt  in  August,  1869, 
in  Marion  county.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Abigail  (Roderick)  Britt.  Her 
parents  lived  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  In- 
diana and  finally  settled  in  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  and  they  died  here.  Mr.  Britt  was 
a  farmer.  The  subject's  wife  was  the  ninth 
of  a  family  of  ten  children. 

The  following  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  A.  M.  Peddicord:  Francis  M., 
who  is  forty-one  years  old  in  1908,  married 
Mary  E.  Foltz  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
seven  children;  Mary  E.  died  when  four- 
12 


teen  months  old;  Sarah  E.,  who  is  now  thir- 
ty-nine years,  married  Thomas  P.  Walker, 
and  they  have  three  children  living  and 
two  dead. 

As  already  intimated  Mr.  Peddicord  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil 
war,  having  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Thirty- 
first  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  on  August 
10,  1 86 1,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  John 
A.  Logan.  He  served  in  a  most  gallant 
manner  for  a  period  of  four  years.  He  was 
taken  prisoner  on  the  march  to  the  sea  at 
Meridian,  Mississippi.  He  was  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Fort  Donelson,  was  in  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg  and  Champion's  Hill.  He  was 
in  Andersonville  prison  for  a  period  of  six 
months,  later  being  moved  to  Florence.  He 
contracted  the  scurvy  while  in  prison,  hav- 
ing been  in  prison  when  peace  was  declared. 

Our  subject  has  an  excellent  farm  con- 
sisting of  two  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
valuable  land  in  section  34,  seventy-seven 
acres  of  which  are  in  timber.  The  subject 
has  made  most  of  the  improvements  of  his 
farm  which  now  holds  high  rank  with 
Marion  county's  best  farms.  It  shows  good 
management  and  is  well  stocked.  He  has 
a  comfortable  residence  which  is  well  fur- 
nished. 

Mr.  Peddicord  was  Road  Commissioner 
for  two  terms  and  gave  entire  satisfaction. 
He  is  a  loyal  Democrat.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Peddicord  are  faithful  members  of  the  Bap- 
tist church.  Our  subject  deserves  much 
credit  for  what  he  has  accomplished,  for 
he  had  little  chance  to  attend  school  in  his 
youth.  The  only  school-house  in  his  com- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


munity  was  built  of  logs,  and  the  terms  of 
school  were  very  short.  But  he  has  been  a 
hard  worker  and  has  succeeded  despite  early 
disadvantages,  until  today  he  is  one  of  the 
county's  most  representative  agriculturists 
and  has  many  friends  throughout  the 
same. 


RICHARD  LEWIS. 

Energy,  sound  judgment  and  persistency 
of  effort,  properly  applied,  will  always  win 
the  goal  sought  in  the  sphere  of  human  en- 
deavor, no  matter  what  the  environment  may 
be  or  what  obstacles  are  met  with,  for  they 
who  are  endowed  with  such  characteristics, 
make  stepping-stones  of  their  adversities  to 
higher  things.  These  reflections  are  sug- 
gested by  the  career  of  Mr.  Lewis,  who  has 
forged  his  way  to  the  front  ranks,  and  stands 
today  among  the  representative  men  of  Rich- 
land  county. 

Richard  Lewis,  the  well  known  proprietor 
of  the  Metropole  Hotel  in  Olney,  Illinois,  was 
born  in  Breckenridge  county,  Kentucky,  Au- 
gust 17,  1844,  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Sa- 
rah (Mattingly)  Lewis,  the  former  having 
been  born  near  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia,  and 
the  latter  in  Kentucky.  The  father  was 
reared  in  his  native  state  and  came  to  Ken- 
tucky with  his  parents  when  young,  where  he 
married  and  became  a  farmer.  James  Mat- 
tingly, grandfather  of  the  subject,  was  a 
planter  and  a  slave  owner  in  Kentucky  where 
he  lived  and  died.  Thomas  Lewis  removed 
to  Illinois  with  his  family  in  1846  and  set- 


tled at  Pond  Grove,  near  St.  Marie,  Jasper 
county.  Soon  afterward  he  changed  his  place 
of  residence  to  another  part  of  Jasper  county. 
He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  section 
and  improved  a  good  farm,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  six  miles  south 
of  Newton,  which  in  late  years  he  gave  to 
his  youngest  son.  He  died  at  the  home  of  the 
subject  in  Olney  in  1883,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-three years.  His  wife  had  previously 
died  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years.  Their 
family  consisted  of  six  children,  three  boys 
and  three  girls,  two  of  the  youngest  daugh- 
ters being  deceased.  The  subject  is  the  fifth 
in  order  of  birth.  He  was  two  years  old  when 
the  family  located  in  Jasper  county.  His  par- 
ents being  poor,  his  early  education  was  very 
limited  on  account  of  his  having  to  work 
hard  to  help  support  the  family,  working  on 
the  farm  early  and  late.  There  were  only 
a  few  schools  in  the  county  which  was  new 
at  that  time,  so  he  was  enabled  to  attend 
school  only  about  six  months;  later  he  did  a 
great  deal  of  home  reading  and  by  practical 
experience  became  generally  educated  and  is 
today  a  well  informed  man. 

During  his  youth  the  family  was  so  poor, 
according  to  our  subject,  that  it  took  all  their 
money  at  one  time  to  buy  one  hoe,  which  was 
turned  over  to  an  older  brother,  William, 
for  use.  He,  however,  was  not  satisfied  to  do 
all  the  work  and  made  a  wooden  hoe  which 
he  insisted  on  our  subject  using  to  help.  Dick 
says  he  accordingly  put  in  many  days  of 
hard  work  with  a  wooden  hoe.  which  has 
probably  been  the  experience  of  but  few  peo- 
ple now  living  in  Illinois.  The  family  lived 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


179 


in  a  log  house  for  a  number  of  years  without 
windows,  but  the  father  finally  sawed  out  a 
small  place  for  one  window,  in  which  they 
lived  until  the  house  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
The  nearest  neighbor  was  three  miles  away. 
\Yild  game  of  all  kinds  was  plentiful,  includ- 
ing deer,  bear,  wild  turkey,  and  wolves  were 
numerous  and  sometimes  troublesome.  The 
father  was  compelled  to  get  up  at  night  many 
times  for  the  purpose  of  driving  them  out 
of  the  dooryard  and  away  from  the  sheep  and 
hogs.  The  father  was  a  shoemaker  and  made 
all  the  shoes  and  boots  for  the  family.  Rich- 
ard was  allowed  one  pair  of  shoes  per  year, 
being  compelled  to  go  barefoot  from  early 
spring  until  snow  fell  in  the  late  fall. 

Mr.  Lewis  was  one  of  the  supporters  of 
the  national  government  during  the  trouble 
in  the  sixties,  having  enlisted  in  1861,  but 
not  being  old  enough  and  being  opposed  by 
his  family,  he  did  not  go  to  the  front.  He 
then  took  charge  of  the  home  place  and  for  a 
few  years  was  very  successful.  He  sold  hogs 
at  Olney  during  the  war  for  twelve  dollars 
per  one  hundred  pounds.  In  1865  he  en- 
listed in  Company  B,  One  Hundred  and 
Fifty-fifth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
immediately  went  into  the  field.  He  was  first 
sent  to  Louisville  and  then  to  Nashville,  also 
to  Tullahoma,  Tennessee,  returning  to  Mur- 
freesboro,  where  he  remained  until  he  was 
mustered  out.  After  the  war  he  came  back 
home  and  located  on  a  farm  of  forty  acres, 
which  he  had  bought  with  two  wagon-loads 
of  hogs  prior  to  enlisting.  In  the  mean- 
time his  father  bought  forty  acres  more  with 
the  money  the  subject  had  sent  him.  mak- 


ing him  eighty  acres  in  all,  with  which  to 
start  life.  In  1866  and  1867  he  raised  crops 
of  wheat  and  sold  wheat  the  latter  year  for 
two  dollars  per  bushel.  On  one  occasion  he 
took  thirty  bushels  to  Olney  for  which  he  re- 
ceived sixty  dollars.  Meeting  an'  old  com- 
rade, Jim  Clark,  son  of  "Old  Sam  Clark," 
after  the  war,  the  young  men  repaired  to  a 
place  for  social  refreshment  and  being  looked 
upon  by  the  proprietor  of  the  place  as  young 
and  unsophisticated,  were  induced  to  try  their 
luck  at  a  game.  It  was  the  subject's  lucky 
day  and  he  made  fifteen  dollars  very  easily. 
It  became  a  puzzle  to  his  father  how  the  son 
could  come  home  with  so  much  money  for 
thirty  bushels  of  wheat.  During  those  days 
Mr.  Lewis  was  on  his  way  to  the  polls  at  St. 
Marie  to  vote  and  passed  a  place  where  a 
young  lady  was  breaking  flax  with  a  flail  and 
casually  made  the  remark,  "That  is  the  girl 
for  me."  He  did  not  know  her,  but  after- 
ward met  her  quite  unexpectedly  and  it  is  a 
coincidence  worth  recording  here  that  she  is 
his  wife  today. 

After  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Lewis  he  con- 
tinued on  the  farm  and  was  prosperous  for 
several  years,  buying  more  land  until  he  had 
a  splendid  place,  consisting  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres.  He  was  ambitious  to  get 
ahead  and  bought  a  threshing  machine  out- 
fit, going  in  debt  on  his  credit,  which  was 
unquestioned.  The  panic  of  1873  came  on 
and  it  was  impossible  to  get  money,  so  he 
lost  all.  After  he  had  turned  over  all  his 
property  except  a  homestead  interest  which 
he  traded  for  two  houses  and  lots  in  Olney, 
he  found  judgment  still  hanging  over  him. 


i8o 


IJKHiRAPIlICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


He  paid  one  judgment  of  six  hundred  dol- 
lars by  disposing  of  one  house  and  lot  and 
went  to  work  at  whatever  he  could  find  to 
do  for  several  years. 

In  September,  1897,  he  bought  a  hotel 
business  opposite  the  Illinois  Central  depot  in 
Olney,  which  he  conducted  for  about  a  year. 
He  then  conducted  a  similar  business  on 
West  Main  street  for  two  years,  after  which 
he  took  charge  of  the  old  Commercial  House, 
\vhich  he  christened  the  New  Olney  House, 
and  conducted  the  same  for  three  years.  He 
then  sold  out  and  leased  the  Metropole  ho- 
tel, which  he  soon  after  sold.  After  a  trip 
to  St.  Louis  he  returned  to  Olney  and  again 
engaged  in  the  hotel  business  on  West  Main 
street  for  about  a  year.  Selling  out,  he  again 
took  charge  of  the  Metropole  hotel,  which 
he  has  since  conducted  successfully.  It  is 
the  leading  hotel  in  this  part  of  the  country 
and  would  be  a  credit  to  larger  cities,  being 
carefully  conducted  and  managed  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  constantly  gain  prestige  with 
the  traveling  public.  It  is  a  three-story  brick 
structure,  modern  in  every  detail,  with  thirty- 
six  rooms,  electric  lights,  steam  heat,  hot  and 
cold  water,  and  all  other  equipment  that  can 
be  found  in  an  up-to-date  hotel.  Its  cuisine 
is  excellent  and  courteous  treatment  is  al- 
ways accorded  guests,  so  that  the  place  is 
popular  with  the  traveling  public.  Its  genia! 
and  pleasant  proprietor  is  familiarly  known 
as  "Old  Dick  Lewis." 

Mr.  Lewis  was  married  December  26, 
1867,  to  Sarah  Anderson,  a  native  of  near 
Madison,  Indiana,  the  daughter  of  Felix  and 
Martha  (Underwood)  Anderson,  both  of 


whom  died  in  Jasper  county,  Illinois.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lewis  are  the  parents  of  eight  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  are  living.  Anna  is  the 
wife  of  Victor  Bolmar,  who  resides  in  Mat- 
toon,  Illinois;  May  is  the  other  daughter. 

In  politics  Mr.  Lewis  was  formerly  a  Dem- 
ocrat, but  in  later  years  he  has  voted  the 
Republican  ticket.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Eli  Boyer  Post,  No.  92,  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic.  He  has  held  many  positions  in 
the  same,  being  at  present  quartermaster. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  Olney  Lodge,  No. 
926,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the 
Catholic  church. 


NATHANIEL  G.  HUFF. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  long 
been  identified  with  the  progress  and  ad- 
vancement of  this  favored  section  of  the 
great  Prairie  state,  where  he  has  maintained 
his  home  for  more  than  the  Psalmist's  al- 
lotted three  score  years,  having  been  born 
within  her  borders,  having  spent  his  long; 
active  and  useful  life  here  and  where  he 
has  attained  gratifying  success  in  connection 
with  the  development  of  its  resources,  being 
one  of  the  representative  farmers  and  stock 
growers  in  Stevenson  township  and  having 
one  of  the  most  productive  landed  estates  in 
this  part  of  the  county. 

Nathaniel  G.  Huff  was  born  in  Stevenson 
township,  this  county,  February  6,  1841,  the 
son  of  William  H.,  Sr.,  and  Mary  A. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION     COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


181 


(Crane)  Huff,  the  former  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  latter  of  Kentucky.  The  sub- 
ject's grandfather  was  Samuel  Huff,  also 
a  native  of  Virginia  who  later  removed  to 
Tennessee  and  finally  came  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  settling  among  the  pioneers 
on  government  land  on  what  is  now  Rac- 
coon township.  He  later  moved  to  Haines 
township,  where  he  cleared  land  and  made 
a  comfortable  home,  spending  the  rest  of 
his  days  there.  Leonard  Huff  was  the 
great-grandfather  of  the  subject.  He  was 
born  in  Germany  and  came  to  America  in  a 
very  early  day,  settling  in  Pennsylvania 
where  he  spent  his  life  and  where  he  died. 
Mary  A.  Crane,  our  subject's  mother,  was 
the  daughter  of  William  Crane,  who  was  a 
native  of  Virginia,  having  lived  and  died  in 
Kentucky.  William  Huff,  father  of  our 
subject,  was  raised  in  Tennessee  and  spent 
several  years  in  Mississippi  and  Alabama. 
About  April  22,  1840,  he  came  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  married  and 
where  he  purchased  four  hundred  acres  of 
wild  land  in  what  is  now  Stevenson  town- 
ship, spending  the  remainder  of  his  useful 
and  very  busy  life  here,  dying  March  10, 
1863.  His  widow,  a  much  beloved  old  lady 
of  fine  Christian  character,  is  still  living. 
William  Huff  was  regarded  as  a  successful 
farmer.  He  joined  the  Christian  church 
sometime  prior  to  his  death.  He  was  twice 
married,  his  first  wife  having  been  Nancy 
Dukes,  whom  he  married  in  Mississippi. 
She  died  leaving  one  child,  William  H.,  Jr. 
He  married  Mary  Crane  April  22,  1840. 
Eleven  children  were  born  to  this  union, 


namely:  Nathaniel  G.,  our  subject;  Benja- 
min F.,  deceased;  Andrew  J.,  deceased; 
James  K.  and  George  M.  Dallis,  twins,  are 
both  living;  Joshua  is  living  in  this  state 
at  Jacksonville;  Marj  J.  is  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Brasel;  Henderson  P.  lives  in  Steven- 
son township ;  Harriet  C.  is  the  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Porter  Gaston;  Virginia  is  the  wife  of 
John  B.  Brasel ;  Steven  A.  is  deceased. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  spent  his  youth 
on  his  father's  farm,  having  remained  under 
the  parental  roof-tree  until  he  reached  man- 
hood. He  was  educated  in  the  old  subscrip- 
tion schools  and  having  applied  himself  in  a 
diligent  manner  received  a  fairly  good  edu- 
cation. His  father  gave  him  a  piece  of  land 
in  this  township  which  he  at  once  set  about 
improving,  but  which  he  sold  in  1868  and 
bought  his  present  fine  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-eight  acres,  which  lies  in 
section  30,  Stevenson  township,  and  section 
25,  Salem  township.  It  was  almost  all  in 
the  woods  when  he  took  possession  of  it, 
but  he  has  been  a  hard  worker  and  has  im- 
proved the  place  up  to  its  present  high  state 
of  efficiency,  having  been  enabled  from  year 
to  year  to  reap  bounteous  harvests  from  the 
same  through  his  skillful  manipulation  of 
crops.  He  did  most  of  the  work  in  con- 
nection with  his  place  himself,  and  also  on 
his  buildings,  having  an  excellent  and  well 
furnished  house  and  a  good  barn.  Every 
thing  about  the  place  shows  thrift  and  pros- 
perity and  his  farm  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  desirable  in  Stevenson  township. 

Our  subject's  first  marriage  was  in  1862 
to  Julia  A.  Hill,  a  native  of  Marion  county, 


[82 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


and  eight  children  were  born  to  this  union, 
namely:  Thomas,  who  lives  in  Stevenson 
township,  married  Orela  Cutchin;  Viola  is 
living  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois ;  William  mar- 
ried Frankie  Evans  and  resides  in  Salem 
township;  Seymour,  who  is  living  in  Salem 
township,  married  Elizabeth  Guth ;  Mary  A. 
is  deceased ;  Laura  is  single  and  resides  in 
Jacksonville;  Osceola,  who  is  living  in 
Flora,  this  state,  married  Maggie  Babb ;  Au- 
gustus L.  married  May  Stone  and  lives  in 
Eureka,  Illinois,  being  a  minister  of  the 
Christian  church. 

The  subject's  second  marriage  was 
solemnized  November  8,  1885,  to  Martha 
E.  Mercer,  a  native  of  Marion  county  and 
the  daughter  of  Silas  and  Rebecca  Mercer, 
early  settlers  in  Marion  county.  The  sub- 
ject has  sixteen  grandchildren  and  five  chil- 
dren dead.  He  has  two  great-grandchil- 
dren. The  subject  and  wife  are  members  of 
the  Christian  church  at  old  Mt.  Maria,  the 
first  church  organized  in  Marion  county. 
The  subject  is  a  Jeffersonian  Democrat,  but 
is  not  a  Bryan  Democrat,  believing  that  the 
old  school  democracy  is  preferable  to  the 
new.  He  filled  the  office  of  Justice  of  the 
Peace  in  a  most  able  manner  for  a  period 
of  eighteen  years. 

Mr.  Huff  has  in  his  possession  an  old 
squirrel  rifle  over  one  hundred  years  old 
which  belonged  to  his  father.  It  has  killed 
over  one  hundred  deer  and  bear.  He  also 
has  the  old  powder-horn  and  shot  pouch 
which  his  father  carried.  Mr.  Huff  has  a 
note  made  in.  payment  for  a  clock  which 
was  given  him  by  his  father-in-law.  He 


also  still  has  the  clock.  He  has  among  other 
relics  of  the  past  a  spinning-wheel  and  a 
Southern  dagger,  which  was  discovered  in 
a  layer  of  cane. 


SAMUEL  C.   WILSON. 

The  dominating  spirit  of  self-help  is  what 
has  conserved  the  distinctive  business  suc- 
cess and  prestige  of  the  gentleman  whose 
career  we  now  take  under  consideration, 
who  stands  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  leading 
industrial  enterprises  of  Richland  county, 
where  from  modest  inception,  he  has  built 
up  one  of  the  leading  flouring  mills  in  this 
part  of  the  state,  controlling  a  trade  which 
ramifies  throughout  a  wide  area  of  country, 
and  having  the  high  reputation  which  is 
ever  significant  of  personal  integrity  and 
honorable  methods. 

Samuel  C.  Wilson,  of  S.  C.  Wilson  & 
Company,  proprietors  of  the  Butler  Street 
Flour  Mills  at  Olney,  Illinois,  was  born  near 
Maryville,  Tennessee,  March  17,  1844,  the 
son  of  Joseph  and  Ann  (Gault)  Wilson,  na- 
tives of  Virginia,  where  they  were  reared. 
They  married  after  coming  to  Tennessee. 
The  subject's  father  was  a  farmer  and  a 
man  of  influence  in  his  community.  In 
April,  1852,  the  family  moved  to  Crawford 
county,  Illinois,  where  they  settled  on  a 
farm.  The  same  year  Mr.  Wilson  bought  a 
farm  in  Denver  township,  Richland  county, 
which  was  developed  into  valuable  property. 
Joseph  Wilson  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine 


KICIILAND,    CLAY    AND    MARIOX    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


years,  his  wife  having  passed  away  at  the 
age  of  fifty-four  years.  Mr.  Wilson  was 
twice  married.  Eight  children  were  bom 
of  the  first  union  and  two  of  the  second, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  youngest 
of  the  first  marriage. 

Samuel  C.  Wilson  came  with  his  parents 
to  Richland  county  in  1852.  He  was  reared 
on  a  farm,  and  his  education  in  those  early 
days  was  very  limited,  but  by  home  reading 
and  study  he  gained  a  fairly  good  founda- 
tion for  later  learning,  which  he  has  received 
by  contact  with  the  world  and  general  study. 
He  remained  under  his  parental  roof  until  he 
was  twenty-two  years  old,  at  which  time  he 
inherited  a  part  of  the  old  homestead,  which 
he  conducted  in  a  very  successful  manner 
until  1876,  having  in  the  meantime  bought 
additional  land.  He  has  been  prosperous 
owing  to  his  conservative  methods,  his  care- 
ful business  principles.  He  at  one  time 
owned  six  hundred  and  fory  acres.  In  1876 
our  subject  came  to  Olney  and  bought  a  mill, 
the  main  part  of  the  present  building  having 
been  erected  in  1861.  When  he  purchased 
this  property  it  was  of  the  old  burr  system, 
with  a  capacity  of  fifty  barrels  per  day. 
Since  then  the  progress  of  the  business  has 
been  constant,  reaching  its  present  propor- 
tions, large  building  and  modern  equipment, 
consisting  of  fourteen  sets  of  rollers,  with 
a  capacity  of  two  hundred  barrels  per  day. 
Mr.  Wilson  has  been  very  prosperous  and 
he  does  a  general  milling  business,  handling 
large  quantities  of  flour  and  feed.  He  manu- 
factures the  famous  brand  known  as  "Our 
Daily  Bread" ;  this  special  grade  of  flour 


having  long  ago  become  known  throughout 
this  locality,  and  it  took  first  premium  at 
the  state  fair  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  1908. 

The  firm  consists  of  Samuel  C.  Wilson 
and  John  C.  Page,  under  the  name  of  S.  C. 
Wilson  &  Company,  and  they  employ  con- 
siderable help,  are  always  busy,  and  con- 
stantly adding  new  territory  to  their  list. 

The  domestic  life  of  Mr.  Wilson  dates 
from  October,  1865,  when  he  was  first  mar- 
ried to  Emily  J.  Welty,  a  native  of  Hills- 
boro,  Ohio,  the  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Mary 
A.  (Barker)  Welty,  natives  of  Ohio.  Seven 
children  were  born  to  the  subject  and  wife, 
all  of  whom  are  now  living,  namely :  Mary 
A.,  Martha  A.,  Isaac  N.,  William  E., 
Charles  F.,  Edwin  O.,  and  Thomas  C.  Mrs. 
Wilson  passed  to  her  rest  March  3,  1901. 
and  the  subject  married  Jennie  (Bradshaw) 
Lough,  a  native  of  Wayne  county,  Illinois. 

Mr.  Wilson  in  his  political  relations  is  a 
Democrat,  having  long  been  active  in  his 
party's  affairs.  In  1890  he  was  elected 
Treasurer  of  Richland  county,  and  ably 
served  one  term  of  four  years.  In  1899  he 
was  elected  Mayor  of  Olney,  serving  one 
term  of  two  years,  being  the  first  anti-saloon 
candidate  ever  eleced  Mayor  of  this  city. 
His  administration'  was  regarded  by  the 
community  as  one  of  the  best  the  town  ever 
had  and  numerous  improvements  were  in- 
augurated. After  their  license  had  expired 
all  saloons  were  closed  during  the  remain- 
der of  his  administration.  In  the  spring  of 
1908  Mr.  Wilson  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  City  Council.  In  his  fraternal  relations 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Masons  and  the 


1 84 


nior.KAI'JUCAI.    AND    K  K  M  I  MSCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


Knight  Templars.  In  religious  matters  he 
is  a  faithful  attendant  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  being  one  of  the  oldest  elders  in  the 
church. 

Mr.  Wilson  is  a  man  of  marked  business 
enterprise  and  capability,  and  he  carries  for- 
ward to  successful  completion  whatever  he 
undertakes.  The  subject  has  long  been  an 
important  factor  in  business  circles  and  his 
popularity  is  well  deserved,  as  in  him  are 
embraced  the  characteristics  of  an  unabat- 
ing  energy,  unbending  integrity  and  indus- 
try that  never  flags. 


DANIEL  S.  HOLSTLAW. 

It  is  with  a  degree  of  satisfaction  that  the 
biographer  has  an  opportunity  at  this  junc- 
ture to  write  the  following  biographical 
memoir  of  the  well  remembered  citizen, 
whose  name  appears  above,  now  deceased, 
who  was  for  many  years  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  Marion  county,  .for  the  readers  of 
this  book  will  doubtless  gain  inspiration 
from  perusing  these  paragraphs  to  lead 
more  industrious,  kindlier  and  worthier 
lives,  seeing  what  the  life  of  the  subject  ac- 
complished not  only  individually  but  gen- 
erically,  affecting  the  whole  community  in 
an  uplifting  manner.  He  came  to  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state  in  pioneer  times  and  he 
assisted  in  bringing  about  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  county  in  the  wild  condition  in 
which  it  was  found  at  the  time  of  his  ar- 
rival to  its  later-day  progress  and  improve- 
ment. 


.  Daniel  S.  Holstlaw  was  born  in  Barren 
county,  Kentucky,  November  15,  1813,  the 
son  of  Richard  and  Mary  (Smith)  Hoist- 
law,  the  former  a  native  of  Virginia,  who 
came  in  an  early  day  to  Indiana,  settling 
in  Orange  county  and  later  came  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1830.  Richard  Holtslaw 
took  up  government  land  and  set  about 
making  a  farm  of  his  holdings  with  very 
flattering  prospects  ahead  of  him,  but  his 
life  was  brought  to  a  close  August  18,  1834, 
at  the  age  of  forty-six  years.  Mary,  his  wife, 
continued  to  live  on  the  farm  where  she 
reared  the  children  and  made  a  comfortable 
living,  being  a  woman  of  many  sterling 
traits  and  of  indomitable  courage.  Their 
children  were  eight  in  number,  seven  of 
whom  grew  to  maturity  and  named  in  order 
of  birth  as  follows:  Henry  E.,  Daniel  S.,  our 
subject;  Lucinda,  John  Andrew,  Elizabeth 
Ann,  Malinda  H.,  and  Richard  V.  All  of 
these  children  have  now  joined  their  parents 
in  the  eternal  sleep  of  the  just. 

Daniel  S.  Holstlaw  was  sixteen  years  of 
age  when  he  came  to  Illinois  and  located  in 
what  is  now  known  as  Stevenson  township, 
where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  long, 
busy  and  useful  life,  having  been  called  to 
his  reward  by  the  Shepherd  who  giveth  his 
beloved  sleep,  on  December  2,  1905,  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  his  life  had  not  been 
lived  in  vain;  that  he  had  fought  a  good 
fight  and  kept  the  faith,  as  did  the  great 
Apostle,  Saint  Paul,  in  the  days  of  our 
Saviour,  and  that  there  was  laid  up  for  him 
a  reward  in  the  Father's  house  which  was 
not  made  with  hands. 


KICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


Mr.  Holstlaw  upon  coming  to  this  county 
bought  a  claim,  having  that  rare  foresight 
and  sagacity  that  penetrated  into  the  future 
years,  bringing  them  within  his  horoscope, 
and  which  enabled  him  to  see  the  great  pos- 
sibilities that  lie  ahead.  This  first  pur- 
chase was  added  to  from  time  to  time  until 
he  owned  a  large  tract  of  land,  which,  un- 
der his  able  management  was  developed  into 
one  of  the  best,  most  productive  and  most 
highly  improved  farms  in  this  locality.  He 
was  a  hard  worker,  and,  believing  that  it 
was  his  duty  as  well  as  his  privilege  to  eat 
his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  never 
ignored  any  task  that  he  found  awaiting 
disposition  at  his  hands.  He  split  the  rails 
that  fenced  his  land  and  also  put  up  a  log 
house,  and,  infact,  did  the  usual  work  of  the 
pioneer.  But  having  prospered  by  reason 
of  his  indomitable  energy  and  good  man- 
agement he  was  soon  enabled  to  erect  a 
more  substantial  nine  room  house,  which 
was  comfortable,  cozy  and  well  arranged, 
and  in  which  the  family  now  resides. 

The  subject  was  a  faithful  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  a  lib- 
eral supporter  of  the  same ;  he  and  his 
worthy  life  companion  both  having  pro- 
fessed religion  the  same  night  at  a  camp 
meeting  held  on  Tennessee  Prairie.  In  1862, 
when  the  local  Methodist  church  with 
which  they  were  affiliated  was  divided  up- 
on the  question  which  precipitated  the 
Civil  war  this  intensely  religious  couple 
united  with  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
church  in  which  the  subject  remained  an  ac- 
tive and  faithful  member  until  his  death. 


Our  subject  was  a  staunch  Democrat  and 
took  considerable  interest  in  political  af- 
fairs, having  had  the  interest  of  his  commu- 
nity at  heart  and  lending  his  support  at  all 
times  to  whatever  proposition  that  present- 
ed itself  looking  to  the  betterment  of  the 
community  whether  in  a  political,  educa- 
tional, religious  or  moral  sense.  He  was 
school  director  at  one  time  and  materially 
aided  the  local  public  school  through  his 
advice,  counsel  and  influence. 

Mr.  Holstlaw  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Ruth  W.  Middleton  on  June  9,  1836. 
She  was  a  native  of  what  later  became 
Campbell  county,  Tennessee,  and  the  rep- 
resentative of  an  influential  old  family, 
the  .date  of  her  birth  falling  on  Janu- 
ary 23,  1819,  the  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Sarah  J.  (Harris)  Middleton, 
the  former  a  native  of  Virginia  and  the 
latter  of  South  Carolina.  After  their  mar- 
riage they  moved  to  Tennessee  and  in  1831 
came  to  Marion  county.  Illinois,  locating 
three  miles  east  of  luka,  in  what  is  now 
luka  township.  They  were  sterling  pio- 
neers and  made  a  most  comfortable  living 
in  the  new  country  where  they  became 
known  as  honest,  hard-working  people. 
Their  family  consisted  of  fourteen  children, 
named  in  order  of  birth,  as  follows: 
Thomas  L.,  Lydia  P.,  Harvey,  William  H., 
Elizabeth,  John  B.,  Joel,  Martha,  Jane,  Sa- 
rah, James  A.,  Josephus  W.,  Ruth  W.,  the 
wife  of  our  subject;  Lucy  and  Dicy  E. 

Mr.  Middleton  was  a  local  preacher  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  having  be- 
come well  known  as  an  able  expounder  of 


1 86 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


the  Gospel  and  doing  a  vast  amount  of  good 
in  his  work  here.  His  wife  was  also  a 
faithful  worker  in  this  church. 

To  our  subject  and  wife  eleven  children 
were  bom,  six  sons  and  five  daughters, 
named  in  order  of  birth  as  follows :  Richard 
J.,  who  was  first  married  to  Mary  A.  Jag- 
ger,  and  later  to  Rachel  Berry;  John  H., 
who  married  Lucy  Downing;  Thomas,  who 
married  Aleatha  E.  Kite;  Hattie,  who  is 
living  at  home;  Mary  is  also  a  member  of 
the  home  circle  at  this  writing,  1908; 
Sarah  became  the  wife  of  Omer  Squibb; 
Daniel  W.,  married  Clara  Stevenson;  Joel 
W.,  married  Lucretia  Stevenson;  Ruth 
Emma  is  the  wife  of  Daniel  Crayton  Ste- 
venson; Marion  C.  married  Lelian  Bru- 
baker;  Martha  A.  is  single  and  living  at 
home;  the  last  two  children  named  are 
twins. 

The  widow  of  our  subject,  a  gracious  old 
lady  of  beautiful  Christian  character  and 
praiseworthy  attributes,  is  living  on  the  old 
homestead,  being  idolized  by  her  children, 
and  much  admired  and  loved  by  a  host  of 
friends.  Many  are  the  homes  in  the  sur- 
rounding country  where  she  has  nursed  the 
sick  and  brought  sunshine  and  happiness. 
She  takes  a  great  interest  in  the  lives  of  her 
children,  her  eighteen  grandchildren  and 
eighteen  great-grandchildren.  On  the  old 
home  place,  which  is  still  well  kept  and  in 
an  excellent  productive  state,  live  three  of 
the  daughters  with  their  beloved  mother, 
the  family  being  well  known  in  Stevenson 
township  and  highly  respected  by  all.  In 
this  home  are  to  be  found  many  old  and  in- 


teresting relics  of  the  pioneer  days,  such  as 
spinning  wheels  and  machines  for  spinning 
flax,  and  many  similar  things. 


THOMAS  A.  HARDMAN. 

When  the  business  interests  of  a  town  or 
city  are  in  the  hands  of  worthy,  capable  and 
enterprising  men,  an  important  step  has  been 
taken  toward  the  growth  and  development  of 
the  place.  Had  her  merchants,  men  of  busi- 
ness in  general,  been  less  worthy,  capable 
and  enterprising  than  they  were,  Chicago 
would  lack  much  of  being  the  city  that  it 
is  today.  Cities,  like  persons,  have  a  dis- 
tinct individuality.  One  may  be  sluggish, 
plodding,  shiftless,  while  its  neighbor  only  a 
few  miles  distant,  may  be  alert,  energetic, 
progressive.  It  is  the  inhabitants  who  give 
character  to  a  town  or  city ;  if  they  are  drones 
the  place  can  not  disclose  either  development 
or  progress.  To  the  merchants,  contractors 
and  business  men  in  general,  most  of  the 
credit  is  due  for  the  desirable  condition  of 
affairs  in  Olney,  Illinois,  today,  and  among 
this  class  none  hold  a  more  worthy  place  nor 
has  done  more  for  the  advancement  of  the 
city  than  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Thomas  A.  Hardman,  the  well  known  con- 
tractor, of  Olney,  Richland  county,  was 
born  near  Manchester,  England,  July  14, 
1847,  the  son  of  Alfred  and  Elizabeth 
(Bishop)  Hardman.  the  former  a  native  of 
England  and  the  latter  of  Scotland.  The 
subject's  father  was  a  machinist.  Both  he 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


i87 


and  his  wife  died  when  our  subject  was  a 
child.  When  eight  years  old  Thomas  A. 
Hardman  was  brought  to  the  United  States 
by  an  aunt,  who  located  in  Franklin  county, 
Indiana.  He  had  a  limited  chance  to  attend 
school  only  a  few  months  during  the  win- 
ter. He  was  bound  out  to  a  farmer  when 
twelve  years  old  and  when  sixteen  ran  away 
and  started  in  life  for  himself.  He  worked 
on  a  farm  during  the  summer  months  and 
went  to  school  in  the  winter.  When  eighteen 
years  old  he  began  teaching,  having  ac- 
quired a  good  education  by  close  application 
to  his  studies.  He  taught  in  the  winter  and 
worked  on  a  farm  in  the  summer.  He  also 
attended  school  at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  having 
saved  money  enough  to  defray  his  expenses 
there,  finally  securing  a  liberal  education. 

When  tewenty-four  years  old  Mr.  Hard- 
man was  elected  county  Surveyor  of  Frank- 
lin county,  Indiana,  his  certificate  being 
signed  by  Governor  Hendricks.  He  served 
in  a  most  faithful  and  capable  manner  for 
nearly  two  years  when  he  resigned  to  accept 
a  position  with  the  Smith  Bridge  Company, 
of  Toledo,  Ohio,  with  whom  he  remained 
two  years  as  engineer.  He  proved  to  be  an 
excellent  office  man  and  all  his  time  was  de- 
voted to  draughting.  But  the  confinement 
was  too  much  for  him  and  he  resigned  on 
account  of  failing  health.  He  returned  to 
Franklin  county,  Indiana,  and  was  appointed 
by  the  County  Commissioners  as  County 
Engineer  to  look  after  bridge  work  at  a  time 
when  many  bridges  were  being  built,  several 
costing  from  twenty-five  thousand  to  forty- 
thousand  dollars.  \Vhile  engaged  in  this 


work  he  began  contracting,  his  first  work  of 
this  nature  being  for  the  county  over  which 
and  southern  Indiana,  he  built  many  bridges. 
Then  he  began  railroad  work  and  in  1883 
built  eighteen  bridges  on  one  railroad,  most 
of  them  being  in  the  Southern  States.  His 
bridges  were  considered  of  the  most  modern 
and  careful  construction,  always  satisfactory 
in  every  detail.  He  continued  that  line  of 
work  until  1890,  when  he  came  to  Olney  and 
since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  con- 
tracting water  works  plants  and  engineering 
and  improvement  work  in  general.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  has  done  engineer  work 
for  the  city  of  Olney,  particularly  the  street 
grades.  He  has  put  in  the  majority  of  the 
sewer  systems. 

Mr.  Hardman's  work  extends  all  over  Illi- 
nois and  into  adjoining  states;  also  to  the 
Southern  States.  He  built  the  water  works 
at  Olney  which  are  high  grade  in  every  re- 
spect and  would  be  a  credit  to  any  city.  He 
has  built  the  water  works  for  many  of  the 
towns  and  cities  of  this  state  and  Indiana.  He 
has  been  uniformly  successful  and  his  name 
has  gone  all  over  the  country,  synonymous 
with  high  class  work  in  this  line  of  contract- 
ing. He  constructs  everything  of  good  ma- 
terial and  is  scrupulously  honest  in  all  his 
business  transactions,  so  that  the  results  of 
his  contracting  are  always  satisfactory  to 
all  concerned. 

Mr.  Hardman  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1876  to  Julia  St.  John,  a  native  of  Frank- 
lin county,  Indiana,  daughter  of  D.  H.  and 
Kate  (Lefforge)  St.  John,  natives  of  Frank- 
lin county,  Indiana,  and  at  present  residents 


1 88 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


of  Olney.  Three  children  have  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardman,  namely :  Catherine, 
the  wife  of  J.  Q.  Davis,  a  grocer  of  Olney; 
Thomas  Thornley.  who  is  living  at  home ; 
the  eldest,  Alfred,  was  killed  while  on  a  va- 
cation to  visit  his  father  in  South  Carolina, 
at  the  age  of  thirteen  years. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  our  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 
der of  Elks  at  Olney;  and  in  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  personality, 
and  in  every  respect  merits  the  high  regard 
of  his  fellow  citizens  which  they  freely  ac- 
cord wherever  he  is  known. 


JACOB  BRUBAKER. 

It  is  not  the  intention  of  the  biographer 
to  give  in  this  connection  a  detailed  history 
of  the  subject's  life,  but  rather  to  note  inci- 
dentally his  connection  with  the  various 
enterprises  with  which  his  name  has  been 
linked  and  to  show  the  marked  influence  he 
wielded  in  advancing  the  interests  of  Ste- 
venson township,  Marion  county. 

Jacob  Brubaker  was  born  in  Fairfield 
county,  Ohio,  in  1825,  the  son  of  Abraham 
Brubaker,  a  native  of  the  Buckeye  state  as 
was  also  his  wife  who  was  known  in  her 
maidenhood  as  Elizabeth  Myers.  They 
came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1842 
and  took  up  government  land  and  remained 
here  the  balance  of  their  lives.  Abraham 
was  a  man  of  influence  in  his  community. 
He  passed  away  March  10,  1854,  and  his 
faithful  life  companion  joined  him  Febru- 


ary 3,  1867.  The  number  of  children  born 
to  them  was  six. 

Jacob  Brubaker,  our  subject,  came  to  Illi- 
nois with  his  parents  when  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age  and  received  his  education  in 
the  pioneer  schools  where  the  advantages 
were  very  limited  and  the  terms  lasted  only 
a  few  months  out  of  each  year,  but  he  ap- 
plied himself  as  best  he  could  and  laid  the 
foundation  for  a  good  mental  development 
which  he  later  received  by  home  reading  and 
personal  observation. 

Mr.  Brubaker  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Jane  Davis,  who  was  born  in  Virginia. 
She  was  taken  to  Pennsylvania  when  two 
years  of  age  and  reared  there,  later  coming 
to  Illinois  when  she  had  reached  maturity, 
remaining  in  this  state  until  her  earthly  la- 
bors closed  in  1895.  She  was  a  good 
woman,  kind  and  gentle  of  disposition,  and 
in  her  religious  affiliations  was  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Ten  children 
were  born  to  Jacob  and  Jane  Brubaker, 
named  in  order  of  their  birth  as  follows: 
Clifford,  who  lives  in  Stevenson  township 
on  a  farm ;  Lillie  is  the  wife  of  M.  C.  Hoist- 
law,  a  farmer  of  Stevenson  township;  Ella 
is  single;  John  is  a  fanner  living  in  Alma 
township,  this  county;  Walter,  who  was 
born  February  7,  1864,  lives  on  a  farm  in 
Stevenson  township.  He  was  reared  on  a 
farm  and  in  1887  went  to  Colorado,  but 
returned  to  this  county  and  married  Laura 
Rodgers,  a  native  of  Marion  county.  He 
has  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  good 
land  and  he  is  regarded  as  an  excellent 
farmer  and  neighbor.  He  is  the  father  of 
one  child,  Blanche.  Frank  is  the  name  of 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


i89 


the  sixth  child  of  our  subject,  who  is  liv- 
ing on  a  farm  in  Stevenson  township;  Anna 
is  the  wife  of  Charles  Craig,  a  farmer  on 
the  old  Brubaker  homestead;  Herman  is  a 
farmer  in  luka  township;  the  ninth  and 
tenth  child  died  in  infancy. 

Jacob  Brubaker,  after  an  eminently  use- 
ful and  active  life,  passed  to  his  rest  on  June 
30,  1908,  lamented  by  a  host  of  friends  who 
regarded  him  as  one  of  the  leading  men  of 
the  community  and  who  will  greatly  miss 
him.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat  and 
he  served  as  school  director  of  Stevenson 
township.  He  was  known  as  a  loyal  citizen 
and  a  good  man. 


JOHN  F.  EDDIXGS. 

The  climate,  soil  and  general  conditions 
prevalent  in  southern  Illinois  are  well 
adapted  to  the  purposes  of  general  farming 
and  stock  raising.  One  of  the  men  who  has 
shown  by  their  success  that  they  were  mas- 
ters of  the  art  of  farming  in  luka  town- 
ship, Marion  county,  is  the  subject  of  this 
biography.  However,  he  is  at  present  en- 
gaged in  other  business,  having  given  up 
his  former  life  work. 

John  F.  Eddings  was  born  in  luka  town- 
ship, Marion  county,  Illinois,  Feburary  22, 
1844,  the  son  of  James  B.  and  Rhoda  Ann 
(West)  Eddings,  both  natives  of  North 
Carolina.  They  emigrated  to  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee  when  very  young,  arriving 
in  the  latter  state  in  1842.  They  later 
came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  and  set- 


tled in  luka  township,  where  they  remained 
a  short  time  and  then  returned  to  Tennes- 
see, but  returned  to  Marion  county  in  1855, 
settling  again  in  luka  township,  where  they 
remained  during  the  rest  of  their  lives  on  a 
farm.  The  death  of  the  subject's  father  oc- 
curred February  28,  1901,  and  his  wife 
died  January  19,  1902.  The  former  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  after  the  Civil  war  he  voted  the  Re- 
publican ticket.  He  was  justice  of  the 
peace  for  two  terms.  There  were  nine 
children  in  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
James  Eddings,  namely:  Nancy,  who  lives 
in  luka,  is  the  wife  of  William  Nicks ;  John 
F.,  our  subject,  was  second  in  order  of 
birth;  Mary  E.,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of 
L.  L.  Jones;  Minerva  H.  is  the  wife  of 
William  Milburn,  living  in  luka;  James  T. 
is  a  fanner  living  in  luka  township;  Jesse 
J.  lives  in  St.  Louis;  Martha  Ann  is  the 
wife  of  William  Morgan,  living  in  Alma; 
William  L.  is  deceased;  Sarah,  step- 
daughter of  the  subject's  father,  is  de- 
ceased. 

John  F.  Eddings  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm  and  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  the  county,  remaining  under  the  pa- 
rental roof  until  he  was  seventeen  years  of 
age,  when  he  showed  his  patriotism  by  en- 
listing in  Company  I,  Fortieth  Illinois  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  serving  four  years  in  a 
most  gallant  manner.  So  efficient  was  his 
service  that  he  was  promoted  to  corporal, 
and  then  to  first  lieutenant.  He  served 
with  Sherman's  army,  having  been  in  all 
his  campaigns,  with  the  exception  of 
when  he  was  wounded  at  Shiloh,  hav- 


190 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ing  been  shot  through  the  shoulder 
in  that  great  battle.  His  throat  was 
also  pierced  by  a  bullet.  He  remained 
in  the  general  hospital  for  one  and  one-half 
months,  after  which  he  received  a  furlough 
home  of  from  forty  to  fifty  days  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which  he  rejoined  his  regiment 
and  served  until  the  end  of  the  war.  After 
his  return  from  the  army,  he  fanned  a 
while.  Selling  out,  he  came  to  luka  and 
engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance 
business,  also  as  pension  attorney  which  he 
has  since  been  following  with  marked  suc- 
cess. 

Mr.  Eddings  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  Picket  Post,  hav- 
ing been  commander,  adjutant  and  quarter- 
master of  the  same. 

Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  having 
passed  all  the  chairs  and  he  has  attended  the 
grand  lodge  four  times.  He  has  been  sec- 
retary of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  lodge  No.  694,  for  eighteen  years. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

Useless  to  add  that  in  politics  Mr.  Ed- 
dings  is  a  loyal  Republican.  He  is  in  1908 
Supervisor  of  luka  township,  having  been 
first  appointed  in  December,  1903,  to  fill  out 
an  expired  term,  taking  the  place  made  va- 
cant by  the  death  of  William  Gray.  Mr. 
Eddings  was  elected  in  1907  for  a  period 
of  two  years.  Our  subject  has  long  been 
interested  in  public  affairs  and  always  did 
his  part  in  furthering  the  interests  of  his 
community  in  any  way  he  could. 


GEORGE  A.  McGAHEY. 

The  life  of  the  subject  of  this  review  has 
been  such  as  to  bear  aloft  the  high  standard 
which  has  been  maintained  by  his  father, 
who  was  one  of  the  early  residents'  of  this 
section  of  the  Prairie  state,  and  whose  life 
was  signally  noble,  upright  and  useful,  one 
over  which  falls  no  shadow  of  wrong  in 
thought,  word  or  deed.  Such  was  the  type 
of  men  who  laid  the  foundation  and  aided 
in  the  development  of  this  state,  and  to  their 
memories  will  ever  be  paid  a  tribute  of  rev- 
erence and  gratitude  by  those  who  have 
profited  by  their  well-directed  endeavors  and 
appreciated  the  lessons  of  their  lives. 

George  A.  McGahey,  one  of  the  leading 
grocers  of  Olney,  Illinois,  was  born  in  this 
city,  October  28,  1868,  and  decided  to  direct 
his  life  work  along  channels  here,  rather 
than  seek  uncertain  advantages  in  other 
fields.  He  is  the  son  of  David  Herman  and 
Sarah  E.  (Swaim)  McGahey,  the  former 
having  been  born  near  Palestine,  Illinois, 
and  the  latter  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio. 
The  mother  moved  with  her  parents  to  Illi- 
nois when  thirteen  years  old,  settling  near 
Olney  on  a  farm  in  Richland  county,  where 
she  grew  to  maturity.  The  father  of  the 
subject  lived  in  Jasper  county  for  a  number 
of  years,  where  he  improved  a  farm.  He 
later  moved  to  Richland  county  where  he 
married  and  bought  a  farm  in  Preston 
township,  being  among  the  early  settlers 
here.  About  1862  he  moved  to  Olney  where 
he  lived  until  his  death  in  1897,  at  the  age 
of  sixtv-two  vears.  His  wife,  a  woman  of 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


beautiful  Chrisian  faith,  survives,  living  in 
Olney.  They  were  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren, George  A.,  our  subject,  and  a  sister, 
Mrs.  E.  W.  Reef,  of  Carbondale,  the  for- 
mer  being  the  older.  He  was  reared  in  Ol- 
ney, where  he  attended  the  public  schools, 
graduating  from  the  high  school,  having 
received  a  good  practical  education.  He 
was  assistant  postmaster  under  J.  C.  Allen 
for  some  time,  after  which  he  went  on  the 
road  selling  wholesale  groceries  for  a  Cin- 
cinnati house,  having  been  clerk  in  a  grocery 
store  for  four  years,  during  which  time  he 
thoroughly  mastered  this  line  of  business, 
which  he  decided  to  make  a  life  work.  He 
was  on  the  road  for  two  years.  In  1897  he 
purchased  an  interest  in  a  grocery  store  in 
Olney  under  the  firm  name  of  Winans  & 
McGahey,  which  firm  successfully  continued 
for  three  years.  In  1900  our  subject  es- 
tablished his  present  grocery  store,  one  of 
the  largest  in  Olney  or  this  locality  any- 
where. It  occupies  a  space  of  eighteen  by 
one  hundred  and  seven  feet,  and  a  complete 
line  of  staple  and  fancy  groceries  is  carried. 
A  liberal  trade  has  been  built  up  within  the 
city  and  surrounding  country,  and  his  cus- 
tomers are  on  the  increase  owing  to  the  fair 
and  courteous  treatment  that  is  accorded  to 
all  who  visit  this  neat  and  well  kept  store. 

Mr.  McGahey  has  never  assumed  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  married  state,  but  lives 
at  home  with  his  mother  and  administers  to 
her  comfort. 

In  politics  Mr.  McGahey  is  a  Democrat, 
having  long  taken  an  active  part  in  the  af- 
fairs of  his  party,  being  a  member  of  local 
Democratic  committees,  etc.  He  is  a  director 


in  the  Business  Men's  Association  of  Olney, 
which  has  done  much  to  promote  the  inter- 
ests of  Olney.  He  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  same,  and  has  been  one  of  its  leading 
advocates.  In  his  fraternal  relations  he  is 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows. 

In  all  the  relations  of  life  Mr.  McGahey 
has  proved  signally  true  to  every  trust.  He 
possesses  a  social  nature  and  by  his  genial 
and  kindly  attitude  to  those  about  him,  has 
won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  everyone. 
He  has  been  very  successful,  being  known 
as  an  able  and  careful  business  man  and  one 
whose  integrity  of  purpose  is  beyond  ques- 
tion. 


SHANNON  KAGY. 

The  memory  of  the  worthy  subject  of  this 
memorial  biography  is  revered  by  a  host  of 
friends  and  acquaintances  among  whom  he 
labored,  having  spent  his  energies  through 
a  long  life  of  strenuous  endeavor  to  make 
the  most  of  his  opportunities  as  well  as  to 
assist  as  best  he  could  his  neighbors  to  im- 
prove their  condition. 

Shannon  Kagy  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  May  26,  1844,  and  he  was 
called  from  his  earthly  labors  in  1889,  after 
a  life  of  usefulness  and  success  in  even- 
particular.  He  was  the  son  of  Christian 
and  Anna  (Hite)  Kagy,  natives  of  Ohio, 
and  early  settlers  in  Marion  county.  Il- 
linois. 

The  subject  was  reared  on  his  father's 
farm  in  Omega  township,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  of  Marion 


192 


riOGIIAPIIICAI.    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


county.  He  married  Anna  E.  Brubaker, 
born  in  Stevenson  township,  this  county. 
daughter  of  Eli  and  Ann  (Warner)  Bru- 
baker. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kagy  were  the  par- 
ents of  five  children,  namely :  Myrtle,  single 
and  living  at  home,  is  one  of  the  popular 
teachers  of  Marion  county;  Corwin,  who 
lives  in  Oregon,  married  Pearl  Crippen ; 
Clark  lives  in  Salem,  this  county,  and  mar- 
ried Quette  Leckrone,  and  has  two  children, 
Donald  and  Harvey;  Frank  married  Nellie 
Boring,  living  in  New  Mexico  and  they 
have  one  child,  Fay ;  Ellis  married  Ora  Dru- 
endike.  He  is  a  farmer  and  has  two  chil- 
dren, Keith  and  Rex. 

After  his  marriage  our  subject  moved  to 
Nebraska,  where  he  remained  for  three 
years,  then  returned  to  Marion  county  and 
went  to  farming  in  1882,  on  the  place  where 
his  widow  is  still  living  in  Stevenson  town- 
ship, three  miles  east  of  Salem.  Our  sub- 
ject remained  on  this  place  until  his  death. 
He  was  a  most  excellent  farmer  and  always 
managed  his  fields  to  best  advantage,  reap- 
ing rich  harvests  from  year  to  year,  making 
a  comfortable  living  and  laying  by  an 
ample  competence  for  his  family.  He 
raised  good  stock  and  the  buildings  on  his 
place  were  comfortable  and  convenient. 

Mr.  Kagy  was  one  of  the  patriotic  sons 
of  the  great  Prairie  state  who  offered  their 
lives  on  the  field  of  battle  to  save  the 
Union,  having  enlisted  in  Company  K,  One 
Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry  and  served  three  years.  He  saw 
much  hard  service,  but  was  never  wounded 
nor  taken  prisoner. 


Mr.  Kagy  was  a  loyal  Democrat  and 
held  some  of  the  minor  public  offices  of 
Stevenson  township.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  was 
a  faithful  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  He  was  regarded  by  everyone  as  a 
good  man,  honest  and  upright  at  all  times 
and  always  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his 
community,  lending  what  aid  he  could  in  its 
development  at  all  times. 

Mrs.  Kagy,  the  widow  of  our  subject, 
lives  on  the  home  farm  with  her  daughter. 
She  manages  the  entire  farm  with  skill  and 
profit,  being  a  women  of  rare  business  abil- 
ity and  force  of  character.  She  understands 
the  proper  rotation  of  crops  so  as  to  get  the 
best  harvests  and  the  maintenance  of  the 
soil  to  its  original  fertility.  She  also  under- 
stands the  proper  handling  of  live  stock. 
Her  farm  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best 
in  Stevenson  township.  The  buildings  are 
modern,  and  always  kept  in  good  order. 
She  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  her  neighbors 
and  many  friends  for  her  many  admirable 
traits  of  character  and  her  kind  heart  and 
cheerful  disposition,  being  a  pleasant  woman 
to  meet,  as  is  also  her  daughter. 


ROBERT  O.  BRIGHAM. 

No  business  man  of  Centralia  is  regarded 
with  higher  favor  than  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who,  while  looking  to  his  own  in- 
terests does  not  neglect  to  discharge  his 
duties  in  fostering  the  upbuilding  of  the 
community  in  general. 


CENTRALIA  ENVELOPE  CO. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


193 


Robert  O.  Brigham,  manager  of  the  Cen- 
tralia  Envelope  Company,  was  born  in 
Clinton,  New  York,  May  23,  1861,  the 
son  of  Lewis  and  Sophia  (Johnson)  Brig- 
ham,  the  former  having  been  born  in  Ver- 
non  Center,  New  York,  December  4,  1820. 
His  parents  were  of  English  extraction  on 
both  sides  of  the  house.  Lewis  E.  Brigham 
was  a  contractor  and  carpenter,  and  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
state.  The  subject's  parents  reared  a  fam- 
ily consisting  of  eight  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter, Robert  O.,  our  subject,  being  the  sev- 
enth in  order  of  birth.  The  subject's  father 
died  in  Clinton,  New  York,  February  22, 
1907,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years.  His 
wife  was  born  in  that  city  April  29,  1825. 
She  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
in  her  native  community.  The  parents  of 
the  subject  were  married  in  1843  in  the  state 
of  New  York.  The  mother  of  our  subject, 
an  elderly  woman  of  beautiful  Christian 
character,  is  still  living  in  Clinton,  New 
York. 

Robert  O.  Brigham  received  his  early  ed- 
ucation in  Clinton,  New  York,  in  the  public 
schools.  He  quit  school  when  fifteen  years 
of  age  and  went  to  Boston  to  learn  the  ma- 
chinist's trade.  Here  he  took  advantage  of 
the  Boston  night  schools  and  applied  him- 
self with  his  accustomed  vigor  to  technical 
drafting  and  the  necessary  commercial 
branches.  He  served  his  apprenticeship 
with  the  National  Sewing  Machine  Com- 
pany, for  which  he  worked  for  ten  years,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  he  was  called  to  take 
charge  of  the  Whitmore  Sewing  Machine 
13 


Company,  in  the  employ  of  which  he  contin- 
ued for  one  year ;  the  then  went  to  Los  An- 
geles, California,  then  to  Denver,  Colorado, 
and  worked  for  W.  E.  Scott,  machinery  com- 
pany, having  charge  of  the  model  and  re- 
pair work,  after  which  he  worked  for  the 
J.  C.  Teller  Envelope  Opener  Company,  of 
Denver,  Colorado. 

Robert  O.  Brigham  invented  an  attach- 
ment to  an  envelope  machine  for  placing  a 
string  in  the  envelope  and  then  formed  a 
company  to  put  such  an  envelope  on  the 
market.  The  manufacture  was  continued 
with  much  success  until  1896,  when  he  and 
two  other  men  bought  the  interest  of  the 
former  manager,  forming  the  Western  En- 
velope and  Box  Company.  They  continued 
for  one  year  in  Denver,  but  finding  that 
they  were  too  far  west  for  the  successful 
working  of  such  a  plant,  they  moved  to 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  remaining  there  one 
year,  after  which  they  moved  to  Centralia, 
Illinois. 

After  operating  the  plant  for  eight  years 
in  Centralia,  it  was  reorganized  and  called 
the  Illinois  Envelope  Company,  and  moved 
to  Kalamazoo,  Michigan.  After  one  year's 
residence  in  Kalamazoo,  Mr.  Brigham  re- 
signed his  position  with  the  Illinois  En- 
velope Company  and  returned  to  Centralia 
and  helped  to  organize  a  new  envelope 
company  with  only  Centralia  capital.  This 
company  is  known  as  the  Centralia  Envelope 
Company,  and  is  capitalized  for  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  fully  paid  in.  This 
company  is  now  only  two  years  old  and  is 
doing  a  thriving  business.  Its  capacity  at 


i94 


JIIOGKAPIIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


the  beginning  was  one  and  one-quarter  mil- 
lion envelopes  every  ten  hours,  and  has  been 
increased  to  one  and  one-half  million  per 
day.  The  order  for  the  machinery  for  the 
plant  was  the  largest  ever  given  at  one  time 
for  a  like  enterprise. 

The  view  accompanying  this  article  is  of 
thirty  of  the  latest  improved  envelope  ma- 
chines in  the  plant  of  the  Centralia  En- 
velope Company  mill.  These  machines  are 
marvels  of  ingenuity.  The  paper  is  cut  to 
the  proper  size  and  shape,  then  taken  to 
these  machines  in  which  they  are  gummed, 
folded,  dried  and  counted  at  the  rate  of  one 
hundred  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  per 
minute,  according  to  size.  The  picture 
shows  only  the  envelope  machines.  There 
is  also  a  large  printing  department  equipped 
with  latest  improved  printing  machinery 
and  all  the  necessary  equipment  that  goes 
to  make  a  complete  printing  establish- 
ment, cutting  department,  box  department, 
case  department,  handfold  department,  ma- 
chine shop,  in  fact,  everything  that  goes 
to  make  up  a  complete  envelope  mill. 

The  capacity  of  the  mill,  as  already 
stated,  is  one  and  one-half  million  envelopes 
every  ten  hours,  making  it  one  of  the  largest 
in  the  United  States,  and  one  of  the  lead- 
ing industries  of  Southern  Illinois.  Its  goods 
are  known  far  and  wide  for  their  high 
quality. 

This  mill  is  owned  and  controlled  by 
Centralia  capital.  Its  directors  are  com- 
posed of  the  following  well  known  busi- 
ness men :  C.  C.  Davis,  Ferdinand  Kohl.  Jr., 
Harry  Warner,  F.  F.  Noleman,  Jacob 


Erbes,  Ed  Cornell,  J.  G.  Goetsch,  R.  O. 
Brigham,  W.  E.  O'Melveny.  Officers:  C. 
C.  Davis,  president;  F.  Kohl,  Jr.,  vice  pres- 
ident; H.  M.  Warner,  secretary:  Harry 
Kohl,  treasurer;  R.  O.  Brigham,  general 
manager. 

Our  subject  is  particularly  well  fitted  to 
be  manager  of  such  a  gigantic  and  success- 
ful enterprise.  His  native  constructive  abil- 
ity for  technical  mechanics  and  intricate  ma- 
chinery has  eminently  fitted  him  in  this 
special  line.  His  economic  foresight  of 
proper  management,  good  machines,  good 
workmen,  good  material  all  contribute  to 
the  success  of  the  company. 

All  the  machinery  in  the  plant  is  modern, 
up-to-date  in  every  respect,  and  high  grade 
work  is  turned  out  rapidly.  Our  subject 
has  had.  a  wide  experience  in  the  manage- 
ment of  such  concerns.  He  is  the  originator 
and  inventor  of  many  of  the  improvements 
to  be  found  in  the  present  highly  developed 
envelope  machine.  This  company  under  his 
superior  management  now  operates  thirty 
envelope  machines,  ten  printing  presses  and 
ten  box  machines.  The  factory  also  has  a 
complete  machine  shop  and  repair  depart- 
ment, also  a  complete  case  department.  The 
buildings  are  two  stories  high,  built  of  brick 
and  frame.  The  main  building  is  two  hun- 
dred feet  long  and  fifty  feet  wide.  The 
shipping  and  stock  room  is  one  hundred  and 
thirty-five  by  eighty-five  feet.  A  switch 
from  the  main  track  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  runs  to  the  door  of  the  big  ship- 
ping room,  all  under  cover  of  spacious 
sheds.  The  Illinois  Southern  tracks  also 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


run  into  the  sheds  of  the  shipping  depart- 
ment. The  machines  of  the  plant  are  run 
and  the  buildings  are  lighted  and  heated  by 
a  one  hundred  and  sixty-horse  power  steam 
plant  and  a  sixty  horse  power  engine.  A 
four  hundred  light  dynamo  furnishes  the 
lighting  of  the  great  plant.  Eighty  girls 
and  twenty-five  men  and  boys  are  constant- 
ly employed  to  operate  the  plant,  the  daily 
capacity  of  which  is  one  million  and  five 
hundred  thousand  envelopes. 

This  new  but  successful  enterprising 
company  was  started  by  thirty-five  of  the 
business  men  of  Centralia,  and  it  is  owned 
by  Centralia  people,  being  capitalized  at 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which  was 
raised  in  a  very  short  time.  The  capacity 
of  each  machine  runs  from  sixty-five  to  sev- 
enty-five thousand  each  ten  hours.  It  is  an 
interesting  plant  in  every  detail  and  one  of 
the  rapidly  growing  large  industrial  con- 
cerns of  Southern  Illinois. 

Robert  O.  Brigham  was  married  to  Min- 
nie G.  McDonald,  the  accomplished  daugh- 
ter of  James  and  Rebecca  (Nicholson)  Mc- 
Donald, a  well  known  family  of  Quincy, 
Illinois,  to  which  family  there  were  four 
children,  Minnie  being  the  youngest.  To 
our  subject  and  wife  one  daughter  was 
born,  who  passed  away  when  eighteen  years 
old. 

Our  subject  is  a  member  of  Centralia 
lodges,  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He 
served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  for 
one  term.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican, 
and  he  was  reared  a  Baptist,  but  he  at  pres- 


ent worships  with  the  Christian  Scientists, 
and  is  president  of  the  Church  Board  of 
Centralia.  His  beautiful  home  just  west  of 
the  Public  Library  is  nicely  furnished,  be- 
ing also  well  filled  with  choicest  books  of 
an  excellent  variety,  also  a  large  number  of 
beautiful  oil  paintings  by  his  sister  and 
daughter.  He  is  a  genial  gentleman  of 
good  habits  and  modest  demeanor. 


PHILIP  HELTMAN. 

An  honorable  retirement  from  labor  in 
which  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  former  toil  and 
the  enjoyment  which  life  can  offer,  is  the 
fitting  reward  of  a  useful  and  active  career, 
in  which  one,  through  keen  discernment,  in- 
defatigable labor  and  honorable  methods 
advanced  steadily  toward  the  goal  of  pros- 
perity. Such,  briefly  stated,  is  the  record 
of  Philip  Heltman,  who  is  now  living  re- 
tired in  Olney,  Richland  county,  and 
through  his  long  connection  with  agricul- 
tural interests  he  not  only  carefully  con- 
ducted his  farm,  but  so  managed  its  affairs 
that  he  acquired  thereby  a  position  among 
the  substantial  residents  of  the  community. 
Moreover  he  is  entitled  to  representation  in 
this  volume  because  he  was  one  of  the  sons 
of  the  Northland  who  stood  by  the  flag  dur- 
ig  the  days  of  the  rebellion.  He  came  to 
this  county  over  a  half  century  ago,  and 
from  those  early  times  down  to  the  present 
day  he  has  been  an  interested  witness  of  its 
development,  taking  a  just  pride  in  what  he 
has  accomplished  and  the  high  rank  the 


196 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    KKM  I  X  1SCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


county  has  among  her  sister  counties  of  the 
great  Prairie  state. 

Philip  Heltman  was  born  in  Clermont 
county,  Ohio,  December  6,  1834,  the  son  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  (Weaver)  Heltman,  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania,  of  German  parentage. 
John  Heltman  grew  up  in  the  old  Keystone 
state  and  married  there.  In  1809  he  emi- 
grated with  his  wife  and  two  children  to 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  going  down  the  Ohio 
river  in  skiffs.  He  was  a  distiller  and  came 
to  Ohio  for  the  purpose  of  following  that 
business.  This  was  in  an  early  day,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  a  fort  in  the 
Miami  valley  more  than  once  on  account  of 
the  Indians.  He  later  located  on  a  farm 
which  is  now  located  in  Clermont  county, 
Ohio,  near  the  Hamilton  county  line,  where 
he  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years,  his 
wife  having  previously  passed  away  in  1840. 
Our  subject  is  the  youngest  of  fourteen  chil- 
dren and  the  only  one  living  at  this  writing. 
He  was  about  fifteen  years  of  age  when  his 
father  died.  He  then  went  to  live  with  an 
older  brother  and  was  reared  on  a  farm  in 
Clermont  county,  where  he  attended  pub- 
lic school  in  the  winer  in  an  old  log  school- 
house,  and  one  term  in  a  frame,  but  he  ap- 
plied himself  and  laid  a  good  foundation  for 
an  education  which  has  later  been  added  to 
by  home  reading  and  a  contact  with  the 
world  of  men. 

In  February,  1857,  Mr.  Heltman  came  to 
Richland  county,  Illinois,  and  soon  after- 
ward bought  over  four  hundred  acres  of 
raw  land  in  Denver  township,  on  which  two 
log  cabins  had  been  built.  He  at  once  began 


work  on  the  place  and  in  time  made  exten- 
sive and  radical  improvements. 

When  the  war  between  the  states  broke 
out,  our  subject  was  not  long  making  up  his 
mind  to  offer  his  services  in  behalf  of  the 
nation,  consequently  he  enlisted  in  June, 
1 86 1,  in  Company  D,  Eleventh  Missouri 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  after  a  faithful  ser- 
vice was  mustered  out  in  Memphis,  Tennes- 
see, in  August,  1864,  and  was  paid  off  in 
St.  Louis.  His  regiment  was  assigned  to 
the  Mississippi,  and  opened  up  the  same, 
raising  the  blockade  on  Island  No.  10.  He 
soon  afterward  went  to  Tiptonville  by 
transport,  where  his  regiment  took  about 
five  thousand  prisoners.  Later  Mr.  Heltman 
was  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  his  regiment 
forming  the  left  wing  of  the  army  in  the 
fighting  there.  It  was  later  sent  against 
Bragg  and  Price  at  luka,  where  the  Confed- 
erates were  defeated.  Then  came  the  en- 
gagements at  Raymond,  Mississippi,  the 
Siege  of  Vicksburg,  and  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  siege  this  regiment  was  in  front. 
After  the  surrender  there,  the  regiment  went 
to  Jackson,  Mississippi,  -and  captured  that 
place,  the  subject  having  charge  of  the  pro- 
vost guard  the  first  night  at  Jackson,  when 
the  city  was  taken.  It  then  returned  to 
Vicksburg  and  soon  afterward  went  up  the 
Red  river  to  Alexandria.  After  the  Red 
river  expedition,  it  was  sent  to  Memphis 
where  it  was  mustered  out,  and  from  which 
place  our  subject  went  home. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Heltman  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock  raising  for  many  years, 
making  a  success  in  these  lines,  for  he  was 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


197 


a  man  of  good  judgment  in  buying  and  sell- 
ing stock,  and  a  most  careful  farmer,  be- 
sides a  hard  worker.  He  improved  a  good 
farm  in  Denver  township,  which  he  still 
owns,  consisting  of  seven  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  of  very  productive  soil,  having 
been  so  carefully  ad  skillfully  tilled  that  the 
land  is  just  as  strong  today  as  when  he  took 
possession  of  it.  It  is  well  fenced,  has  an 
excellent  dwelling  and  outbuildings  on  it,  in 
fact,  everything  about  the  place  shows  that 
a  man  of  thrift  and  energy  has  had  its  man- 
agement in  hand. 

In  October,  1874,  Mr.  Heltman  located 
in  Olney,  owning  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  valuable  land  just  outside  the  city 
limits  and  eight  acres  within  the  city  limits, 
on  which  he  lives.  He  has  a  beautiful  resi- 
dence where  the  many  friends  of  the  family 
often  gather  and  always  find  good  cheer  and 
hospitality  unstintingly  dispersed.  All  this 
Mr.  Heltman  has  made  unaided,  and  in  a 
most  honorable  manner,  therefore  he  de- 
serves the  great  credit  he  is  given  by  his 
friends  who  are  limited  only  by  the  circle  of 
his  acquaintance. 

Mr.  Heltman's  married  life  began  in 
1854  when  he  was  united  in  the  bonds  of 
wedlock  with  Laura  E.  Smith,  a  native  of 
Clermont  county,  Ohio,  the  daughter  of  Or- 
rin  Smith.  Four  children  have  blessed  the 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Heltman,  namely: 
Georgiana,  the  wife  of  William  J.  Eichin, 
of  Olney.  Illinois ;  Cora  is  the  second  child ; 
Mamie  is  residing  in  Arvada,  a  suburb  of 
Denver,  Colorado;  Hattie  is  the  wife  of 
Benjamin  Holscher.  of  Linton.  Indiana. 


In  politics  our  subject  was  a  Republican 
all  his  life  up  to  1896,  since  which  time  he 
has  voted  the  Democratic  ticket,  except  in 
1904,  when  he  voted  the  Prohibition  ticket. 
He  says  he  is  a  Lincoln  Republican  or  a 
Bryan  Democrat — one  and  the  same  thing 
— and  he  has  always  taken  an  active  interest 
in  politics.  He  has  served  several  terms  on 
the  Board  of  County  Supervisors  from 
Denver  and  Olney  townships.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Protestant  Methodist  church,  as 
is  also  his  noble  wife.  His  children  are 
members  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Heltman  won  definite  success  in  life 
because  he  persevered  in  the  pursuit  of  a 
worthy  purpose,  gaining  thereby  a  most  sat- 
isfactory reward.  His  life  is  exemplary  in 
every  respect,  and  he  has  always  supported 
those  interests  which  are  calculated  to  uplift 
and  benefit  humanity,  while  his  own  moral 
worth  is  deserving  of  the  highest  commen- 
dation. 


WILLIAM  J.  MARTIN. 

A  list  of  Marion  county's  prominent  fami- 
lies would  certainly  be  incomplete  were  there 
failure  to  make  specific  mention  of  the  well 
known  farmer  and  representative  citizen, 
and  his  relatives,  whose  name  introduces 
this  sketch,  for  his  life  has  been  one  of  use- 
fulness and  honor,  resulting  in  good  to 
everyone  with  whom  he  has  had  dealings 
whether  in  business  or  social  life. 

William  J.  Martin  was  born  in  Gibson 
county,  Tennessee,  January  15,  1859,  the 


i98 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


son  of  Caleb  and  Martha  J.  (McHaney) 
Martin,  the  latter  a  native  of  middle  Ten- 
nessee and  the  former  of  South  Carolina. 
Jacob  Martin,  the  subject's  paternal  grand- 
father, came  to  Tennessee  from  South  Caro- 
lina in  an  early  day  and  farmed  there  until 
his  death.  The  parents  of  the  subject  mar- 
ried in  Tennessee.  Martha  McHaney  was 
the  daughter  of  William  McHaney,  a  native 
of  Tennessee.  She  first  married  David 
Young,  who  died  and  left  two  children, 
Frances,  the  wife  of  Atlas  Hammond.  The 
second  child  died  in  infancy.  Caleb  Martin 
first  married  Miss  Susan  Batie,  who  died 
leaving  the  following  children :  Jacob, 
George,  Amos,  America,  Jane,  Parthene, 
Martha  and  Mary  Susan. 

The  parents  of  our  subject  married  in 
Tennessee  and  in  November,  1862,  settled  in 
Salem  township,  Marion  county,  Illinois. 
Caleb  Martin  was  a  strong  Union  man  and 
left  the  South  on  account  of  the  war.  His 
wife,  a  noble  old  lady,  is  still  living  with 
her  son,  our  subject.  The  subject's  father 
farmed  in  Marion  county,  Illinois,  until  his 
death,  July  1 1,  1888.  He  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  Christian  church.  He  was 
a  strong  Republican.  Six  children  were 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Caleb  Martin,  as  fol- 
lows: William  J.,  our  subject;  Monroe, 
Houston,  Benjamin  Van  Buren,  John  A. 
Logan,  Sarah  Ida. 

Our  subject  was  about  three  years  old 
when  the  family  came  to  Illinois.  They 
made  the  trip  from  Tennessee  with  ox  teams 
and  camped  out  on  the  way,  having  all  ox 
teams  with  the  exception  of  one  team  of 


horses.  William  J.  Martin  was  reared  on 
his  father's  farm  and  educated  in  the  com- 
mon district  schools  of  this  county.  On 
his  farm  now  stands  the  little  old  school 
house  in  which  he  was  educated.  He  pur- 
chased it  and  moved  it  on  this  place,  which 
he  now  uses  for  a  store  house  and  granary. 
It  was  built  about  1850.  Mr.  Martin  re- 
mained at  home  and  worked  on  the  farm 
until  he  was  twenty-five  years  old.  This 
was  in  1884,  in  which  year  his  happy  and 
harmonious  domestic  life  began,  having  then 
married  Elizabeth  Hershberger,  who  was 
born  in  Crawford  county,  Ohio,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  and  Catherine  (Snavely) 
Hershberger.  (For  a  full  history  of  this 
family  the  reader  is  directed  to  the  sketch 
of  David  Hershberger  in  this  work.) 

Four  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  namely:  Minnie,  born  Oc- 
tober 3,  1886,  is  a  member  of  the  home 
circle;  Claude  was  born  in  April,  1888,  and 
died  in  January,  1895;  William  Franklin 
was  born  December  26,  1890,  and  died 
January  16,  1891 ;  Nellie  Zada,  born  August 
14,  1892,  is  at  home  attending  school. 

Mr.  Martin's  highly  improved  and  pro- 
ductive farm  consists  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres.  He  has  a  beautiful  country 
home,  substantial,  comfortable  and  nicely 
furnished,  and  a  good  barn  and  other  con- 
venient out  buildings,  everything  about  the 
place  showing  thrift,  good  management  and 
industry.  He  keeps  an  excellent  grade  of 
cattle  and  other  live  stock,  and  is  regarded 
as  a  good  judge  of  stock  and  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  of  Salem  township.  His 


RICHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


199 


hogs  are  of  good  breed  and  he  raises  some 
fine  horses.  Mr.  Martin  also  owns  two  hun- 
dred acres  of  his  father's  old  farm  in  this 
township,  which  he  keeps  well  improved  and 
the  soil  in  good  productive  condition. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  are  members  of  the 
Christian  church  at  Young's  chapel.  Mr. 
Martin  is  a  trustee  in  the  church  and  a 
liberal  subscriber  to  the  same.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican.  In  the  social  and  pri- 
vate walks  of  life  no  man  bears  a  more 
enviable  reputation  for  sterling  worth.  In 
short,  Mr.  Martin  is  an  honorable,  upright 
citizen,  belonging  to  the  somewhat  rare  class 
that  direct  and  control  public  sentiment 
without  pushing  himself  forward  and  with- 
out incurring  the  ill  will  of  those  with 
whom  they  come  in  contact  and  leave  the 
impress  of  their  strong  personality  indelibly 
stamped  upon  the  community,  winning  the 
friendship  of  all  classes. 


DAXIEL  GAFFXER. 

The  honored  subject  of  this  sketch  is  now 
living  in  retirement  in  Olney,  Illinois,  en- 
joying the  respite  due  the  closing  of  a  long 
and  useful  business  career.  He  has  been 
prominently  identified  with  industrial  move- 
ments of  no  mean  scope  and  importance  and 
the  name  which  he  bears  has  stood  for  pro- 
gressiveness  and  large  enterprise  ever  since 
the  pioneer  days  in  this  section  of  the  state, 
while  he  is  a  scion  of  an  old  family  of  Swit- 
zerland, being  numbered  among  that  ele- 


ment of  foreigners  in  this  country  who  have 
greatly  benefited  America  by  their  pres- 
ence. So  important  have  been  the  business 
and  industrial  undertakings  with  which  he 
had  been  connected,  and  so  high  is  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  in  Rich- 
land  county,  that  it  is  imperative  that  he  be 
accorded  recognition  in  a  publication  like 
the  present  volume. 

Daniel  Gafrner  was  born  in  Interlacken, 
Switzerland,  July  7.  1831,  the  son  of  Daniel 
and  Elizabeth  (Gerber)  Gaffner,  also  na- 
tives of  Switzerland  where  they  lived  and 
died.  The  subject's  father  was  a  farmer  in 
the  mountains  of  that  country  and  was  sev- 
enty-eight years  old  when  he  died,  his  wife 
having  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  The 
family  of  Gaffner  was  originally  French,  one 
branch  passing  to  Switzerland  many  years 
ago.  The  father  of  the  subject  was  in  the 
military  service  of  his  country  for  some  time. 
Grandfather  Gerber  was  of  Swiss  birth  and 
parentage,  but  took  part  in  a  number  of  bat- 
tles under  Xapoleon.  A  remarkable  fact  is 
that  the  subject  remembers  the  funeral  of  his 
grandfather  who  died  in  1833,  when  the  sub- 
ject was  a  trine  over  two  years  old.  Seven 
children  were  born  to  the  parents  of  the  sub- 
ject, five  of  whom  grew  to  maturity.  Daniel 
being  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth.  Three 
members  of  the  family  came  to  the  United 
States. 

Our  subject  was  reared  in  his  native  land 
on  a  farm  and  there  developed  that  sturdy 
manhood  and  sterling  character  that  have 
made  for  his  later  success  in  new  environ- 
ments. He  received  a  common  school  educa- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


non.  He  left  home  when  sixteen  years  old 
and  was  apprenticed  to  a  shoemaker,  at 
which  trade  he  worked  in  several  parts  of 
Switzerland.  When  twenty-three  years  old 
he  came  to  the  United  States,  landing  in  New 
York  and  went  direct  to  La  Porte,  Indiana, 
where  he  arrived  without  money.  His  father 
was  reluctant  to  have  him  come  to  America, 
but  after  consenting  gave  him  money  enough 
to  pay  his  passage.  He  at  once  began  work 
at  his  trade  in  LaPorte,  but  soon  afterward 
went  to  Highland,  Illinois,  where  he  worked 
for  three  years,  being  regarded  as  a  high 
grade  workman  by  his  employers.  In  1858 
he  came  to  Olney  and  resumed  working  at  his 
trade,  but  at  the  end  of  two  years  he  went  to 
Edwards  county  on  account  of  failing  health, 
having  traded  property  in  Olney  for  a  two- 
hundred-acre  farm.  Two  years  later  he  sold 
the  same  for  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  besides  realizing  about  one  thou- 
sand dollars  from  his  personal  property. 
Thus  we  see  how  our  subject  prospered  from 
the  first  in  his  adopted  country.  His  next 
move  was  to  Albion,  where  he  worked  at  his 
trade  for  three  years,  having  been  in  partner- 
ship one  year  in  a  shoe  shop  and  store.  He 
had  bought  property  in  Albion  which  he 
traded  for  property  in  Olney,  then  taking  up 
his  permanent  residence  in  the  latter  town 
where  he  has  since  resided  continuously,  hav- 
ing carried  on  business  here  in  a  most  suc- 
cessful manner  for  many  years.  He  first 
opened  a  shoe  store  and  later  was  engaged 
in  wholesale  and  retail  hide  and  leather  busi- 
ness, gradually  accumulating  property.  In 
1882  he  built  a  three-storv  brick  business 


block  on  Main  street,  twenty  by  eighty-five 
feet  with  a  good  basement,  in  addition  to 
a  large  warehouse.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  pretentious  blocks  in  Olney,  modern, 
substantial  and  convenient.  He  also  owns  an- 
other brick  block  two  stories  in  height,  twenty 
by  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet,  located 
on  Main  street.  He  also  owns  a  valuable 
building,  thirty  by  one  hundred  and  eighty 
feet,  on  Vaile  avenue,  together  with  two 
stores  on  Railroad  street,  besides  valuable 
residence  property.  He  is  one  of  the  stock- 
holders of  the  First  National  Bank  and  for 
some  years  was  one  of  its  directors. 

Mr.  Gafifner  was  first  married  in  1852  to 
Susanna  Schneiter,  a  native  of  Switzerland, 
who  came  to  the  United  States  with  her  fa- 
ther, her  mother  having  died  in  Switzerland. 
To  the  subject  and  his  first  wife  six  chil- 
dren were  born,  four  of  whom  are  living,  as 
follows :  Robert,  a  druggist  in  Olney ;  Tell, 
Charles  and  Walter,  all  reside  in  Seattle, 
Washington.  They  are  all  young  men  of 
much  business  ability.  Their  father  gave 
each  one  ten  thousand  dollars  to  start  them 
in  life. 

Mrs.  Gaffner  passed  to  her  rest  in  August, 
1898,  and  the  subject  subsequently  married 
Mrs.  Fannie  (Suardet)  Emerson,  who  was 
born  in  De  Vand,  Switzerland,  of  French- 
Huguenot  descent,  who  came  to  the  United 
States  with  a  brother,  who  soon  afterward 
went  to  California  during  the  gold  excite- 
ment and  subsequently  died  there. 

Mr.  Gaffner  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  but 
he  has  never  aspired  to  public  office  and  he  is 
not  a  partisan,  believing  in  men  rather  than 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


201 


measures.  His  first  presidential  vote  was  for 
Stephen  A.  Douglas.  Mr.  Gaffner  was  reared 
in  the  German  Reformed  church.  His  wife 
is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

This  review  of  Mr.  Gaffer's  life  history  is 
necessarily  general  in  its  character.  To  enter 
fully  into  the  interesting  details  of  his  ca- 
reer would  require  a  much  larger  space  than 
possible  in  this  volume.  Sufficient,  however, 
has  been  stated  to  show  that  he  is  entitled 
to  a  place  in  the  front  ranks  of  successful  men 
who  have  engaged  in  industries  in  Richland 
•county.  He,  by  his  pluck,  energy  and  enter- 
prise, controlled  by  correct  principles  and 
founded  upon  unswerving  honor,  has  at- 
tained to  a  position  meriting  the  respect  and 
admiration  of  his  fellow  citizens  which  they 
gladly  give. 


FRANCIS  M.  PURCELL. 

The  subject  is  a  representative  business 
man  and  citizen  of  Marion  county,  man- 
aging one  of  the  largest  lumber  establish- 
ments in  the  county,  the  well  known  firm 
being  F.  M.  Purcell  &  Company,  doing 
business  at  Kell.  Our  subject  was  born  in 
Wilson  county,  Tennessee,  July  2,  1843, 
the  son  of  Hiram  and  Parthena  (Williams) 
Purcell,  natives  of  Tennessee,  and  a  fine  old 
Southern  family.  Hiram  was  a  prosperous 
fanner  and  lived  and  died  in  Tennessee. 
He  and  his  faithful  life  companion  were 
members  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  church. 
The  subject's  father  was  a  gallant  soldier 


in  the  Seminole  Indian  war  in  Florida.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hiram  Purcell  five  children 
were  bom,  namely:  Lavina,  Ella;  Frances 
M..  our  subject;  L.  B.  and  Hiram. 

The  subject's  father  first  married  a  Miss 
Jones  and  they  became  the  parents  of  two 
children,  Eliza  and  Henry. 

Our  subject  grew  up  in  Tennessee  on  a 
farm.  He  remained  in  that  state  on  a  farm 
until  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old.  In 
1870  he  came  to  Jefferson  county,  Illinois, 
and  engaged  in  farming,  also  the  lumber 
business,  making  a  success  of  each.  In  the 
fall  of  1904,  he  came  to  Kell,  Illinois, 
where  he  is  now  located  and  where  he  has 
built  up  an  extensive  business  by  means  of 
his  industry,  his  careful  methods  and  fair 
treatment  of  customers.  He  is  in  partner- 
ship with  Omer  V.  Cummings  in  the  lum- 
ber business.  They  supply  a  large  scope  of 
country  with  lumber  and  all  kinds  of  build- 
ing material  as  well  as  much  hardware. 
They  also  handle  paints,  cement,  lime,  nails, 
in  fact,  everything  that  a  builder  uses  in  a 
house,  barn  or  other  structure.  They  al- 
ways handle  a  good  line  of  material  and 
their  prices  are  always  right,  according  to 
the  statement  of  many  of  their  customers. 
They  have  extensive  sheds  and  their  office 
is  a  nice  place  and  is  always  a  busy  place. 

Our  subject's  happy  domestic  life  began 
in  1866,  when  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  America  Penuel,  who  was  born  in 
Tennessee,  the  daughter  of  Frederick  and 
Lucinda  (Jennings)  Penuel,  natives  of  that 
state. 

Eight  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 


lilOC.RAPHICAL    AXI)    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ject  and  wife  as  follows:  Amanda,  the  wife 
of  W.  W.  Hay,  who  lives  in  Jefferson 
county,  this  state ;  Samuel  married  Dora  Ri- 
ley  and  they  live  in  Carrier  Mills,  Illinois; 
Lucinda  is  the  wife  of  George  Snyder.  liv- 
ing in  Jefferson  county,  Illinois ;  Robert 
married  Anna  McCormick,  and  they  also 
live  in  Jefferson  county;  Otis  J.  married 
Tosie  Hawkins ;  William  Edgar  is  single ; 
Nora  is  the  wife  of  Adolphus  Caldwell,  also 
of  Jefferson  county;  Fred  is  single. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Purcell  are  members  of 
the  Missionary  Baptist  church.  The  former 
is  a  loyal  Democrat.  He  very  ably  served 
for  six  years  as  Supervisor  of  Rome  town- 
ship, Jefferson  county,  this  state.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  for 
one  year.  He  takes  considerable  interest  in 
political  matters  and  his  advice  is  often 
sought  in  the  local  affairs  of  his  county. 
In  his  fraternal  relations  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  Order,  the  .Knights  Templar. 

Mr.  Purcell  owns  a  valuable  and  well 
improved  farm,  near  Kell,  on  which  he 
lives,  having  a  modern,  substantial  and  nice- 
ly furnished  dwelling,  an  excellent  barn  and 
convenient  out-buildings.  He  is  a  very 
busy  man,  for  he  successfully  conducts  the 
affairs  of  his  lumber  establishment  in  town 
and  at  the  same  time  superintends  the  work 
on  the  place,  being  an  excellent  judge  of  live 
stock  of  all  kinds,  and  he  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  Haines 
township.  He  deserves  much  credit  for 
what  he  has  accomplished,  having  started 
in  life  under  none  too  favorable  circum- 
stances, but  he  has  been  a  hard  worker  and 


a  good  manager  and  success  has  attended 
his  efforts  from  the  first.  He  is  a  gentle- 
man of  pleasing  demeanor,  easily  ap- 
proached, and  while  not  an  aspirant  for 
high  political  favors,  he  has  done  much  in 
a  quiet  way,  as  already  intimated,  to  pro- 
mote the  good  of  the  community  where  he 
lives.  He  occupies  a  commendable  stand- 
ing among  his  fellow  citizens  and  has  a 
large  circle  of  friends  who  have  learned  to 
esteem  him  for  his  industry  and  many- 
manly  qualities. 


KENNETH  D.  HORRALL. 

Kenneth  D.  Horrall,  the  well  known 
hardware  merchant  of  Olney,  Illinois, 
which  business  he  established  in  1856,  and 
which  he  has  conducted  continuously  ever 
since  in  a  most  successful  manner,  his  busi- 
ness having  steadily  grown  from  a  modest 
beginning  until  now  it  is  one  of  large  pro- 
portions. He  carries  a  stock  of  about  fif- 
teen thousand  dollars,  often  reaching  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  his  store  room  being  twen- 
ty by  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet,  and 
two  floors,  and  one  hundred  feet  on  three 
floors.  In  1866  he  erected  his  present  brick 
block.  His  is  the  oldest  business  in  Olney, 
and  the  oldest  hardware  business  in  Rich- 
land  county.  His  business  is  known  all  over 
the  county,  and  his  customers  come  from  all 
sections  of  this  locality. 

Kenneth  D.  Horrall  was  born  near  Wash- 
ington, Daviess  county.  Indiana,  June  9, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


203 


1838,  the  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (John- 
son) Horrall,  the  former  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia and  the  latter  of  Illinois.  They  were 
among  the  early  settlers  of  this  section  of  the 
state,  being  sterling  pioneers  and  people  of 
force  of  character.  The  father  of  the  sub- 
ject served  in  the  wars  under  General  Har- 
rison and  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Tippe- 
caoe.  He  devoted  his  life  to  farming  and 
died  in  Daviess  county.  Indiana,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-two  years.  His  wife  survived  him 
for  several  years  and  passed  to  rest  while 
living  in  Richland  county,  Illinois,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-five  years.  Our  sub- 
ject was  the  youngest  of  seven  children, 
only  two  of  whom  are  living  at  this  writing. 

Mr.  Horrall  was  reared  in  his  native  state 
and  was  educated  in  the  country  schools, 
where  he  applied  himself  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  gain  an  education  despite  lack  of  op- 
portunities. When  he  was  fourteen  years 
old  he  came  to  Olney  and  entered  the  hard- 
ware store  of  John  Banks  in  order  to  learn 
the  tinner's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  suc- 
cessfully for  about  fifteen  years.  In  1856  he 
began  business  for  himself  in  a  small  way, 
having  a  stock  of  about  three  hundred  dol- 
lars. He  built  up  his  business  to  its  present 
proportions  by  years  of  hard'  work  and 
close  application  to  business,  and  by  his  fair 
treatment  of  customers. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Republican, 
but  he  has  never  been  active  in  his  party's 
affairs.  However,  he  served  very  faithfully 
for  two  years  as  a  member  of  the  City 
Council.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  having  held  about  all  the 


offices  in  the  same  and  he  has  been  one  of 
the  main  pillars  of  this  church. 

Mr.  Horrall's  domestic  relations  began 
in  1858  when  he  was  married  to  Sarah  J. 
Baird,  a  native  of  Olney,  Illinois,  and  the- 
daughter  of  Asa  and  Lucy  (Tanner)  Baird, 
natives  of  Vermont,  who  were  among  the 
pioneers  of  Richland  county,  where  they 
spent  their  active  and  useful  lives,  and  where 
they  died.  Asa  Baird  was  a  contractor  and 
he  built  a  large  part  of  the  national  road 
to  Vincennes.  At  one  time  he  was  one  of 
the  officials  of  the  county.  His  death  oc- 
curred in  1849.  His  wife  was  a  relative  of 
ex-Governor  Tanner. 

The  subject  and  his  wife  are  the  parents 
of  seven  children,  namely:  Adelbert, 
George  Lewis,  Charles  Asa:  Carrie,  de- 
ceased ;  Edward  Eugene,  Walter  Lewis  and 
Henry  Cliff.  Adelbert.  Charles  and  Walter 
assist  their  father  in  the  management  of  his 
large  store.  Adelbert  is  bookkeeper,  having 
graduated  in  a  business  college  in  Buffalo, 
Xew  York.  George  is  a  tinner  by  trade  and 
he  manages  a  farm  two  miles  north  of  Ol- 
ney, which  is  owned  by  himself  and  father. 
It  is  a  valuable  farm,  well  improved  and 
highly  cultivated.  Charles  also  learned  the 
tinner's  trade  and  also  telegraphy.  Edward 
is  a  druggist  and  owns  and  operates  a  drug 
store  at  Decatur,  Illinois.  Henry  Cliff  is 
engaged  in  the  hardware  business  at  Bridge- 
port, Illinois.  These  children  have  all  re- 
ceived good  educations  and  are  well  estab- 
lished in  life. 

No  man  in  Richland  county  is  better  or 
more  favorably  known  than  Mr.  Horrall. 


204 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Because  of  his  public  spirit,  his  honesty  in 
all  his  dealings  with  his  fellow  men,  his  gen- 
erous and  kindly  nature,  he  has  won  and  re- 
tained a  host  of  warm  personal  friends 
throughout  this  locality. 


HARVEY  D.  MAY. 

By  a  life  of  persistent  and  well  applied 
industry  led  along  the  most  honorable  lines, 
the  gentleman  whose  name  appears  above 
has  justly  earned  the  right  to  be  repre- 
sented in  a  work  of  the  character  of  the 
one  at  hand,  along  with  the  other  men  of 
Marion  county  who  have  made  their  in- 
fluence felt  in  their  respective  communities. 

Harvey  D.  May,  the  present  popular 
Trustee  of  Haines  township  and  a  well 
known  dealer  in  harness,  saddlery  and  hard- 
ware in  the  town  of  Kell,  Illinois,  was  born 
in  Raccoon  township,  Marion  county,  Oc- 
tober 12,  1879,  and  while  yet  a  young  man 
he  has  shown  what  properly  applied  energy 
and  a  business  mind  can  do  toward  wrench- 
ing success  from  seeming  insurmountable 
obstacles.  He  is  the  son  of  Jesse  H.  and 
Mary  (Williams)  May,  the  former  a  native 
of  Kentucky  and  the  latter  of  Tennessee. 
Anderson  May,  the  subject's  grandfather, 
was  also  a  native  of  Kentucky  and  was  one 
of  the  early  settlers  in  Marion  county,  Illi- 
nois, having  settled  in  Raccoon  township. 
Jesse  H.  May,  who  has  devoted  his  life  to 
farming  and  is  still  living  in  that  township, 
is  a  highly  respected  citizen.  Three  chil- 


dren were  born  to  the  parents  of  our  subject, 
Amos  is  a  farmer  in  Raccoon  township; 
Laura,  who  is  deceased,  was  the  wife  of 
Orvil  Prater,  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
two  children,  Etha  and  Henry,  who  are  still 
living;  Harvey  D.,  our  subject,  was  the 
second  child. 

Our  subject  was  reared  on  a  farm  where 
he  assisted  with  the  work  about  the  place. 
He  attended  school  in  Raccoon  township, 
having  applied  himself  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  gain  the  foundation  for  a  good  edu- 
cation. Deciding  early  in  life  that  he  de- 
sired to  be  a  harness  maker  and  dealer,  Mr. 
May  learned  the  harnessmaker's  trade  and 
became  quite  a  proficient  workman  early  in 
life,  and  he  finally  opened  a  shop  in 
Kell,  this  county,  establishing  his  present 
business,  in  which  he  was  successful  from 
the  first  and  which  has  steadily  grown,  his 
business  now  extending  through  a  wide 
scope  of  country  on  every  hand,  owing  to 
the  fair  dealing  he  gives  his  customers  and 
the  intimate  knowledge  he  has  of  the  har- 
ness business.  He  does  a  general  repair 
business  and  is  always  very  busy.  His  shop 
is  equipped  with  all  the  latest  appliances  and 
improvements  known  to  the  harnessmaker's 
art  and  his  work  is  all  of  a  high  grade. 

Mr.  May's  domestic  life  was  begun  in 
1903,  when  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Ava  Williams,  who  was  born  in  Jefferson 
county,  Illinois,  and  is  the  daughter  of  N.  A. 
and  Jane  (Rice)  Williams.  Mrs.  May  was 
called  from  her  earthly  labors  January  14, 
1908.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  She  was  a  woman  of  many  esti- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


205 


mable  traits  of  character,  a  good  wife  and 
was  beloved  by  all  her  neighbors. 

Mr.  May  is  a  member  of  Romine  Lodge 
No.  663,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. He  has  represented  this  lodge  at  the 
Grand  Lodge  on  two  different  occasions, 
and  has  passed  all  the  chairs  in  the  local 
lodge.  Our  subject  is  a  loyal  Republican 
and  has  taken  considerable  interest  in  his 
party's  affairs.  He  was  elected  Trustee  of 
Haines  township  in  the  spring  of  1908.  He 
is  regarded  as  an  energetic,  honest  and  in- 
fluential citizen,  enjoying  the  respect  of  all 
who  know  him. 


ELI  BRUBAKER. 

The  man  who  has  made  a  success  of  life 
and  won  the  honor  and  esteem  of  his  fel- 
low citizens  deserves  more  than  passing 
notice.  Such  is  the  record,  briefly  stated, 
of  the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this 
review,  the  record  he  left  behind  being  one 
of  honor  in  every  respect,  for  a  more 
whole-souled  and  popular  man  never  lived 
in  Stevenson  township  where  he  long  main- 
tained his  home  and  where  he  labored  for 
the  general  good  of  the  community,  and, 
although  his  life  work  has  been  closed  by 
the  good  angel,  who  has  set  the  seal  on  the 
record  of  his  life  history,  his  influence  still 
permeates  the  lives  of  those  who  knew  him 
best  and  loved  him  for  his  fortitude,  fidel- 
ity, honor  and  industry. 

Eli     Brubaker    was    born     in    Fairfield 


county,  Ohio,  December  n,  1819,  and  he 
was  called  from  his  earthly  labors  in  1907, 
after  a  long  and  eminently  useful  and  suc- 
cessful life.  He  was  the  son  of  Abraham  and 
Elizabeth  (Myers)  Brubaker,  and  was 
reared  on  his  father's  farm  in  Ohio,  where 
he  assisted  with  the  work  about  the  place  un- 
til he  reached  manhood,  attending  the  com- 
mon schools  in  the  neighborhood  until  he 
received  a  fairly  good  education,  such  as  the 
old  pioneer  schools  of  those  times  afforded. 
The  school  house  which  he  attended  had 
puncheon  seats  and  greased  paper  was  used 
for  window  panes.  For  a  full  history  of 
the  Brubaker  family  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  sketch  of  Noah  Brubaker,  which  ap- 
pears in  another  part  of  this  volume. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  Ma- 
rion county,  Illinois,  in  1843,  and  settled 
among  the  pioneers  on  new  land  in  Steven- 
son township,  where,  by  dint  of  hard  work, 
he  made  a  home  and  developed  a  good 
farm.  The  old  Brubaker  homestead  is  to- 
day one  of  the  best  farms  in  Stevenson 
township.  Eli  Brubaker  was  a  hard  worker 
and  an  excellent  farmer,  and  he  made  a 
comfortable  living. 

Our  subject  was  first  married  to  Mary 
Ann  Warner  January  20,  1842,  daughter 
of  William  Warner,  an  early  settler  of  Ma- 
rion county,  Illinois.  She  was  born  in 
Lancaster  county,  Ohio.  She  passed  to  her 
rest  in  1872.  She  was  the  mother  of 
eleven  children,  namely :  Isaac,  who  lives  in 
luka,  this  state ;  Christina,  deceased ;  Annie, 
E.,  widow  of  Shannon  Kagy,  lives  in  Ste- 
venson township;  William  is  a  prosperous 


206 


IIIOGKAPIIICAL    AND    KKM  I  MSfKXT     HISTORY    OF 


farmer  in  Stevenson  township;  Edgar  and 
Edward  are  twins;  Logan  is  a  farmer,  liv- 
ing in  Stevenson  township;  Mary  Jane  is 
the  eighth  child;  the  ninth,  tenth  and  elev- 
enth child  died  in  infancy. 

On  February  4,  1875,  the  subject  married 
a  second  time,  his  last  wife  being  Emma 
Squibb,  who  was  born  in  Ohio  county,  In- 
diana, the  daughter  of  George  Y.  and  Mary 
Ann  (Harpham)  Squibb,  natives  of  Indi- 
ana, who  moved  to  Stevenson  township, 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  where  the  mother 
is  still  living,  the  father  having  died  soon 
after  coming  to  this  county.  Mrs.  Bru- 
baker  is  living  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Stevenson  township,  which  she  manages 
successfully. 

Our  subject  was  a  member  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church  and  a  liberal 
supporter  of  the  same.  He  was  a  good 
everyday  Christian,  always  strictly  honest  in 
his  dealings  with  his  fellow  men,  a  good 
neighbor,  father  and  husband.  In  politics 
he  was  a  Democrat,  but  never  held  office. 
The  different  members  of  his  family  are  well 
settled  in  life  and  are  highly  respected  in 
their  respective  communities.  They  reflect 
great  credit  upon  their  parents,  who  gave 
them  every  advantage  possible,  and  no 
doubt  they  will  ever  uphold  the  honor  of 
the  family  name  which  is  one  of  the  high- 
est integrity. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  member 
of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  and 
was  ordained  elder  in  this  church  in  1847. 
He  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school 
at  Brubaker  chapel  for  the  long  period  of 


over  forty-two  years,  after  which  he  was 
elected  honorary  superintendent  for  life.  He 
was  a  leader  in  church  work  for  many  years 
and  was  foremost  in  promoting  everything 
which  makes  for  the  betterment  of  human- 
ity. It  was  largely  due  to  his  efforts  that 
the  new  and  modern  church  edifice  was 
erected  and  dedicated  June  20,  1896,  which 
he  christened  New  Bethel,  he  not  only  do- 
nating the  land,  consisting  of  four  acres  for 
the  manse,  but  also  gave  freely  of  his  ser- 
vices and  money  to  the  building  fund. 

Mr.  Brubaker  gave  each  of  his  children 
a  farm. 


SAMUEL  MARION  HOLT. 

The  subject  of  this  review,  who,  though 
past  the  meridian  of  life  many  years,  is  still 
in  the  same  physical  and  mental  vigor  that 
have  characterized  his  earlier  years  of  en- 
deavor and  he  is  almost  as  capable  in  bear- 
ing his  part  in  the  concerns  of  his  neighbor- 
hood as  he  was  in  former  days. 

Samuel  Marion  Holt  is  a  native  of  Ma- 
rion county,  having  been  born  in  Foster 
township,  June  25,  1845,  the  son  of  John  F. 
Holt,  who  was  born  in  Georgia  in  1806,  and 
came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  when  a 
young  man,  where  he  took  up  government 
land  in  Foster  township,  settling  on  North 
Fork  creek  among  the  pioneers,  there  being 
then  only  four  families  here,  the  first  settlers 
of  this  creek  being  Isaac  Agan,  Hardy  Fos- 
ter, John  F.  Holt  and  Moses  Garrett.  The 
subject's  grandfather  was  Harmon  Holt, 


KICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


207 


who  was  born  in  Georgia  and  came  to  Ma- 
rion county,  Illinois,  where  he  died  at  a 
ripe  old  age.  He  was  of  Irish  descent.  Har- 
mon Holt's  wife  was  named  Ibby  Holt, 
whom  he  married  in  Georgia.  The  maiden 
name  of  the  subject's  mother  was  Elizabeth 
Jones,  who  was  born  in  the  state  of  Dela- 
ware, and  who  came  with  her  parents  to  St. 
Clair  county,  Illinois,  when  five  years  old. 
Eleven  children  were  born  to  the  subject's 
parents,  five  of  whom  are  living.  They  are : 
Martha,  Henry,  Mary,  Matilda.  Harmon. 
Salina,  Samuel  M.,  Sally,  John  D.,  Hardy 
F.  (twins)  and  Isabelle. 

The  Indians  made  a  treaty  with  the  gov- 
ernment to  hunt  in  the  new  country  which 
was  still  partly  a  wilderness  after  his  par- 
ents had  come.  Our  subject  spent  his  early 
life  on  his  father's  farm  and  attended  the 
common  schools,  such  as  they  were  in  those 
early  days.  When  he  reached  maturity  he 
married,  on  July  21,  1864,  Susan  F.  Atkins, 
who  was  born  in  Marion  county,  July  16, 
1847,  tne  daughter  of  John  Atkins,  who 
was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Tennessee.  He 
moved  to  Alabama  with  his  parents  when  a 
boy.  He  was  about  thirty  years  of  age 
when  he  came  to  Illinois  and  took  up  gov- 
ernment land.  He  was  the  father  of  four 
children,  an  equal  number  of  boys  and  girls. 
He  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  here,  with 
the  exception  of  the  last  fifteen  years,  dying 
at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years,  in  Texas, 
where  he  had  gone  fifteen  years  previous. 

Our  subject  is  the  father  of  seven  chil- 
dren, named  in  order  of  birth  as  follows: 
Mary  M.,  who  married  Eli  M.  Arnold,  liv- 


ing in  Shawnee,  Oklahoma,  and  who  are  the 
parents  of  five  children;  Margaret  E.,  who 
married  Oscar  Chance,  of  Salem,  Illinois, 
and  who  is  the  mother  of  six  children; 
Emma  F.,  who  married  James  A.  Arnold, 
living  in  Fort  Worth,  Texas,  and  the  mother 
of  two  children;  Rhoda  A.,  who  mar- 
ried Ed.  Jones,  of  Salem,  Illinois,  and  who 
is  the  mother  of  two  children;  John  A.  was 
married  to  Maud  Davis,  December  13,  1908, 
and  lives  at  home:  the  sixth  child  was  an 
infant,  who  died  unnamed :  Lulu  B.,  the 
youngest  child,  is  the  wife  of  Will  Harkey, 
who  lives  in  Fayette  county,  near  St.  Peter, 
this  state,  and  she  is  the  mother  of  one  son. 

Our  subject  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  landed 
estate  in  Kinmundy  township,  consisting  of 
three  hundred  and  eighty-five  acres,  of  well 
improved  land,  which  he  has  successfully 
managed  until  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
farms  in  the  township,  being  under  a  high 
state  of  improvement  and  the1  fields  well 
fenced  and  well  drained.  Much  good  stock 
of  various  kinds  is  to  be  seen  in  the  sub- 
ject's barns  and  fields,  and  he  always  keeps 
good  horses,  cattle  and  hogs.  He  has  an  ele- 
gant and  comfortable  dwelling  which  is 
nicely  furnished  and  is  surrounded  by  a 
beautiful  yard  and  convenient  out-buildings, 
in  fact,  the  entire  place  has  an  air  of  evident 
thrift  and  prosperity. 

Our  subject  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
affiliations  and  he  has  long  taken  an  active 
part  in  his  party's  affairs.  His  wife  is  a 
devout  Christian  and  a  faithful  mother,  be- 
ing a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church.  Mr.  Holt  is  not  a  member  of  the 


208 


ilOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


church  and  does  not  hold  to  any  Orthodox 
creed,  yet  he  is  a  believer  in  good  citizen- 
ship, honesty  and  fair  dealing  and  is  highly 
respected  for  his  good  citizenship.  The 
different  members  of  the  family  are  well 
settled  in  life  and  highly  esteemed  in  their 
respective  communities.  They  reflect  great 
credit  upon  their  parents  and  no  doubt  will 
ever  uphold  the  honor  of  the  family  name, 
which  thus  far  has  not  been  dimmed  by  the 
commission  of  a  single  unworthy  act. 


Z.  C.  JENNINGS. 

The  life  history  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  goes  back  to  the  pioneer  days,  since 
which  Mr.  Jennings  has  been  a  very  potent 
factor  in  the  affairs  of  Marion  county,  in 
which  he  is  regarded  as  a  foremost  citizen 
in  every  respect,  therefore,  for  many  rea- 
sons, it  is  deemed  entirely  consistent  to  give 
him  conspicuous  mention  in  this  volume. 

Z.  C.  Jennings  was  bom  February  14, 
1838,  in  Marion  county,  Illinois.  Israel  Jen- 
nings, the  subject's  grandfather,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Maryland  and  when  he  reached  young 
manhood  went  to  the  state  of  Kentucky  and 
while  at  Marysville  married  Mary  Waters 
in  1808.  In  1818  he  came  to  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  and  settled  six  miles  southeast  of 
Centralia,  being  among  the  very  first  set- 
tlers there,  having  Indians  as  his  neighbors, 
and  the  dense  woods  abounded  in  an  abun- 
dance of  wild  game.  He  was  one  of  the 
squatters  at  Walnut  Hill  until  1827.  This 


section  was  then  a  part  of  Jefferson  county. 
It  was  here  that  Mr.  Jennings  entered  land, 
which  he  developed  and  where  he  died  in 
1860.  His  first  wife  passed  away  in  1844 
and  he  married  a  second  time,  his  last  wife 
being  Lear  Sterling,  of  Centralia,  this 
county.  There  were  no  children  by  his  sec- 
ond wife.  The  following  are  the  names 
of  the  children  by  his  first  wife:  Israel, 
Jr.,  who  married  a  Miss  Davidson,  was  the 
father  of  eleven  children;  Charles  W.,  the 
subject's  father;  William  W.  left  home  in 
1847  and  went  to  Wisconsin.  He  was  in  the 
mining,  mercantile  and  grain  business,  in 
which  he  made  a  fortune.  In  1853  he  went 
to  California  and  engaged  in  gold  mining, 
but  on  account  of  failing  health  and  trou- 
ble with  his  eyes,  came  back  to  Marion 
county  where  he  remained  for  several  years, 
at  one  time  engaging  in  railroad  contract- 
ing in  northern  Missouri.  In  i86t  he  en- 
listed in  the  Union  army  and  served  during 
the  war,  after  which  he  settled  in  Marion 
county  and  in  1875  he  went  to  Austin 
county,  Texas,  where  he  lived  until  1890, 
when  he  came  to  Alvin,  Illinois,  and  built 
a  modern  home,  having  become  prosperous. 
He  first  married  Margaret  Noleman.  The 
date  of  his  death  was  1904.  He  was  highly 
respected  by  all.  Aftn,  the  third  child  of 
the  subject's  grandfather,  married  Rufus 
McElwain.  a  farmer  in  Centralia  township, 
who  later  lived  at  Salem,  this  county.  Mary, 
the  fourth  child,  who  was  known  as  "Aunt 
Polly,"  married  a  Mr.  White.  They  lived 
near  Walnut  Hill  where  he  conducted  a  tan- 
yard.  John,  the  fifth  child,  died  when  he 


MR.  AND  MRS.  Z.  JENNINGS. 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


209 


reached  maturity.  The  sixth  child  died 
when  young.  In  Marion  county,  in  the 
early  days,  no  citizen  was  more' prominent 
than  Israel  Jennings,  who  was  one  of  the 
largest  land  owners  of  the  county.  He  was 
a  faithful  member  of  the  Methodist  church, 
and  a  good  Democrat.  In  1827  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature  when 
Vandalia  was  the  capital  of  the  state.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  house  contemporane- 
ous with  Peter  Cartwright.  He  was  post- 
master at  Walnut  Hill,  Illinois,  for  many 
years,  beginning  in  1834.  He  was  a  slave- 
holder and  owned  the  only  male  slave  ever 
held  in  this  county.  He  came  here  before 
there  were  any  steam  railroads,  but  during 
his  life  he  noted  wonderful  changes,  being 
instrumental  in  bringing  about  much  of  the 
progress  of  the  county.  He  opened  a  store 
and  gave  dry  goods  and  groceries  in  ex- 
change for  produce  which  he  hauled  to  St. 
Louis  by  wagon,  bringing  back  supplies.  At 
the  time  of  his  coming  to  this  county  he 
had  two  daughters  who  had  reached  ma- 
turity. They  were  taken  sick  while  he  was 
away  in  Shawneetown  on  one  of  his  usual 
trips  and  one  of  them  died.  There  was  no 
lumber  in  the  community,  so  a  white-oak 
tree  was  cut  and  a  coffin  hewn  from  it,  in 
which  to  bury  the  young  lady,  whose  grave 
is  on  the  old  place  he  owned.  He  was 
known  to  be  a  very  eccentric  man,  and  ten 
years  before  his  death  he  bought  a  metallic 
coffin,  which  he  kept  in  the  house  until  his 
death,  and  he  was  buried  in  it,  dying  April 
20,  1872.  His  wife  died  April  3,  1885. 
Charles  W.  Jennings,  the  subject's  father, 
H 


was  born  in  Kentucky,  and  he  came  to  Ma- 
rion county,  Illinois,  with  his  parents,  set- 
tling one-half  mile  from  his  father,  where 
he  made  a  home,  and  became  owner  of  nine 
hundred  acres  of  land.  He  married  Mariah 
Davidson,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  the  fol- 
lowing children  were  born  to  them:  Sarah, 
deceased,  married  Capt.  R.  D.  Noleman, 
who  is  also  deceased ;  Josephus  W.,  deceased, 
was  born  October  29,  1827,  lived  on  the  old 
place  and  was  educated  in  the  district 
schools.  He  was  a  merchant  at  Walnut 
Hill,  Illinois,  until  1856,  when  he  moved  to 
a  farm  one-half  mile  west  of  that  place, 
where  he  died  November  20,  1890.  He 
married  Amanda  Couch,  who  was  bom 
January  8,  1834,  the  daughter  of  Milton  and 
Mary  (Beard)  Couch.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  the  following  children :  Edgar, 
Frank,  Mary,  Lizzie  and  Nancy.  Harriett, 
the  third  child,  married  B.  F.  Marshall,  who 
lived  at  Salem,  Illinois.  They  are  both  de- 
ceased. Maria  E.  married  Silas  Bryan,  who 
was  county  Judge,  and  lived  at  Salem,  Illi- 
nois; Z.  C.,  the  subject  of  this  biographical 
sketch,  was  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth.  Nan- 
cy married  James  Davenport,  who  is  de- 
ceased. She  is  living  at  Salem,  this  county. 
America  married  William  C.  Stites.  Both 
are  now  deceased.  Docia  married  Alram 
Van  Antwerp,  who  is  deceased.  She  is 
living  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

The  subject's  father  was  a  man  of  excel- 
lent business  ability  and  a  good  manager, 
he  having  become  wealthy.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and 
in  politics  was  a  Democrat. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Z.  C.  Jennings,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
grew  to  manhood  on  the  old  home  place  and 
was  educated  in  the  home  schools  and  the 
high  schools  at  Salem  and  Centralia.  When 
twenty-two  years  old  he  married  Mary  J. 
Baldridge,  daughter  of  James  C.  Baldridge, 
of  North  Carolina,  and  Margaret  (Rainey) 
Baldridge,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  At  the 
age  of  nine  years,  James  C.  Baldridge  came 
to  Marion  county  with  his  parents.  Dorn- 
ton  and  Mary  (Boggs)  Baldridge,  who  set- 
tled near  Walnut  Hill,  Illinois.  James  Bal- 
dridge and  wife  died  in  Jefferson  county, 
Illinois.  He  married  a  second  time,  his  last 
wife  being  Tabitha,  the  widow  of  Isaac 
Casey. 

The  subject  started  on  the  place  where  he 
now  lives  to  make  a  home.  He  first  owned 
forty  acres  of  land,  but  being  progressive 
he  added  to  it  from  time  to  time  until  he 
now  owns  a  fine  farm  of  four  hundred  and 
twelve  acres,  which  is  in  a  high  state  of 
cultivation  and  one  of  the  best  stock  farms 
in  the  county.  He  has  raised  some  high- 
grade  horses  and  cattle  and  has  made  all 
the  improvements  on  the  place  himself,  be- 
ing regarded  as  one  of  the  foremost  agri- 
culturists of  the  county,  holding  high  rank 
among  the  stockmen  of  this  locality. 

Six  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  as  follows:  Dr.  Dwight  was 
born  September  i,  1860,  and  he  graduated 
at  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College  in  1890, 
having  previously  attended  the  Carbondale 
Normal  School,  and  he  read  medicine  with 
Dr.  Richardson,  of  Centralia,  Illinois.  He 
took  up  his  practice  at  4101  Washington 


avenue,  St.  Louis,  where  he  has  since  been 
residing  and  has  built  up  a  large  practice. 
He  married  Cora  Locy,  of  Carlyle,  Illinois, 
and  three  children  were  born  to  this  union, 
Beatrice,  Dorothy  and  Dwight  L.  Charles 
Emmett,  the  subject's  second  child,  was 
born  January  4,  1862.  He  is  a  farmer  at 
Mosco,  Washington,  also  a  dealer  in  stock 
and  grain.  He  married  Angeline  S.  Creed, 
of  Centralia  township,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Fred  Allen.  Maggie  D.,  the  subject's 
third  child,  was  born  December  17,  1863. 
and  married  Lewis  E.  Thomas,  of  Centralia, 
Illinois.  He  is  a  carpenter  in  the  employ  of 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  Their  only 
son,  Charles,  is  deceased.  Samuel  R.,  who 
was  born  December  24,  1865,  has  always 
been  a  farmer  and  lived  at  home.  Maria, 
who  was  born  January  22,  1871,  died  in 
August  the  same  year;  Harriett  G.,  who 
was  born  October  7,  1873,  married  E.  M. 
Jones,  of  St.  Louis.  He  is  traveling  freight 
agent  for  the  Southern  Railroad.  They  have 
three  children,  namely :  Leona,  Dwight  and 
Grace. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  lived  at  home 
until  1859,  and  was  in  the  lumber  business 
with  his  father  for  awhile,  then  he  located 
on  his  present  place.  During  the  past  few 
years  he  has  devoted  a  great  deal  of  his  at- 
tention to  raising  fruit.  For  two  years  he 
successfully  manufactured  crates  and  berry 
boxes  at  Walnut  Hill,  Illinois. 

Mr.  Jennings  has  always  taken  a  great 
deal  of  interest  in  politics.  He  ably  filled 
the  office  of  Supervisor  for  four  years  and 
other  minor  offices  in  the  Democratic  party, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  a  well  read  man  on  all  leading  topics. 
He  has  a  substantial,  beautiful  and  well 
furnished  home,  presided  over  by  a  most 
estimable  helpmeet,  his  wife  being  a  woman 
of  culture  and  refinement.  Our  subject  is 
an  uncle  of  Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan. 
He  is  well  and  favorably  known  throughout 
the  county,  being  regarded  by  all  classes 
as  a  man  of  force  of  character,  stability,  in- 
dustry and  honesty. 


FINCH  FAMILY  HISTORY. 

Sir  Heneage  Finch  was  the  first  Earl  of 
Nottingham,  England  (1682),  and  was 
Lord  Chancellor  of  England.  He  was  de- 
scended from  an  old  family,  many  of  whose 
numbers  had  attained  a  high  eminence  in 
the  legal  profession;  and  he  was  the  oldest 
son  of  Sir  Heneage  Finch,  the  Recorder  of 
London.  He  was  born  in  Kent,  December 
23,  1621,  educated  at  Westminster  and  be- 
came a  member  of  the  Inner  Temple,  1638; 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1645,  and  be- 
came one  of  the  leading  members  thereof, 
being  called  the  "English  Cicero".  He  was 
chosen  a  member  of  the  Convention  Parlia- 
ment in  1660,  and  shortly  afterward  ap- 
pointed Solicitor-General,  and  in  1675  Lord 
Chancellor.  In  1660  he  was  also  created  a 
baronet,  and  in  1670  he  was  made  Attorney 
General.  He  died  in  Great  Queen  Street, 
Lincoln  Inn  Fields,  December  18,  1682,  and 
was  buried  in  Ravenstone  in  Bucks.  He  was 
spoken  of  as  the  father  of  equity,  and  was 


the  originator  of  the  Statutes  of  Frauds, 
which  are  accepted  in  America  and  Eng- 
land as  universal  law  and  justice.  He  also 
published  some  of  the  speeches  in  the  trials 
of  the  Judges  of  King  Charles  I,  in  1660, 
and  later  emulated  himself  with  other  publi- 
cations appertaining  to  the  execution  of 
King  Charles  I,  but  was  not  their  author. 

Sir  Daniel  Finch  was  the  second  Earl  of 
Nottingham,  and  the  son  of  Sir  Heneage 
Finch,  was  born  in  1647,  and  died  January 
i,  1730.  He  entered  Parliament  in  1679. 
and  was  one  of  the  privy  counsellors  who  in 
1685  signed  the  order  for  the  proclamation 
of  the  Duke  of  York,  but  kept  away  from 
the  court  during  the  reign  of  James  the  II. 
After  the  abdication  of  James  II,  he  was  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  party  who  were  favor- 
able to  the  establishment  of  the  Regency. 
He  declined  the  office  of  Lord-Chancellor 
under  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  but 
accepted  that  of  Secretary  of  State,  and 
filled  that  position  until  December,  1693, 
and  he  also  held  the  same  office  under  Queen 
Anne  in  1702,  and  retired  in  1704.  On  the 
accession  of  George  the  First  he  was  made 
President  of  the  Council  and  withdrew  from 
office  in  January,  1716;  on  the  9th  day  of 
September,  1729,  he  succeeded  to  the  Earl- 
dom of  Winchelsea  and  died  on  the  ist  day 
of  January,  1730. 

Sir  John  Finch  was  a  son  of  Sir  Daniel 
Finch,  the  second  Earl  of  Nottingham,  was 
counsel  to  the  Crown  under  George  II,  in 
the  early  part  of  his  reign,  and  for  his  strong 
liberal  views,  and  the  active  interest  he  took 
in  espousing  the  cause  of  liberalism  he  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


by  King  George  the  Second,  banished  from 
the  realm,  and  coming  to  America,  landed 
at  the  port  of  Boston,  and  married  some- 
where in  the  eastern  part  of  Massachusetts, 
and  after  a  time  emigrated  to  New  York, 
and  founded  what  is  taken  to  be  the  North- 
em  branch  of  the  Finch  family.  To  Sir 
John  Finch,  the  banished  counsellor  of  the 
court  of  King  George  the  Second,  were  bom 
two  sons,  whose  names  were  respectively, 
Isaac  F.  Finch  and  John  Finch ;  Isaac  Finch 
and  John  Finch  left  their  homes  in  the  State 
of  New  York  and  settled  in  Wyoming  Val- 
ley in  Pennsylvania,  sometime  previous  to 
the  Revolutionary  war ;  they  engaged  in  the 
milling  business  in  an  extensive  way;  and 
when  the  Revolutionary  war  broke  out  they 
were  each  at  the  head  of  a  large  family. 

Isaac  Finch  enlisted  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  John  remained  at  home  to  look  af- 
ter the  families  of  his  brother  Isaac  and  his 
own,  and  also  their  property ;  they  were  then 
living  in  Wyoming  Valley,  at  Fort  Forty. 
Isaac  Finch  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  the 
Wyoming  Massacre,  July  3,  1778,  and  John 
and  his  entire  family  were  massacred  at  the 
same  time.  Unto  Isaac  Finch  and  Amy 
Finch,  his  wife,  were  born  five  sons  and  five 
daughters,  and  the  names  of  these  children 
were:  Isaac,  Moses,  John,  Enos,  Amy,  Re- 
becca, Sarah,  Elizabeth,  Mary  and  Solomon. 
On  the  4th  day  of  July,  1778,  Amy  Finch,  the 
widow  of  Isaac  Finch,  with  the  aid  of  faith- 
ful servants,  loaded  her  household  effects  into 
a  wagon  drawn  by  a  pair  of  oxen,  and  with 
all  the  children,  excepting  Isaac  Finch  and 
Amy  Finch,  who  were  then  visiting  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, prepared  to  fly  from  the  recent 


scene  of  the  bloody  carnival.  As  the  wagon 
was  about  to  pull  out  with  the  household 
goods  and  children,  a  number  of  Indians  see- 
ing one  of  the  servants  standing  by  the 
wagon,  with  savage  yells  and  flourishing 
tomahawks  rushed  upon  him  and  with  their 
tomahawks  dashed  out  his  brains,  bespatter- 
ing with  blood  and  brains  the  five-months- 
old  baby  of  the  deceased  Isaac  Finch  and  his 
widow,  who  was  lying  upon  the  bed-clothing 
in  the  wagon.  The  name  of  this  five-months- 
old  baby  was  Solomon  Finch,  the  last  born. 
The  widow  of  Isaac  Finch,  together  with 
these  children,  then  took  their  departure 
from  the  scene  of  the  massacre  and  after 
many  days  of  tedious,  tiresome  and  danger- 
ous travel,  made  their  way  through  swamp 
and  wilderness  for  some  three  hundred  miles 
to  Genesee  county,  New  York,  where  they 
were  finally  given  shelter,  food  and  clothing, 
and  abided  until  they  were  joined  by  the  son 
and  daughter  who  had  gone  on  the  visit  to 
Massachusetts.  They  finally  built  them  a 
house  of  logs  and  remained  in  this  settle- 
ment for  some  years,  and  until  the  children 
were  grown  and  married. 

It  seems  that  all  the  children  of  Isaac  and 
Amy  Finch  were  married  in  this  part  of 
New  York,  except  Solomon,  who  again  re- 
turned to  the  scene  of  the  battle  where  his 
father  and  other  relatives  had  met  their  death, 
and  there  married  a  Sarah  Gardner,  whose 
father  owned  the  battlefield  on  which  had 
been  fought  the  bloody  battle  of  Wyoming, 
and  here  he  was  married,  and  soon  afterward 
returned  to  Genesee  county,  New  York,  and 
joined  his  relatives.  He  was  married  on  the 
1 3th  day  of  March,  1804. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


213 


Solomon  Finch  was  born  on  the  3ist  day 
of  January,  1778,  married  to  Sarah  Gard- 
ner on  the  1 3th  day  of  March,  1804,  and 
died  on  Elm  Creek  farm,  Clay  county,  Illi- 
nois, in  June,  1851,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
three  ;  and  to  this  union  were  born  Rebecca, 
Mary,  James  Gardner,  Almena,  Solomon, 
Tomkins  and  Amos  Farm  Finch,  Rebecca 
Finch  was  born  January  5,  1805,  in  the 
Wyoming  Valley,  in  Pennsylvania,  married 
to  George  Shirts  in  Indiana,  November 
29,  1821,  and  to  this  union  were  born  Wil- 
liam Shirts,  February  12,  1823,  who  died 
in  1885 ;  Augustus  Finch  Shirts,  Novem- 
ber 26,  1824;  Mary  E.  Shirts,  July  26, 
1826;  Angeline  Shirts,  November  26, 
1828;  Sarah  Shirts,  November  29,  1830, 
and  Hiram  G.  Shirts,  July  15,  1834; 
in  May,  1842,  after  the  death  of  George 
Shirts,  Rebecca  Finch  Shirts  was  married 
to  Jay  Ridgeway,  to  whom  was  born  Solo- 
mon Ridgeway.  Rebecca  Finch  Shifts  died 
in  1873. 

Mary  Finch,  born  January  24,  1807,  in 
Genesee  county,  New  York,  and  was  mar- 
ried to  Hiram  Finch,  son  of  John  Finch, 
who  was  the  son  of  Isaac  Finch,  Novem- 
ber 28,  1829,  and  to  this  union  was  born 
one  son,  Henry  Clay  Finch;  Mary  Finch 
died  December  29,  1839. 

James  Gardner  Finch  was  born  Octo- 
ber 1 6,  1809,  in  Rochester,  New  York,  and 
was  married  to  Sarah  Woodborn,  November 
28,  1833,  settled  in  Clay  county,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1839,  and  to  this  union  was  born  one 
son,  Francis  M.  Finch,  April  29,  1837,  wno 
died  in  Andersonville  prison,  July  27,  1864. 
After  the  death  of  Sarah  Woodburn  Finch. 


James  Gardner  Finch  married  Mary  Ann 
Purdom  on  the  2ist  day  of  July,  1839,  and 
to  this  union  were  born  Walton  H.  Finch, 
October  13,  1840,  and  he  died  in  Pamona, 
California  in  1894,  leaving  a  large  family. 
Cynthia  C.  Finch  was  born  February  24, 
1845;  John  C.  Finch,  born  January  23, 
1847;  George  W.  Finch,  born  June  21, 
1849,  and  died  in  Harper  county,  Kansas, 
in  1896,  leaving  a  large  family;  Henry 
Clay  Finch,  born  October  i,  1852;  Charles 
Sumner  Finch,  born  July  24,  1856;  Flor- 
ence Evaline  Finch  (Kelly),  born  March 
24,  1858;  Almena  Finch,  born  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  January  13,  1812, 
married  to  Stephen  Knolton,  afterwards  to 
Benjamin  Creus,  and  later  to  Gabriel  Man- 
ly, the  latter  to  whom  she  bore  one  daugh- 
ter, Emma  Manly,  July  28,  1832;  Emma 
Manly  married  A.  J.  Hurlock  in  1862,  and 
after  his  death  she  again  married  John 
Ryan,  in  Kansas,  1876. 

Emily  Finch  was  born  to  Solomon  and 
Sarah  Finch,  May  12.  1816.  and  died  Oc- 
tober 13,  1871. 

Augustus  H.  Finch  was  born  to  Solomon 
and  Sarah  Finch  September  i,  1818,  and 
died  November  12,  1820. 

Solomon  Tompkins  Finch  was  born  to 
Solomon  and  Sarah  Gardner  Finch  in 
Hamilton  county,  in  the  state  of  Indiana, 
on  the  2  ist  day  of  November,  1820, 
and  in  February,  1847,  he  moved  with  his 
parents  to  Clay  county,  Illinois,  where  his 
mother,  Sarah  Gardner  Finch,  died  June, 
1847,  and  on  the  22d  day  of  July,  1847,  he 
was  joined  in  marriage  with  Bethsheba 
Long,  who  was  born  April  15,  1831,  and 


214 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


who  was  the  second  daughter  of  Rosamond 
and  Hanna  Stanford  Long,  and  to  this  union 
were  born  Rebecca  Margaret  Finch  in  April, 
1852,  and  who  died  with  premature  con- 
sumption in  March,  1868.  Mary  Elizabeth 
Finch,  who  was  born  in  Flora,  Clay  county, 
Illinois,  on  the  25th  day  of  September, 
1854  (being  the  first  child  born  in  the  city 
of  Flora),  and  Solomon  Tompkins  Finch  on 
the  23d  day  of  February,  1857,  in  the  town 
of  Flora,  Illinois.  On  the  I4th  day  of 
April,  1857,  Solomon  T.  Finch  died,  leav- 
ing surviving  him  Bethsheba  Long  Finch, 
his  widow,  and  the  three  children,  viz :  Re- 
becca Margaret,  Mary  Elizabeth  and  Solo- 
mon Tompkins  Finch.  Solomon  Tompkins 
Finch,  son  of  Solomon  Finch  and  Sarah 
Gardner  Finch,  was  the  first  business  man 
in  Flora,  Clay  county,  Illinois,  having  em- 
barked there  into  business  with  one  George 
Harter,  under  the  firm  name  of  Finch  & 
Harter,  which  continued  until  his  death.  In 
1870  Bethsheba  Long  Finch  on  the  I5th 
day  of  February  was  married  to  John  Re- 
sen  Finch,  who  was  a  son  of  Aaron,  and 
grandson  of  John  Finch,  who  was  a  brother 
of  Moses  and  Solomon  Finch.  To  this 
union  was  born  one  child,  Martha  Luella 
Finch,  on  the  7th  day  of  February,  1871, 
and  on  the  i6th  day  of  July,  1871,  Beth- 
sheba Long  Finch  departed  this  life. 

Amos  Farm  Finch  was  married  to  Lou- 
isa Griffith  August  10,  1852,  and  to  this 
union  was  born  one  son,  Hiram  Clayton 
Finch,  on  the  nth  day  of  May,  1854,  and 
after  the  death  of  Louisa  Griffith  Finch, 
Amos  Farm  Finch  married  Sarah  Eliza- 


beth Davis  on  the  5th  day  of  December, 
1860,  and  to  this  union  were  born  Rosa 
Belle  Finch,  August  21,  1861 ;  Henry  Ern- 
est Finch,  August  28,  1868;  he  married 
Sarah  E.  Sibler;  Clarence  A.  Finch,  Febru- 
ary 6,  1872,  married  Lulu  Morrean  on  No- 
vember 17,  1895,  an(l  Maggie  Elizabeth 
Finch,  November  3,  1875. 

Mary  Elizabeth  Finch  was  on  the  3d  day 
of  February,  1876,  married  to  John  Minor 
Cunningham,  whose  father  was  an  early 
settler  in  Clay  county,  Illinois,  and  to  this 
union  were  born  three  children,  viz :  Fre- 
mont Cunningham,  born  on  the  29th  day  of 
November,  1876,  and  died  six  years  later. 
Nelle  Cunningham  was  born  September  19, 
1878,  and  was  married  to  Jerry  J.  Bow- 
man, October  22,  1902.  Max  Finch  Cun- 
ningham was  born  April  14,  1883. 

Solomon  Tompkins  Finch  was  on  the 
28th  day  of  May,  1884,  married  to  Lillie  Es- 
tella  Pearce,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Fred- 
erick and  Martha  Ingrahm  Pearce.  The 
father,  Frederick  Pearce  having  been  born 
in  Leeds,  England,  came  to  this  country 
with  his  father  when  he  was  but  twelve 
years  of  age ;  first  settled  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania, and  afterward  moved  to  the  city 
of  Pittsburg.  When  at  the  age  of  man- 
hood he  married  Martha  Ingrahm,  and  in 
1858,  moved  with  his  family,  which  con- 
sisted of  his  wife  and  two  children  at  that 
time,  to  Ingrahm  Prairie,  Clay  county,  Il- 
linois; engaged  in  the  milling  business,  and 
was  among  the  first  settlers  of  Flora.  After 
his  removal  to  Flora,  Illinois,  his  youngest 
daughter.  Lillie  Estella  Pearce,  was  born  on 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


2I5 


the  1 3th  of  January,  1862.  To  the  mar- 
riage of  Solomon  Tompkins  Finch  and  Lil- 
lie  Estella  Pearce  were  born  two  sons ;  Earle 
D.  Finch,  born  in  the  city  of  Flora  on  the 
I4th  day  of  March.  1865;  and  Rollae  D. 
Finch  was  bom  in  the  city  of  Flora  on  the 
7th  clay  of  September,  1887. 

Solomon  Tompkins  Finch,  after  taking  a 
preparatory  course  at  Loxa  College,  entered 
the  Michigan  University,  from  which  col- 
lege he  graduated  in  the  law  department,  in 
1879,  and  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Illinois  commenced  the  law  practice  in 
Flora,  Clay  county,  Illinois,  the  home  of  his 
birth. 

Hiram  Clayton  Finch,  after  graduating 
in  medicine,  entered  into  the  practice,  and 
in  1882  moved  to  Iowa,  continuing  the 
practice  and  on  the  6th  day  of  October, 
1882.  was  married  to  Ausis  Oliva  Mat- 
thews in  Jasper  county,  Iowa,  and  to  them 
was  born  one  daughter,  Ethel  Finch,  on  the 
2Qth  day  of  December,  1884. 

Moses  Finch,  son  of  Isaac  and  Amy 
Finch,  was  born  in  the  Wyoming  Valley, 
April  15,  1771,  and  was  married  to  Sarah 
Beanon  in  1789,  and  to  them  were  born 
eleven  sons ;  their  names  were :  Isaac,  Kin- 
ney,  Charles,  Beanon,  Abraham  Wheeler, 
Benoni  Wheeler,  Moses,  Archibald  Wheel- 
er, James  Beanon,  Nathaniel,  Walter  and 
John.  Sarah,  the  mother  of  the  above  sons, 
died  in  Indiana,  June  17,  1831.  The  sons 
all  grew  to  manhood.  Moses  Finch,  after 
the  death  of  Sarah,  his  wife,  married  Alan- 
da  Grange,  a  widow  with  three  sons  and 
two  daughters.  To  Moses  Finch  and  Man- 


da  Grange  Finch  were  born  two  daughters, 
Florilla  and  Rebecca.     Rebecca  married  in 

1860,  and   she  and    her    husband    died   in 

1 86 1.  Florilla  married  a  Doctor  Graydon. 
of  Southport,  Indiana. 

To  John  Finch,  son  of  Isaac  Finch  and 
wife,  were  born  three  sons,  viz ;  Jubal,  John 
and  Cyrus.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died,  after  which  John  Finch  married 
again,  and  by  his  second  marriage  he  begot 
four  daughters,  viz :  Sarah,  who  married  a 
Dr.  Amos  Palmer;  Elizabeth,  who  married 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Davidson  ;  Margaret, 
who  never  married,  and  Laura,  who  mar- 
ried a  man  by  the  name  of  Meak.  After 
the  death  of  the  mother  of  these  children, 
John  Finch  married  the  third  time,  and 
unto  this  marriage  were  born,  Hiram  C. 
Finch,  John  Finch,  Fabious  M.  Finch,  who 
was  a  prominent  lawyer  and  judge  in  In- 
dianapolis, Indiana,  and  lived  to  an  ad- 
vanced age.  Rebecca,  who  married  James 
Holl ;  Angeline,  who  married  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Williams,  Cynthia  married  Dr.  Na- 
thaniel Mall,  and  Horatio  Finch  studied 
law,  and  afterwards  died  in  San  Francisco, 
California. 

Hiram  C.  Finch  was  married  to  Mary 
Finch,  on  the  28th  day  of  November,  1829, 
and  to  this  union  was  born  one  son,  Henry 
Clay  Finch.  Mary  Finch  died  December 
29,  1839.  and  after  her  death,  Hiram  G. 
Finch  married  his  second  wife,  and  to  this 
union  were  born  Frank,  Allice,  who  was 
married  to  John  Connor,  and  Horatio 
Finch.  The  name  of  the  second  wife  of  Hi- 
ram G.  Finch  was  Mariah  Passwatter. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Fabious  M.  Finch  was  married  in 
1810  to  Mariah  Allen,  and  to  this  union 
were  born  John  A.  Finch  and  Alice 
Finch.  John  A.  Finch,  after  having 
studied  law,  made  a  specialty  of  the 
insurance  law,  and  being  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  law  practice  under  the 
firm  name  of  Finch  &  Finch,  became  one  of 
the  first  insurance  lawyers  in  the  United 
States,  and  compiled  what  is  known  in  the 
law  practice  as  Finch's  Insurance  Reports. 
John  A.  Finch  died  suddenly  in  Minneapo- 
lis, Minnesota,  while  on  business  in  that 
city. 

Fabious  M.  Finch  soon  followed  the 
death  of  his  most  honored  son,  and  left 
surviving  his  widow  and  Alice  Finch,  a 
most  estimable  and  accomplished  daughter, 
unmarried.  Aaron  Finch  was  married  in 
Indiana,  1823,  to  Mary  Waddell,  and  after- 
wards moved  to  Clay  county,  Illinois,  and 
settled  on  a  farm  eight  miles  southeast  of 
Flora,  Illinois.  To  Aaron  Finch  and  his 
wife  were  born :  James  Austin  Finch 
and  John  Resen  Finch ;  also  a  daugh- 
ter, Laura.  Aaron  Finch  died  in  the 
early  fifties.  James  Austin  Finch  was 
joined  in  wedlock  with  Mary  P.  Grif- 
fith and  studied  medicine  and  died 
in  the  early  sixties.  To  this  union 
was  born  one  son,  James  Austin  Finch, 
Mary  P.  Finch  died  in  1898.  James  Austin 
Finch  was  married  to  Florence  Brissanden, 
studied  law,  became  well  up  in  his  profes- 
sion, and  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
Prosecuting  Attorney  of  Clay  county  in 
1876,  and  afterwards  located  in  Olney,  Il- 


linois, where  he  died  in  the  summer  of 
1 88 1.  To  this  union  of  James  Austin 
and  Florence  Brissanden  Finch  were  born 
four  children,  viz:  Mary,  William,  Laura 
and  James  Austin. 

John  Resen  Finch  was  born  in  Indiana, 
moved  to  Clay  county,  Illinois,  with  his 
father,  arid  settled  on  the  farm  with  his 
father.  He  first  married  Sarah  Schooley, 
and  to  this  marriage  were  born  one  daugh- 
ter and  one  son,  viz:  Mary  Matilda  and 
William  Fabious  Finch.  After  the  death  of 
his  first  wife  he  married  Rachel  Schooley,  a 
sister  of  his  first  wife,  and  to  this  union 
were  born  one  son  and  one  daughter,  viz: 
Aaron  and  Amy  Finch.  After  the  death  of 
Rachel,  the  second  wife  of  John  Resen 
Finch,  he  then  married  Bethsheba  Long 
Finch,  and  to  this  union  was  born  one 
daughter,  viz :  Martha  Louella  Finch.  After 
the  death  of  Bethsheba  Long  Finch,  John 
Resen  Finch  then  married  one  Sarah  War- 
math,  and  departed  this  life  in  1879,  having 
continued  to  reside  on  the  farm  upon  which 
he  and  his  father  located  upon  moving  to 
Clay  county,  Illinois. 

Augustus  Finch  Shirts,  who  was  born  to 
George  Shirts  and  Rebecca  Finch  Shirts, 
was  born  November  26,  1824,  married  to 
Nancy  Barnhill,  and  to  this  union  were  born 
three  children,  viz:  George  Shirts,  Mary 
Shirts,  who  married  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Baker,  and  Elbert  Shirts.  Augustus  Finch 
Shirts  studied  law.  settled  at  Noblesville, 
Indiana,  became  very  prominent  as  a  law- 
yer, and  as  a  politician,  also  became  noted 
as  the  author  of  the  history  of  Hamilton 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


217 


county,  Indiana,  and  retired  from  the  law- 
practice  in  1900. 

George  Shirts,  son  of  Augustus  Finch 
Shirts,  studied  law,  graduated  at  the  law 
department  of  the  University  of  Michigan, 
in  1876,  entered  the  law  practice  at  Nobles- 
ville,  Indiana,  became  eminent  as  a  corpora- 
tion lawyer,  and  in  1903,  was  selected  by 
the  Governor  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  as 
one  of  the  Codifying  Commission,  and  se- 
lected by  that  body  as  their  clerk. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1814,  Amos  Farm, 
John,  Moses  and  Solomon  Finch,  together 
with  their  families,  went  in  wagons  from 
Genesee  county.  New  York,  to  Olean  Point, 
New  York,  a  point  on  the  tributary  of  the 
Ohio  river,  and  building  a  flat-boat  there, 
they  floated  down  the  river  to  the  Ohio  riv- 
er, and  thence  down  the  Ohio  river  to  North 
Bend,  Ohio,  the  present  site  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  and  after  landing  there,  Solomon  T. 
Finch  took  service  under  Gen.  William  H. 
Harrison  (Old  Tippecanoe),  and  after  the 
war  was  over  still  remained  with  him  for  a 
time  as  superintendent  of  his  plantations, 
the  old  log  cabins  that  were  famous  during 
the  campaign  of  Gen.  William  H.  Harrison 
as  a  candidate  for  President.  Enoch  Finch 
settled  somewhere  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Ohio,  and  Moses  and  John  went  to  Brook- 
ville,  Indiana,  engaged  to  some  extent  in 
the  milling  business  there,  and  afterward 
went  to  Connersville,  and  were  there  joined 
by  Solomon  Finch.  Soon  afterward  Moses 
went  to  Michigan,  and  died  there  at  an  ad- 
vanced age. 

In  April,   1819,  Solomon  Finch  and  his 


family  and  part  of  the  family  of  John 
Finch,  moved  from  Connersville  to  Hamil- 
ton county,  Indiana,  and  settled  on  what 
was  then  known  as  Horse  Shoe  prairie, 
about  two  miles  from  the  present  site  of 
Noblesville,  Indiana,  the  county  seat  of 
Hamilton  county,  and  they  were  followed 
in  the  following  September  by  John  Finch, 
and  the  remainder  of  his  family.  John 
Finch  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age,  and  as  shown 
many  were  his  sons  and  daughters.  He 
died  in  Hamilton  county,  Indiana. 

The  compiler  of  these  accounts,  including 
deaths,  births,  marriages  and  events,  has 
relied  upon  statistics  furnished  him  by  old 
members  of  the  family  in  its  various 
brandies,  and  on  the  war  records  fur- 
nished him  from  the  department  at  Wash- 
ington, and  on  letters  from  the  Lord  Mayor 
of  Nottingham,  England,  and  on  the  true 
historical  data  as  furnished  by  reliable  au- 
thors. He  has  compiled  this  short  history 
not  for  any  compensation,  but  because  he 
has  felt  that  it  ought  to  have  been  done  by 
some  member  of  the  family,  but  up  to  this 
time,  they  have  all  been  too  busy  a  lot  of 
Finchs  to  give  it  their  attention. 


JOHN  R.  FRENCH. 

The  subject  is  the  obliging  and  well 
known  hotel  proprietor,  insurance  and  real 
estate  dealer  of  Kell,  Haines  township, 
Marion  county,  who  has  spent  his  life  with- 
in the  borders  of  the  same,  having  been 


nior.KAI'HICAL    AXD    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


identified  with  the  growth  and  taken  no 
small  part  in  the  same.  He  was  born  Au- 
gust 4,  1861,  the  son  of  Gilbert  W.  and 
Louisa  (O'Bryant)  French.  John  R. 
French's  father,  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1835. 
He  was  a  native  of  Tennessee  and  the  son 
of  John  P.  and  —  —  (Hartman)  French. 
John  P.  French  was  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  moved  to  Tennessee  in  an  early 
day  and  in  1835  came  to  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  locating  in  Tonti  township,  where 
he  devoted  his  life  to  farming,  having  died 
in  the  town  of  Alma.  The  subject's  grand- 
father was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812. 
Gilbert  French  and  his  first  wife  were  the 
parents  of  four  children,  namely :  Angie,  the 
wife  of  Mathew  Organ;  Louisa,  who  was 
the  wife  of  J.  N.  Jones,  is  deceased;  John 
R.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Amanda  is 
the  wife  of  J.  W.  Ross,  of  Centralia,  this 
county.  The  subject's  father  married  Mary 
Howard,  and  three  children  were  born  to 
this  union,  Thomas,  living  in  Kinmundy, 
this  county;  Harry  B.,  of  Odin,  Illinois; 
Rachel  is  the  wife  of  E.  W.  Wilson,  of 
Alma,  Illinois. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  on 
a  farm  near  Alma  and  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  After  farming  for  a 
while,  he  learned  the  plasterer's  and  brick 
layer's  trade.  In  1891  he  clerked  in  a  store 
at  Alma,  this  county,  and  in  1894  he  en- 
tered business  in  a  general  store  in  Alma 
which  he  successfully  conducted  for  a  peri- 
od of  eight  years,  when  he  sold  out  aud 
went  back  to  farming,  which  he  followed 


for  a  while,  then  he  moved  to  Newton,  Il- 
linois, and  bought  a  furniture  factory  and  a 
restaurant,  ice  cream  parlor  and  bakery,  all 
of  which  he  conducted  with  great  success- 
until  in  May,  1907,  when  he  came  to  Kell 
and  bought  the  hotel  here,  which  he 
has  since  conducted  in  such  an  able  manner 
that  it  has  become  known  to  the  traveling 
public  as  a  comfortable  and  well  conducted 
hostelry,  where  no  pains  are  spared  to  make 
guests  feel  at  home  and  comfortable.  He 
has  built  up  a  good  business  which  is  con- 
stantly growing.  He  also  finds  time  to  do 
considerable  business  in  insurance  and  real 
estate. 

Mr.  French  was  united  in  marriage  in 
December,  1886,  to  Etta  Sweet,  who  was 
born  in  Alma  township,  the  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Sarah  (Carnes)  Sweet,  a  well 
known  family  of  their  community. 

The  subject  and  his  wife  are  the  parents 
of  the  following  children:  Edward  is 
single  and  living  at  home  and  is  engaged  in 
the  restaurant  and  bakery  business.  He  has 
a  modern  and  fully  equipped  bakery  and 
does  an  extensive  business,  shipping  bread 
to  many  outside  towns ;  Cora,  the  second 
child,  is  living  at  home;  Bessie  is  the  wife 
of  Wesley  Howard;  Gladys,  who  is  living 
at  home  attending  school;  Clara  is  living 
at  home;  Clifford  is  a  baby  at  this  writing, 
(1908.) 

Mr.  French  is  a  Democrat.  He  has  ably 
served  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  eight 
years  in  Alma  township  and  he  was  School 
Treasurer  for  four  terms  of  two  years  each. 
In  1892  he  made  the  race  for  the  nomina- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


2I9 


tion  on  the  Democratic  ticket  for  County 
Clerk,  but  was  defeated,  however,  the  re- 
sults showed  that  our  subject  was  a  popu- 
lar man  in  the  convention.  Mr.  French 
helped  incorporate  the  village  of  Alma.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  the  first  board  that 
organized  the  Building  and  Loan  Associa- 
tion at  Alma,  Illinois.  Our  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  Amer- 
ica, being  a  charter  member  at  Alma.  His 
son,  Edward,  is  also  a  member  of  the  Mod- 
ern Woodmen  of  America  at  Kell.  Mr. 
French  is  known  to  be  a  man  of  strictly 
honest  business  principles,  industrious, 
pleasant  and  agreeable,  making  both  friends 
and  visitors  feel  at  home. 


HON.  WILLIAM  BOWER. 

It  is  both  gratifying  and  profitable  to  en- 
ter record  concerning  such  a  man  as  he 
whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  life 
record,  and  in  the  following  outline  suffi- 
cient will  be  said  to  indicate  the  forceful  in- 
dividuality, initiative  power  and  sterling 
character,  which  have  had  such  a  decided  in- 
fluence in  making  their  possessor  a  leader  in 
enterprises  requiring  the  highest  order  of 
business  talent,  and  to  gain  for  him  wide 
publicity  among  those  who  shape  and  direct 
policies  of  more  than  ordinary  consequence. 

William  Bower,  the  well  known  druggist 
of  Olney,  Illinois,  was  born  May  21,  1842, 
the  second  child  of  Philip  P.  and  Mary 
(Dundore)  Bower,  the  former  a  native  of 


Germany,  and  the  latter  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  father  was  bom  in  Hesse-Darmstadt  in 
1804,  and  when  twenty  years  old  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  and  lived  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, first  settling  in  Philadelphia  in  1840. 
His  first  wife  died  in  the  old  Keystone  state 
and  he  married  the  subject's  mother,  a  na- 
tive of  Lancaster,  and  the  daughter  of  Philip 
Dundore,  of  German  descent.  Philip  Bower 
moved  to  Jeromeville,  Ohio,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1840  came  to  Olney,  Illinois.  He 
worked  at  the  cabinet  maker's  trade  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  also  engaged  in  merchandis- 
ing and  farming.  His  death  occurred  in  the 
fall  of  1873,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  years. 
William  Bower,  our  subject,  is  a  member 
of  a  family  of  six  children,  born  to  Philip  P. 
Bower  by  his  second  wife,  being  the  second 
white  male  child  born  in  what  is  now  the 
city  of  Olney.  The  mother  of  the  subject 
was  called  to  her  rest  in  1856.  Our  subject 
attended  school  at  the  old  log  school-house 
of  Olney,  having  finished  his  education  at 
the  Olney  Seminary,  where  he  applied  him- 
self in  such  a  careful  manner  that  he  re- 
ceived a  good  education.  He  began  to  make 
his  own  way  in  the  world  soon  after  his 
mother's  death,  leaving  his  parental  fireside 
at  that  time.  Beginning  life  as  a  teacher, 
he  taught  a  six  months'  term  at  Macksburg 
and  afterward  two  terms  in  Olney,  making 
a  success  in  this  line,  but  not  feeling  that 
this  should  be  his  life  work,  he  began  learn- 
ing the  trade  of  marble  cutter  and  later  en- 
gaged to  learn  the  trade  of  watch  maker, 
having  worked  a  few  months  at  each,  but  he 
never  finished  either.  He  then  engaged  with 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


K.  D.  Horrall,  then  as  now,  a  hardware 
merchant  in  Olney.  He  was  to  receive  three 
dollars  per  month  for  the  first  year,  four 
dollars  per  month  during  the  second  year, 
and  an  increase  of  one  dollar  each  month 
for  the  third  year,  also  board  and  lodging. 
After  remaining  at  this  for  a  period  of  two 
years,  Mr.  Bower  could  not  restrain  the  pa- 
triotic fervor  he  felt  when  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion  began,  consequently  he  enlisted  in 
the  spring  of  1861  in  Company  D,  Eighth 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  under  Colonel 
Oglesby,  afterward  Governor  of  Illinois. 
After  serving  his  enlistment  of  three 
months,  proving  to  be  a  very  capable  sol- 
dier, he  returned  home  and  taught  school, 
working  at  night  at  the  tinner's  trade.  In 
the  spring  of  1863  he  engaged  to  Charles 
Schultz  as  sutler  clerk.  While  thus  em- 
ployed he  was  captured  by  General  Whee- 
ler's forces,  shortly  after  the  battle  of  Chat- 
tanooga, but  after  being  held  prisoner  for  a 
few  days,  was  paroled  and  sent  north. 

In  October.  1863,  Mr.  Bower  bought  a 
stock  of  tinware  and  stoves  and  carried  on 
a  business  in  Olney  until  the  following  De- 
cember, when  he  sold  out  and  bought  a  half 
interest  in  the  drug  store  of  Dr.  E.  W. 
Ridgway.  Fifteen  months  later  he  pur- 
chased his  partner's  interest  and  has  since 
conducted  the  business  alone,  now  being  the 
oldest  druggist  in  point  of  years  of  continu- 
ous trade  in  Richland  county.  He  was  suc- 
cessful in  this  line  from  the  first  and  his 
business  has  gradually  increased  until  he  has 
quite  an  extensive  trade  throughout  this  lo- 
cality. Mr.  Bower  is  the  second  oldest  busi- 


ness man  in  years  of  uninterrupted  dealing 
in  Olney.  He  has  been  actively  identified 
with  the  Illinois  Pharmaceutical  Association 
for  many  years,  having  served  as  its  first 
vice  president  and  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee on  legislation  during  the  period  when  the 
Illinois  pharmaceutical  law  was  first  en- 
acted. On  November  29,  1864,  Mr.  Bower 
was  married  to  Sarah  E.  Ridgway,  a  repre- 
sentative of  a  well  known  family.  Her  father 
having  been  the  late  Dr.  E.  W.  Ridgway. 
She  was  born  in  Mansfield,  Ohio.  Four 
children  have  been  born  to  the  subject  and 
wife,  as  follows :  Catella,  now  the  wife  of 
M.  E.  Sebree,  now  superintendent  of  the 
Indiana  Southern  Railroad  Company ;  Ernst 
Zeledon,  who  is  in  the  store  with  his  father, 
also  owner  and  manager  of  the  "Bower 
Knoll  Stock  Farm",  the  home  of  "John  G. 
Carlyle"  and  other  high  bred  horses ;  Emma 
died  at  the  age  of  four  years  and  Nina  when 
two  years  old.  The  children  of  Mr.  Bower 
have  received  good  educations  and  are  cul- 
tured and  popular. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bower  are  members  of  the 
New,  or  Swedenborgian  church.  In  politics 
our  subject  is  a  Democrat.  He  served  as 
Alderman  from  the  second  ward  in  Olney 
in  the  early  seventies,  and  was  elected  by  a 
large  majority  from  the  forty- fourth  dis- 
trict as  representative  to  the  Thirty-first  Il- 
linois General  Assembly,  where  he  served  as 
a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Education, 
Printing  and  Militia.  He  was  the  author 
of  some  important  measures  and  proved  a 
most  industrious  and  useful  member,  show- 
ing that  he  was  thoroughly  alive  to  the  in- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


terests  of  his  constituents  and  he  succeeded 
in  making  his  influence  felt  in  that  body, 
gaining  the  admiration  of  all  concerned  for 
his  clear  and  logical  counsel.  Mr.  Bower 
was  elected  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Olney  in 
the  spring  of  1901,  serving  one  term  during 
which  the  city's  interests  were  carefully  con- 
served and  many  new  policies  inaugurated 
that  will  be  of  lasting  benefit  to  the  commu- 
ity.  During  the  two  years  in  which  he  served 
as  Mayor,  among  the  more  important  things 
accomplished  for  the  public  good  was  the 
building  of  the  reservoir,  costing  over  six 
thousand  dollars,  the  city  building  remod- 
eled, the  Bower  Park  established  and  over 
four  thousand  dollars  expended  for  water 
pipes,  and  there  was  an  unusual  activity  in 
all  departments  of  the  city,  while  the  debts 
of  the  city  were  not  increased,  but  on  the 
contrary,  were  somewhat  reduced.  During 
Mr.  Bower's  term  an  epidemic  of  smallpox 
was  wiped  out  at  a  cost  of  over  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars. 

Socially  Mr.  Bower  is  a  Royal  Arch  Ma- 
son, also  belongs  to  the  Richland  Lodge 
No.  1 80,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic. 

Mr.  Bower  has  one  of  the  most  extensive 
drug  stores  in  this  part  of  the  state,  carrying 
a  very  carefully  selected  stock  ranging  from 
twelve  thousand  to  fifteen  thousand  dollars, 
consisting  of  all  kinds  of  drugs,  physicians' 
supplies,  books,  paints,  wall  paper.  He  oc- 
cupies his  own  building,  a  substantial  two- 
story  stone  structure,  twety-five  by  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  feet,  running  from  Main 


to  Market  streets,  and  lie  also  has  a  very 
pleasant  home. 

In  all  the  relations  of  life  our  subject  has 
proven  true  to  the  trusts  imposed  upon  him, 
and  because  of  his  past  honorable  record, 
his  public-spirit,  his  genial  disposition  and 
his  honesty  of  purpose,  he  is  held  in  high  es- 
teem bv  all  who  know  him. 


SAMUEL  W.  JONES. 

The  honored  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  sterling  pioneer 
families  of  Marion  county  and  is  personally 
identified  with  the  industrial  interests  of 
this  section  of  the  state  where  he  has  spent 
his  life,  being  the  owner  of  a  fine  farming 
property  in  Kinmundy  township. 

Samuel  W.  Jones  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  September  15,  1858,  and 
he  has  preferred  to  spend  his  entire  life 
within  the  borders  of  the  same,  where  he 
believed  he  would  have  better  advantages 
among  the  people  where  the  Jones  family 
had  long  been  noted  for  their  industry  and 
honesty,  than  he  would  have  in  other  coun- 
ties of  this  or  any  other  state  of  our  great 
Union.  He  is  the  son  of  Jackson  C.  and 
Margaret  (Whiteside)  Jones.  A  history  of 
the  subject's  father  and  mother  and  their 
ancestry  will  be  found  under  the  head  of 
James  R.  Jones,  whose  sketch  appears  in 
another  part  of  this  volume. 

Our  subject  received  his  early  education 
in  the  district  schools  where  he  applied  him- 


lilOGU.U'HICAL    AX1)    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


self  in  a  diligent  manner  to  his  books  and 
received  a  fairly  good  education,  having  fed 
a  large  herd  of  his  father's  cattle  in  the 
meantime.  He  left  school  at  the  age  of 
nineteen  and  began  farming,  which  enter- 
prise he  has  since  been  identified  with  and 
which  he  has  made  a  great  success,  being 
recognized  today  as  one  of  the  leading  ag- 
riculturists of  his  community.  He  has  pros- 
pered until  he  has  become  the  owner  of  a 
valuable  farm  consisting  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  acres.  His  land  is  under  a 
high  state  of  cultivation  and  the  soil  has 
been  kept  in  a  very  good  condition  through 
proper  management  until  excellent  crops 
are  reaped  from  it  year  by  year,  the  sub- 
ject being  thus  enabled  to  make  a  comfort- 
able living  and  also  lay  by  something  for 
the  future.  He  has  a  good  income  also 
from  his  stock,  being  especially  interested  in 
the  raising  of  Poland  China  hogs  and 
Shropshire  sheep,  both  being  noted  for  their 
excellent  quality,  for  Mr.  Jones  certainly 
understands  the  successful  handling  of 
stock.  He  has  a  nice,  modern  and  com- 
fortable dwelling  and  a  large  number  of 
good  outbuildings,  in  fact  everything  about 
his  place  shows  excellent  management  and 
prosperity. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  Sep- 
tember 20,  1877,  to  Hannah  Atkins,  who 
was  born  in  Foster  township,  Marion  coun- 
ty, December  24,  1861,  the  daughter,  of 
Nathan  Atkins,  who  was  born  August  28, 
1817,  in  Alabama.  He  came  to  Illinois 
when  a  young  man  and  took  up  govern- 
ment land,  cleared  a  farm  which  he  contin- 


ued to  work  the  rest  of  his  life  and  on  which 
he  reared  a  family  of  twelve  children,  eight 
boys  and  four  girls,  five  of  whom  are  still 
living.  Their  names  are  James,  Moses,  John, 
Thomas,  Barbara,  Margaret,  George,  all 
deceased:  Joseph,  Richard,  Hannah,  Eliza- 
beth and  Catherine,  all  living.  Nathan  At- 
kins has  long  since  passed  to  his  rest.  He 
married  Mary  Garrett,  the  daughter  of 
Moses  and  Hannah  Garrett,  pioneers  of  this 
county. 

Our  subject  and  wife  are  the  parents  of 
three  living  children  and  one  child  that  is 
dead.  Their  names  are,  Charles  W.,  Wil- 
liam O.,  deceased;  Bessie  C,  and  Mary  J. 
Charles  W.  J'ones  married  Susie  Pearson, 
and  they  have  one  son,  named  Carroll  G. 
William  Pearson,  the  father  of  Charles  W. 
Jones's  wife,  was  born  in  Marion  county. 
Her.  mother's  name  was  Emiline  Anglin, 
who  was  also  born  in  this  county.  William 
Pearson  was  the  father  of  six  children,  two 
boys  and  four  girls.  Mrs.  Hannah  Jones 
was  educated  in  the  country  schools  of  this 
county  where  she  diligently  applied  herself 
until  she  was  sixteen  years  of  age  when  she 
was  married  to  our  subject  who  was  nine- 
teen. She  is  a  good  housewife  and  mother, 
of  a  cheerful  disposition  and  is  beloved  by 
all  who  know  her  for  her  many  beautiful 
traits  of  character. 

Our  subject,  while  not  a  member  of  any 
church,  is  a  believer  of  the  principles  of 
Christianity  and  good  government.  He  is 
a  stanch  Democrat  and  his  support  can  al- 
ways be  depended  upon  when  any  measure 
looking  to  the  public  good  are  at  issue. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


223 


JAMES  W.  ARNOLD. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  citizen  of 
Foster  township,  Marion  county,  and  he  is 
so  loyal  to  what  he  considers  his  duty  that 
no  personal  consideration  will  deter  him 
from  its  accomplishment.  It  is  such  worthy 
citizens  as  Mr.  Arnold  who  have  made  this 
county  the  productive  and  prosperous  region 
that  it  is  today. 

James  W.  Arnold  was  born  in  section  9, 
Foster  township,  February  14,  1847,  the  son 
of  John  Wesley  Arnold,  who  was  born  in 
Alabama,  he  the  son  of  John  Arnold,  of 
Georgia.  He  married  Elizabeth  Webb  and 
they  came  to  Illinois,  settling  near  Charles- 
ton in  1825,  where  they  remained  for  one 
year,  when  they  went  back  to  Alabama. 
Twelve  years  later  they  located  near  Leba- 
non, Illinois,  where  they  remained  until 
1844,  when  they  moved  to  Foster  township, 
Marion  county,  buying  land  there.  Later 
they  went  to  Ellis  county,  Texas,  where  Mr. 
Arnold  died  in  1887,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
seven  years.  His  wife  died  in  Foster  town- 
ship, this  county.  Mr.  Arnold  was  a  farmer 
and  also  owned  a  mill.  The  following  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them :  William ;  Nancy, 
of  Cairo,  Illinois ;  John  W.,  Joseph ;  Adeline, 
who  is  living  in  Missouri ;  Margaret,  Esther, 
Ivey,  living  in  Oklahoma;  James  A.,  Felix, 
Nathan  of  Texas;  Fletcher  was  killed  at 
Atlanta,  Georgia,  during  the  Civil  war. 

John  Wesley  Arnold  married  Nancy 
Jones,  of  Foster  township,  Marion  county, 
the  daughter  of  James  and  Laura  Jones. 
He  settled  in  section  9,  Foster  township, 


where  he  secured-  wild  land  and  made  a 
home.  He  was  always  a  farmer  and  stock 
raiser  and  owned  five  hundred  acres  of  good 
land.  He  was  active  in  politics,  being  a  Re- 
publican, and  was  at  one  time  Supervisor  of 
Foster  township.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  was  born 
in  1820  and  his  death  occurred  in  1889.  His 
wife  was  born  in  1827  and  died  in  February, 
1905.  Seven  children  were  born  to  them 
as  follows:  James  W.,  our  subject;  Mary 
E.,  who  married  Alexander  Mussey,  living 
near  Vernon,  Illinois;  John  I.  is  living  re- 
tired in  Foster  township;  Elizabeth  married 
John  Doolen,  living  at  Kinmundy,  this 
county;  Joseph  T.  lives  at  Kinmundy;  Eli 
M.  is  in  the  oil  business  at  Shawnee,  Okla- 
homa; Rosie  E.  married  Isom  W.  Doolen, 
living  at  Vernon,  this  county. 

James  W.  Arnold,  our  subject,  attended 
the  home  schools.  He  remained  a  member 
of  the  family  circle  until  his  marriage,  No- 
vember 1 8,  1869,  to  Permelia  J.  Robb,  who 
was  born  in  Kinmundy  township,  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Agnes  Pruitt,  who 
were  pioneers  of  this  county  and  who  died 
here.  The  following  children  have  been 
born  to  the  subject  and  wife :  Cyrus  Elmer, 
a  farmer  in  Foster  township,  who  married 
Ann  Green  and  who  has  one  child,  Gladys; 
Samuel  W.,  living  in  section  3,  Foster 
township,  was  married  first  to  Jennie  Green, 
and  his  second  wife  was  Isabelle  Nichols. 
He  had  two  children  by  his  first  wife,  Doris 
and  Dale,  and  two  children  by  his  second 
wife,  Thelma  and  an  infant  born  in  1908. 
Lola  Etta  is  the  name  of  the  subject's  third 


224 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AXI1    RKM I XISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


child,  who  is  the  wife  of  Cyrus  Green,  of 
Foster  township,  and  the  mother  of  four 
children,  Glen,  Lovell,  Anna  and  Russell; 
Orin  M.,  graduate  of  the  Business  College 
of  Dixon,  Illinois,  married  Laura  Garrett, 
of  Foster  township,  is  farming  and  they 
have  two  children,  Florence  and  Harold  D. 
The  subject's  children  were  educated  in  the 
home  schools,  receiving  careful  mental  train- 
ing, and  they  all  give  much  promise  of  suc- 
cessful futures. 

After  Mr.  Arnold's  marriage  he  lived  on 
the  old  home  place  for  two  years  when  he 
bought  the  place  where  he  now  lives,  con- 
sisting of  one  hundred  and  eighty-three 
acres.  He  at  one  time  owned  considerably 
more  but  gave  it  to  his  children.  Besides 
his  farming  Mr.  Arnold  successfully  oper- 
ated a  saw  mill  for  a  while.  He  also 
managed  a  store  at  Lester,  Illinois,  for  two 
years  and  was  also  successful  in  this  venture. 
He  was  postmaster  of  that  town,  giving  en- 
tire satisfaction  to  all  concerned.  He  made 
all  the  improvements  of  his  farm  which  now 
ranks  among  the  best  in  Marion  county. 
He  has  a  most  excellent  and  valuable  apple 
and  peach  orchard,  consisting  of  forty  acres, 
also  of  small  fruits.  He  carries  on  general 
farming  and  stock  raising.  He  is  active  in 
politics,  being  a  Republican,  and  he  has 
filled  all  the  township  offices.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In 
his  fraternal  relations  he  is  a  Mason,  the 
Blue  Lodge,  No.  398,  at  Kinmundy,  Illi- 
nois. Mr.  Arnold  is  well  known  through- 
out Marion  county  for  his  industry  and  his 
honesty  in  dealing  with  his  fellow  men. 


THOMAS  A.   PATTON. 

For  various  reasons  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  deemed  eligible  for  specific  men- 
tion in  this  volume,  not  the  least  of  which 
is  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the  brave 
"boys  in  blue"  who  offered  his  services  in 
defense  of  his  country  during  the  dark  days 
of  the  sixties.  His  life  has  been  one  of  hon- 
est endeavor  and  filled  with  good  deeds 
throughout,  and  now  in  its  golden  evening 
he  is  enjoying  a  respite  in  his  serene  home 
in  Centralia  township,  Marion  county. 

Thomas  A.  Patton  was  born  in  Mt.  Ver- 
non  township,  Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  De- 
cember 8,  1837,  the  son  of  Austin  and  Ange- 
line  (Thorne)  Patton,  the  former  a  well 
known  physician,  both  natives  of  Virginia, 
of  which  state  William  Patton,  the  subject's 
grandfather,  was  also  a  native.  Austin 
Patton  grew  up  in  Virginia,  receiving  only 
a  limited  education,  but  he  was  ambitious 
and  became  self-educated,  reading  medicine 
with  Dr.  Frost,  of  Jefferson  county,  Illinois, 
beginning  practice  at  Walnut  Hill,  where  he 
located  about  1830.  He  secured  a  farm  of 
three  hundred  acres,  but  devoted  most  of 
his  time  to  his  practice,  which  was  always 
large.  He  became  widely  known,  and  is  re- 
membered as  a  very  jolly  man,  resulting  in 
his  winning  hosts  of  friends.  Although  a 
good  Democrat,  he  never  held  office.  His 
death  occurred  in  1896.  His  first  wife  died 
December  24,  1837,  and  he  was  married  a 
second  time  to  Ann  Bateman,  a  native  of 
Jefferson  county,  Illinois.  She  is  now  liv- 
ing at  Walnut  Hill.  Austin  Patton  and 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


225 


wife  were  the  parents  of  three  children, 
namely :  William,  deceased ;  Mary,  also  de- 
ceased; Thomas  A.,  our  subject.  Nine 
children  were  born  to  Austin  Patton  and 
his  second  wife,  as  follows :  James  L.,  de- 
ceased, was  a  farmer  at  Walnut  Hill;  Li- 
vona  J.,  deceased;  Lewis  J.  is  a  farmer,  liv- 
ing at  Newton  county,  Kansas;  Joseph  T. 
is  a  farmer  in  Harvey  county,  Kansas; 
Iduma  A.,  deceased :  George  B.  is  a  farmer, 
living  in  Jefferson  county,  Illinois;  Carula, 
who  first  married  Bell  Talbott  and  then 
Frank  Gore,  of  Walnut  Hill;  Ila  C,  who 
married  Willa  Copple,  of  Centralia  town- 
ship ;  Omer  P.  is  farming  on  part  of  the  old 
homestead  in  Centralia  township.  He  mar- 
ried Helen  Telford. 

Our  subject  had  only  a  limited  chance 
to  attend  school,  having  studied  in  a  sub- 
scription school  for  a  time.  Living  at  home 
until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old,  he  then 
started  in  business  for  himself  in  Centralia 
township,  section  36,  and  farmed  there  with 
great  success  for  seven  years,  when  he 
bought  a  farm  in  Raccoon  township,  con- 
sisting of  forty  acres  of  new  and  unim- 
proved land  on  which  he  remained  for  four 
years,  then  selling  it  and  renting  near  Wal- 
nut Hill  in  Jefferson  county.  In  1881  he 
bought  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  Rome 
township,  Jefferson  county,  which  he 
worked  with  most  gratifying  results  until 
he  retired  in  1902,  when  he  sold  out  and 
moved  to  Walnut  Hill,  having  since  lived 
retired. 

Mr.  Patton  was  first  united  in  mar- 
riage in  1861,  to  Alena  Smith,  of  Walnut 


Hill,  and  she  passed  to  her  rest  May  19, 
1901.  He  married  again,  his  second  wife 
being  Augusta  Maltimore,  whom  he  married 
October  5,  1905.  She  was  the  widow  of 
Christopher  H.  Maltimore,  of  Ohio,  and 
she  was  the  daughter  of  Benjamin  F.Nelms, 
who  married  Nancy  Bailey,  the  former  was 
of  Virginia  and  the  latter  of  Kentucky. 
Benjamin  Nelms  was  the  son  of  Jerry 
Nelms,  a  native  of  Virginia.  His  father 
was  also  a  Virginian.  The  first  of  the  fam- 
ily to  come  to  Illinois  was  Jerry's  wife, 
Mary  A.  He  died  in  St.  Genevieve,  Mis- 
souri, and  his  wife,  in  1854,  came  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  and  located  on  a  farm  near 
Walnut  Hill,  where  she  died,  in  1897.  He 
now  lives  at  Decatur,  Illinois.  Mrs.  Pat- 
ton  had  one  daughter,  Mary  L.,  by  her  first 
marriage. 

Five  children  were  born  to  the  subject 
by  his  first  wife,  namely:  William  L.,  who 
is  living  in  Centralia  township  on  a  farm, 
and  who  married  Cordelia  Snow;  Zina  D. 
married  Alta  Kell,  and  is  living  on  a  farm 
in  Jefferson  county,  Illinois;  May  married 
Oscar  Breeze,  of  Jefferson  county;  Mary 
married  Edward  Watts,  of  Centralia,  Illi- 
nois ;  Frank  L.  is  a  stationary  engineer  in 
the  mines,  now  located  in  North  Dakota. 

Our  subject  has  always  been  a  farmer, 
and  being  interested  in  public  affairs,  he  has 
been  entrusted  with  various  local  offices. 
He  was  Highway  Commissioner  at  one  time 
and  School  Director  for  twenty  years.  He 
has  always  voted  the  Republican  ticket,  hav- 
ing cast  his  first  ballot  for  Abraham  Lin- 
coln in  1860.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
having1  been  identified  with  lodge  NQ.  710, 
at  Walnut  Hill  for  the  past  thirty-five  years. 
Our  subject  enlisted  August  12,  1862,  in 
Company  H.  Eightieth  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry,  at  Centralia,  under  Colonel  Allen. 
He  was  sent  to  Louisville,  and  later  to  Per- 
ryville,  Kentucky,  being  in  the  battle  there, 
October  8,  1862.  He  was  in  the  battle  of 
Stone  River,  also  at  Knoxville,  and  at  Chat- 
tanooga in  the  spring  of  1863.  He  was 
picked  out  of  a  division  of  men  to  go  on  an 
expedition  into  Georgia.  At  Rome  the 
whole  number  of  men  on  this  expedition, 
consisting  of  fifteen  thousand,  were  cap- 
tured and  sent  to  Belle  Isle  Prison,  where 
they  were  held  for  fifteen  days  and  paroled. 
They  went  to  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  where  they 
remained  for  ten  days,  when  they  were  sent 
to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  they  remained 
fifteen  days.  On  July  4,  1863,  they  reor- 
ganized and  went  to  Nashville,  Tennessee. 
They  opened  up  the  valley  leading  to  Look- 
out Mountain,  and  after  remaining  there 
for  about  forty  days,  they  went  to  Mission- 
ary Ridge  and  engaged  in  the  battle  there, 
also  at  Lookout  Mountain,  after  which  they 
went  into  winter  quarters  in  Chattanooga. 
The  subject  contracted  rheumatism  and 
could  not  go  on  the  Atlanta  campaign,  con- 
sequently he  was  transferred  to  the  veteran 
reserve  and  was  detailed  to  the  hospital 
steamer  for  Washington  City,  District  of 
Columbia,  and  was  sent  to  City  Point,  Vir- 
ginia, to  look  after  the  sick  and  wounded  of 
Grant's  army.  Part  of  the  time  the  sub- 
ject was  located  in  Washington  City,  New 


York,  Annapolis,  Fortress  Monroe,  Vir- 
ginia, having  served  in  this  capacity  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  was  discharged 
June  15,  1865,  at  Washington  City.  He  re- 
ceived two  scalp  wounds  and  was  shot 
through  the  hat  once.  These  wounds  have 
troubled  him  a  great  deal  since  the  war. 

Mr.  Patton  is  a  good  scholar,  is  well 
posted  on  current  topics  and  is  a  fine  con- 
versationalist. He  is  held  in  high  esteem 
by  the  people  of  Marion  county  for  his  life 
of  industry,  his  honesty  and  friendly  man- 
ners. 


SOLOMON  T.  FINCH. 

One  of  the  men  who  has  stamped  the  im- 
press of  his  strong  individuality  upon  the 
minds  of  the  people  of  Clay  county  in  a  man- 
ner as  to  render  him  one  of  the  conspicu- 
ous characters  of  this  locality,  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  one  of  the  prominent  at- 
torneys of  the  southern  part  of  the  common- 
wealth of  Illinois.  Faithfulness  to  duty  and 
a  strict  adherence  to  a  fixed  purpose,  which 
always  do  more  to  advance  a  man's  inter- 
ests than  wealth  or  advantageous  circum- 
stances, have  been  dominating  factors  in  his 
life,  which  has  been  replete  with  honor  and 
success  worthily  attained. 

Solomon  T.  Finch  was  born  in  Flora, 
Clay  county.  February  23.  1857,  the  son 
of  Solomon  T.  Finch,  who  was  born  in 
Indiana,  and  who  came  to  Illinois  in 
1849,  settling  in  Clay  county.  He  was 
the  first  merchant  in  Flora,  and  was  influ- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


227 


ential  in  the  affairs  of  the  pioneer  days  of 
this  community.  He  was  in  business  here 
until  his  death  in  1857.  The  subject's  pa- 
ternal grandfather  was  also  named  Solo- 
mon. He  was  a  native  of  New  York, 
having  removed  from  the  Empire  state  to 
Southern  Indiana,  and  was  superintendent 
of  the  log  cabin  display  in  General  Har- 
rison's campaign  in  1832.  He  came  to  Il- 
linois with  his  father  in  1849.  His  death 
occurred  in  1851.  The  subject's  mother 
was  Bathsheba  Long,  who  was  a  native  of 
Virginia.  She  passed  to  her  rest  in  1872. 
She  was  a  representative  of  a  fine  old 
southern  family.  Three  children  were  born 
to  the  subject's  parents,  namely:  Rebecca 
was  born  in  1852,  and  died  when  fifteen 
years  old;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  J.  M.  Cun- 
ningham, of  Flora,  she  having  been  the  first 
child  born  in  Flora,  the  date  of  her  birth 
being  1854;  Solomon  T.,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  is  the  youngest  child.  The 
father  of  the  subject  moved  to  Flora  in 
1853,  ar>d  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness. 

Mr.  Finch  received  his  preliminary 
schooling  in  the  common  schools  of  Flora. 
He  attended  Loxa  College  in  Coles  county, 
this  state.  Desiring  a  higher  education,  he 
entered  the  University  of  Michigan  in  1876, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1879,  from  the 
law  department,  having  made  a  brilliant 
record  in  the  same.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1880,  and  has  been  engaged  in 
practice  ever  since.  He  removed  to  Spring- 
field in  1900,  where  he  practiced  for  five 
vears  with  his  usual  success,  but  he  moved 


back  to  Flora  in  1905,  much  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  his  many  clients  and  friends  in  Clay 
county. 

Mr.  Finch  was  united  in  marriage  May 
28,  1884,  to  Lillie  E.  Pearce,  daughter  of 
Frederick  Pearce,  who  was  born  in  Eng- 
land, having  emigrated  to  the  United  States 
in  1858,  when  he  was  twenty  years  old. 
Lillie  E.  Pearce  was  born  in  Flora  within 
one  block  of  where  Mr.  Finch  was  born. 
Two  sons  have  been  born  to  the  subject  and 
wife,  Earl  D.,  who  is  associated  with  his 
father,  is  a  graduate  of  the  Springfield 
high  school  and  also  a  graduate  of  the  law 
department  of  the  State  University ;  Rollae 
D.  also  graduated  from  the  Springfield 
high  school,  and  is  in  1908  a  student  in  the 
medical  department  of  Washington  Uni- 
versity, St.  Louis.  They  are  both  bright 
young  men,  who  give  promise  of  brilliant 
careers. 

Mr.  Finch  was  nominated  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party  for  County  Judge  in  1898,  but 
was  defeated,  however,  by  only  one  vote, 
although  the  county  was  largely  Repub- 
lican. He  was  also  his  party's  nominee  for 
State's  Attorney  in  1908,  but  went  down 
in  defeat  with  the  rest  of  the  ticket.  He 
is  engaged  in  the  law  and  abstract  busi- 
ness and  his  office  is  always  a  busy  place. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  he  belongs  to 
the  Blue  Lodge,  Royal  Arch  and  Knights 
Templar  Masons.  He  organized  and  was 
the  first  chancellor  commander  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  in  Flora.  He  also  be- 
longs to  the  Woodmen.  He  is  a  loyal 
Democrat.  He  belongs  to  the  Presbyterian 


BJOr.KAl'HICAL    AM)     KKM  I  X  1SCK  XT     HISTORY    OF 


church.    Mrs.  Finch  and  their  youngest  son 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  church. 

Mr.  Finch  has  seen  many  changes  in 
Clay  county  during  his  lifetime.  Progress 
has  been  made,  doing  away  with  the  old 
landmarks  and  substituting  in  their  places 
all  the  evidences  of  advanced  civilization, 
and  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  general 
good  and  improvement  he  has  been  deeply 
interested,  nor  has  he  withheld  his  aid  when 
it  has  been  solicited  for  the  advancement 
of  any  public  measure  of  worth,  but  on  the 
contrary  he  has  often  been  the  instigator  of 
movements  that  have  resulted  in  permanent 
good  to  the  community  honored  by  his 
residence.  He  is  a  highly  respected  citizen, 
held  in  uniform  regard  by  those  who  have 
known  him  through  long  years. 


JAMES  F.  PURDUE. 

The  subject  was  born  in  Montgomery 
county,  Tennessee,  March  i,  1833,  the  son 
of  Jarrut  and  Rebecca  (Farmer)  Purdue, 
the  former  a  native  of  Georgia,  and  the  lat- 
ter of  North  Carolina.  They  went  to  Ten- 
nessee when  young  and  married  there,  and 
removed  to  Illinois  in  1838,  settling  in  what 
is  now  Haines  township,  where  they  took 
up  government  land.  They  made  the  trip 
from  Tennessee  in  ox  carts.  When  they 
settled  here  among  the  pioneers  there  was 
much  wild  game.  They  developed  a  good 
farm  and  worked  hard.  They  died  on  the 
place,  after  becoming  the  parents  of  eight 
children:  Margaret,  Mary,  Richard,  Wil- 


liam C.,  John  W.,  Jacob  H.,  James  F.,  our 
subject,  and  Andrew  V.  Jarrut  Purdue 
was  a  Democrat.  His  wife  was  a  member 
of  the  Baptist  church. 

Our  subject  was  six  years  of  age  when 
he  came  with  his  parents  to  Marion  county, 
Illinois.  He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  early  days,  and  he  has  spent 
the  balance  of  his  life  here,  having  re- 
mained at  home  until  he  reached  manhood. 
He  was  married  the  first  time  in  1855,  to- 
Louisa  Brasel,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  and 
three  children  were  bom  to  them:  Nancy 
Jane,  who  is  living  in  Haines  township,  is 
the  wife  of  Zach  Brasel;  Joseph  H.  is  a 
farmer  living  in  Haines  township ;  John  R.  is 
also  a  farmer  living  in  Haines  township. 
The  subject's  second  mariage  was  in  1867, 
his  second  wife  being  Loretta  Price,  a  na- 
tive of  Ohio,  to  whom  one  child  has  been 
born,  Louisa,  now  the  wife  of  Harry  Alvis, 
of  East  St.  Louis. 

The  third  marriage  of  the  subject  was 
to  Vilinda  Murphy,  the  ceremony  having 
been  performed  in  1876.  To  this  last  mar- 
riage two  children  were  born,  Tence  and 
Harry. 

Mr.  Purdue  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
relations.  He  has  devoted  his  life  to  farm- 
ing and  has  been  very  successful.  He  is 
now  living  retired,  having  moved  to  his 
neat,  comfortable  and  pleasant  home  in  Kell 
in  September,  1908.  He  is  well  known 
throughout  the  county,  being  a  member  of 
old  and  prominent  families  of  this  region 
in  which  he  himself  was  one  of  the  earliest 
pioneers. 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


229 


HARVEY  F.  PIXLEY. 

The  able  and  popular  president  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Flora,  Illinois,  is  most  con- 
sistently accorded  recognition  in  a  work  of 
the  province  assigned  to  the  one  at  hand, 
since  it  has  to  do  with  the  representative  citi- 
zens of  Clay  county,  of  which  number  he 
unquestionably  is  a  worthy  member  and  has 
long  played  well  his  part  in  the  development 
of  the  interests  of  this  locality. 

Harvey  F.  Pixley  was  born  in  Ingraham, 
Clay  county,  November  25,  1869,  the  son 
of  Osman  Pixley,  who  was  a  native  of  New 
York,  having  settled  in  Edwards  county  in 
1852.  The  subject's  father  was  a  merchant 
and  for  many  years  was  the  president  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Flora.  He  was  a 
prominent  man  in  this  community,  and  was 
Representative  in  the  Legislature  in  1871  and 
1872,  representing  this  district,  having  been 
elected  on  the  Republican  ticket.  He  was 
for  many  years  a  leading  and  influential  citi- 
zen here.  He  was  postmaster  of  Ingraham 
for  the  long  period  of  forty  years.  He  re- 
ceived a  request  from  Postmaster  General 
Wanamaker  for  his  photo  to  be  used  at  the 
Chicago  World's  Fair.  He  was  the  fourth 
oldest  postmaster  in  point  of  service  in  the 
United  States.  After  an  active  and  useful 
life  he  was  called  to  his  rest  April  7,  1903. 
Asa  Pixley,  the  subject's  grandfather,  was 
a  native  of  Vermont,  but  he  removed  to 
Western  New  York  and  finally  settled  near 
West  Salem,  Edwards  county,  Illinois,  about 
1830,  being  among  the  pioneers.  He  was 
born  March  26.  1805,  and  died  February  9. 


1883.  The  Pixley  family  is  of  Puritan  stock. 
The  mother  of  the  subject  was  Frances 
Wood,  a  native  of  near  Allendale,  Wa- 
bash  county,  this  state,  where  she  was  born 
June  29,  1832.  She  was  a  woman  of  beau- 
tiful attributes,  and  she  passed  to  her  rest 
May  16,  1907.  Nine  children  were  born  to 
the  parents  of  our  subject,  Harvey  F.  being 
the  seventh  in  order  of  birth.  Four  girls  and 
one  boy  are  deceased.  Dewitt  C.  is  living 
in  Orange,  California,  a  prominent  business 
man  of  that  place,  is  married  and  has  five 
children:  Arthur  H..  who  lives  in  Chicago, 
is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade  and  is  as- 
sociated with  Ware  &  Leland.  The  subject's 
mother  was  a  member  of  a  large  family,  con- 
sisting of  nine  children.  Her  father  was 
Spencer  Wood,  who  was  born  near  New 
Haven,  Vermont,  February  14,  1788,  and 
died  December  5.  1846.  Her  mother  was 
Matilda  Flower,  who  was  born  in  Hardins- 
burg,  Kentucky,  March  19,  1791,  and  died 
March  12,  1855,  the  mother  being  the  last 
surviving  member  of  the  family.  Mr.  Pixley's 
father's  mother  was  Amanda  Ingraham.  The 
township  of  Pixley  was  named  after  Mr. 
Pixley's  father,  and  the  town  of  Ingraham 
was  named  after  Mr.  Pixley's  grandmother, 
who  was  born  February  22,  1806,  and  died 
September  26,  1844.  Her  parents  are  buried 
in  Ingraham  cemetery.  Philo  Ingraham,  her 
father,  was  born  June  28,  1768,  and  died 
April  21,  1842.  Her  mother  was  Arvilla 
Barney,  born  September  12.  1782,  and  died 
September  19,  1854.  They  are  supposed  to 
be  the  first  white  people  buried  in  Clay 
county. 


230 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


.  Harvey  F.  Pixley,  our  subject,  spent  his 
life  up  to  1899  in  Ingraham.  After  receiving 
a  common  school  education  there  he  attended 
Eureka  College,  in  which  institution  he  spent 
two  years,  making  an  excellent  record.  Then 
he  began  work  in  his  father's  store,  having 
remained  there  for  twelve  years,  assisting 
to  build  up  an  excellent  trade.  In  August, 
1899,  he  came  to  Flora  and  began  work  in 
the  First  National  Bank,  becoming  its  cash- 
ier January  i,  1900,  serving  four  years.  He 
was  then  elected  vice  president  of  the  in- 
stitution, serving  four  years  in  this  capacity, 
and  was  made  president  of  the  bank  at  the 
January,  1909,  meeting  of  the  board  of  direc- 
tors. He  has  done  much  to  increase  the 
prestige  of  this  bank  and  place  it  on  a  solid 
foundation  so  that  it  is  today  recognized  as 
one  of  the  soundest  in  Southern  Illinois. 

Mr.  Pixley  is  treasurer  of  the  Breese- 
Trenton  Mining  Company,  which  operates 
three  coal  mines  at  Breese,  Beckemeyer  and 
Trenton.  He  is  also  treasurer  of  the  Ebner 
Ice  &  Cold  Storage  Company,  operating  four 
plants,  one  at  Vincennes,  Seymour  and 
Washington,  Indiana,  and  one  at  Flora,  Illi- 
nois. He  is  also  a  director  and  large  stock- 
holder in  both  the  above  named  companies. 
Mr.  Pixley  also  has  an  interest  in  the  Flora 
Canning  Company,  and  is  also  a  stockholder 
and  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Flora  Tele- 
phone Company ;  also  interested  as  a  stock- 
holder in  two  wholesale  houses  in  St.  Louis. 
He  was  one  of  the  executors  of  the  late  Gen. 
Lewis  B.  Parsons,  of  Flora,  having  left  an 
estate  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  with 
a  will. 

Mr.  Pixley  was  married  on  October  22, 


189.,  to  Gallic  Cisel,  daughter  of  John  Cisel, 
of  Allendale,  Wabash  county,  Illinois.  She 
was  born  on  the  adjoining  farm  to  where  Mr. 
Pixley's  mother  was  reared.  To  this  union 
one  son  has  been  born,  December  10,  1892. 
He  is  a  bright  lad  and  is  attending  the  West- 
ern Military  Academy  at  Upper  Alton,  Illi- 
nois. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  our  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  No.  204,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  and  Royal  Arch  Chap- 
ter No.  154.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Order 
of  Eastern  Star,  as  is  also  Mrs.  Pixley.  They 
are  members  of  the  Christian  church,  the  sub- 
ject being  a  member  of  the  official  board.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  the  building  commit- 
tee that  erected  the  new  church,  a  splendid 
edifice  that  would  be  a  credit  to  a  much 
larger  city.  Mr.  Pixley  is  one  of  the  trus- 
tees of  the  Carnegie  library  of  which  he  is 
treasurer.  He  has  been  trustee  of  the  same 
since  it  was  built  and  he  was  a  member  of 
the  building  committee.  He  was  at  one  time 
president  of  the  school  board.  He  is  now  a 
member  and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Flora 
Mutual  Building,  Loan  and  Homestead  As- 
sociation. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

Something  of  the  subject's  ability  as  a 
financier  may  be  gained  from  the  statement 
that  when  he  became  associated  with  the  First 
National  Bank  there  was  a  surplus  of  only 
twelve  thousand  dollars;  it  is  now  twenty- 
five  thousand.  The  undivided  profits  were 
less  than  one  thousand  dollars.  They  are 
now  over  sixteen  thousand.  The  dividends 
are  now  five  per  cent.,  payable  semi-an- 
nually. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pixley  have  one  of  the  finest 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS 


231 


homes  in  the  county,  modern,  and  is  presided 
over  with  rare  dignity  by  Mrs.  Pixley,  who 
is  a  woman  of  refinement. 

Mr.  Pixley  has  always  taken  a  great  inter- 
est in  the  advancement  and  prosperity  of 
Clay  county  and  endorses  every  movement 
which  he  believes  will  prove  a  benefit  to  hu- 
manity. He  is  a  sociable  gentleman  and  is 
held  in  the  highest  regard  by  all  who  know 
him.  His  achievements  represent  the  result 
of  honest  endeavor  along  lines  where  ma- 
ture judgment  has  opened  the  way.  He 
possesses  a  weight  of  character,  a  native  sa- 
gacity, a  discriminating  judgment  and  a 
fidelity  of  purpose  that  command  the  re- 
spect, if  not  the  approval,  of  all  with  whom 
he  is  associated.  He  takes  first  rank  among 
the  prominent  men  of  this  locality  and  is  a 
leader  in  financial,  business,  educational,  so- 
cial and  civic  affairs. 


THE  BRYAN  FAMILY. 
(By  Mrs.  Anna  Torrence.) 

In  giving  the  genealogy  of  the  Bryan 
family,  who  have  long  been  considered 
among  the  most  noted  and  highly  esteemed 
of  Marion  county,  Illinois,  there  are  some 
characteristics  which  the  reader  will  at  once 
note  as  being  particularly  strong  and 
plainly  marked  throughout  the  entire  line- 
age. First,  as  a  family  whose  veracity  is 
never  questioned ;  second,  they  are  noted  for 
being  strictly  honest  in  every  detail  of  social, 


political  and  business  life;  third,  those  who 
are  Christians  are  very  devoted,  believing 
emphatically  in  a  prayer  hearing  and  prayer 
answering  God,  believing  that  He  guides 
man  in  every  right  act  of  life.  The  pub- 
lishers of  this  work  are  glad  to  be  able  to 
give  their  readers  an  insight  into  the  life 
records  of  this  remarkable  family  and  can 
state  with  all  authenticity  that  the  sketches 
contained  herein  are  to  be  relied  upon. 

William  Bryan,  the  great-grandfather  of 
Hon.  William  J.  Bryan,  was  born  in  Eng- 
land and  was  married  there,  having  come  to 
America  before  the  Revolutionary  war,  set- 
tling in  Culpeper  county,  Virginia.  Five 
children  were  born  to  them,  namely :  James, 
John,  Aquilla,  Francis  and  Elizabeth. 
James  moved  to  Barren  county,  Kentucky. 
Aquilla  went  to  Ohio.  One  of  the  girls  mar- 
ried a  man  named  Baldwin.  Nothing  fur- 
ther is  known  of  these  families  at  present. 

John  Bryan,  the  second  son  and  grand- 
father of  Hon.  William  J.  Bryan,  was  born 
in  1790.  In  1807  he  married  Nancy  Lillard, 
a  representative  of  one  of  the  finest  old 
southern  families  of  Virginia,  and  she  is  re- 
membered as  a  very  refined  and  cultured 
woman,  endowed  with  more  than  ordinary 
intelligence.  In  1828  they  moved  to  Cobal 
county,  Virginia,  and  lived  there  two  years. 
From  there  they  moved  to  Mason  county, 
Virginia,  where  they  lived  and  passed  to 
their  rest  and  where  they  lie  buried.  To 
them  ten  children  were  born.  The  oldest, 
William  W.,  was  born  in  1808.  He  mar- 
ried Emily  Smith  and  about  1838  moved  to 
Lincoln  county,  Missouri,  near  Troy.  They 


IJIOCKAIMIIfAI.    AXI)    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


were  the  parents  of  four  children,  namely: 
William  Hamilton,  John  J.,  Gallic  and  Vir- 
ginia. William  Wr.  Bryan  reached  an  old 
age  and  died  a  few  years  ago,  his  wife  fol- 
lowing him  to  the  other  shore  only  a  few 
months  later.  William  H.  Bryan  is  an 
honored  and  respected  citizen  of  Troy,  Mis- 
souri, and  he  has  a  nice  Christian  family. 
Gallic  and  Virginia  are  noble  Christian 
women.  John  J.  is  deceased.  John  J. 
Bryan,  Sr.,  died  in  early  manhood.  Howard 
died  in  infancy.  Jane,  the  eldest  daughter, 
married  Joseph  Cheney,  a  wealthy  hat  man- 
ufacturer of  Gallipolis,  Ohio.  She  was  left 
a  widow  with  six  small  children  whom  she 
reared  to  be  useful  women  and  men.  Their 
names  were :  Robert,  Mary,  Russell,  Linna, 
Harriet  and  Emma.  She  spent  the  last  few 
years  of  her  life  at  various  places,  wherever 
she  preferred  to  stay,  spending  seven  years 
with  the  family  of  Judge  Silas  L.  Bryan. 
The  last  three  years  of  her  life  she  lived 
with  Mrs.  Mollie  Webster,  one  of  her  nieces, 
whom  she  comforted  in  her  early  widow- 
hood. She  was  the  idolized  aunt  around 
whom  all  the  nieces  and  nephews  clustered, 
who  regarded  her  as  an  earthly  saint.  She 
was  never  heard  to  utter  an  unkind  word 
against  any  of  God's  creations.  The  night 
she  was  called  from  earth  she  praised  God 
aloud  with  every  shortening  breath. 

Nancy  Bryan  married  George  Baltzell 
and  moved  to  Walnut  Hill,  Illinois,  where 
she  died.  Two  sons  were  born  to  them, 
Silas  L.  and  Russell  B.  Both  are  active 
business  men,  the  former  living  at  Ham- 
mond, Louisiana,  and  the  latter  at  Cen- 


tralia,  Illinois.  Nancy  is  described  as  a 
very  handsome  woman,  refined  and  cul- 
tured. To  her  early  training,  motherly  care 
and  prayers,  Judge  Silas  L.  Bryan  owed 
much  of  his  success  in  life. 

Martha  Bryan  married  Homer  Smith,  of 
Gallipolis,  Ohio,  and  moved  to  Illinois. 
She  was  left  a  widow  with  two  small  girls, 
Jane  and  Mary.  She  was  called  from  earth 
before  the  girls  were  grown.  Jane  made 
her  home  with  Russell  Bryan  and  Mary 
with  Judge  Bryan's  family.  Jane  was  a  suc- 
cessful school  teacher  for  several  years.  The 
mother  was  a  very  devoted  Christian  and 
always  had  family  prayers  and  is  today  a 
sainted  mother.  The  youngest  daughter, 
Mary,  now  Mrs.  Mollie  Webster,  has  been 
a  widow  several  years.  She  manages  a 
large  farm  very  successfully,  and  she  is  a 
great  temperance  and  church  worker.  She 
has  been  county  president  of  the  White 
Ribbon  Army  for  a  number  of  years  and  is 
also  treasurer  of  the  Woman's  Christian 
Temperance  Union  in  the  Twenty-first  Con- 
gressional District  of  Illinois.  It  was  she 
who  taught  Hon.  William  J.  Bryan  his  little 
infant  prayers.  She  taught  and  trained  him 
in  his  first  boyhood  speeches.  When  he  was 
in  Salem  once  visiting  his  old  home  they  re- 
viewed some  of  the  scenes  and  incidents  of 
their  interesting  childhood  days. 

Dr.  Robert  Bryan  was  killed  in  a  steam- 
boat explosion. 

Silas  L.  Bryan,  father  of  Hon.  William 
J.  Bryan,  was  born  in  Culpeper  Court 
House,  Virginia,  in  1822.  He  came  to  Illi- 
nois in  1842,  where  he  lived,  died  and  was 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


233 


buried.  He  worked  on  a  farm  at  nine  dollars 
a  month,  saving  his  money  to  defray  his  ex- 
penses at  McKendree  College.  During  the 
winter  while  at  college  he  would  chop  wood 
on  Saturdays  to  help  pay  expenses.  Many  of 
his  colleagues  made  fun  of  him,  but  in  after 
years  many  of  them,  came  to  borrow  money 
of  him  and  to  seek  his  legal  advice.  He  was 
a  man  of  sterling  qualities,  the  kind  that 
always  make  for  success  when  rightly  and 
persistently  applied.  He  was  a  very  devout 
Christian,  always  had  family  prayers,  and 
he  promised  the  Lord  if  He  would  prosper 
him  to  get  through  college  he  would  pray 
three  times  a  day  the  rest  of  his  life.  This 
promise  he  faithfully  kept,  praying  morn- 
ing and  evening  at  his  home,  and  at 
noon  wherever  he  happened  to  be.  He 
would  drop  on  his  knees  and  ask  God's 
blessings.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Marion 
county  bar  for  a  period  of  thirty  years,  a 
member  of  the  State  Senate  for  eight  years, 
and  for  twelve  years  was  Circuit  Judge  of 
this  judicial  district.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  convention  that  framed  the  present  state 
constitution  of  Illinois.  He  was  a  man  of 
unusual  tact,  shrewdness,  soundness  of 
judgment  and  force  of  character,  and  it  was 
from  him  that  Hon.  William  J.  Bryan  in- 
herited his  gift  of  oratory  and  his  brilliant 
intellect.  He  imbued  the  boy  with  lofty 
ideals  and  taught  him  by  example  and  pre- 
cept how  to  make  a  grand  and  noble  man. 
Silas  L.  Bryan  married  Mariah  Elizabeth 
Jennings,  a  woman  of  many  praiseworthy 
traits  and  a  devoted  Christian  wife  and 
mother.  She  gave  the  best  part  of  her  life 


to  the  care  of  her  family.  She  was  truly  "a 
mother  in  Israel."  To  this  union  were  born 
nine  children,  namely:  John  H.,  Virginia, 
William  J.,  Russell,  Harry,  Frances, 
Charles,  Nancy  and  Mary.  John  and  Vir- 
ginia died  within  six  weeks  of  each  other 
when  young.  William  J.  was  born  March 
17,  1860.  He  was  taught  at  home  until  ten 
years  of  age,  after  which  he  attended  the 
public  schools  for  five  years,  during  which 
time  he  gave  evidence  of  being  a  most  pre- 
cocious child  and  one  to  whom  the  future 
augured  great  things.  He  afterward  at- 
tended college  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois, 
where  he  made  a  brilliant  record  for  both 
scholarship  and  deportment.  He  then 
studied  law  in  Chicago  in  the  office  of  Ly- 
man  Trumbull,  making  rapid  progress  from 
the  first.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
successfully  practiced  for  some  time,  finally 
entering  the  political  arena,  since  which 
time  his  career  has  been  too  meteoric  to  need 
reviewing  here,  since  his  record  is  well 
known  to  all,  and  is  given  in  detail  in  an- 
other part  of  this  volume.  Russell  Bryan 
died  in  early  manhood.  Frances  has  a  nice 
comfortable  home  in  Shaw,  Mississippi,  and 
is  a  jolly,  whole-souled  woman,  loved  by 
everyone.  Charles  is  a  very  successful  busi- 
ness man  in  Lincoln,  Nebraska.  Nancy  is 
a  quiet,  refined  and  modest  girl.  She  was 
at  one  time  William  J.'s  private  secretary. 
Mary,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  became  a 
successful  school  teacher.  She  has  winning 
ways  and  is  a  great  favorite.  Russell 
Bryan,  the  youngest  brother  of  Judge 
Bryan,  came  to  Salem  in  1841.  He  was 


334 


BlOGKAl'HICAL    AND    KEM IXISCKXT    HISTORY     OF 


familiarly  known  to  all  as  "Uncle  Russ," 
being  well  known  throughout  the  county. 
He  was  endowed  with  a  wonderful  memory. 
Often  when  dates  or  records  of  events 
seemed  obscure  he  was  referred  to,  and  sel- 
dom failed  to  give  the  correct  names,  dates 
or  places  desired.  He  had  stock  scales  in  Sa- 
lem for  thirty  years,  or  since  1878,  and  his 
weights  were  never  questioned.  He  never 
went  in  debt  for  anything,  and  he  never  had 
a  law  suit,  and  as  a  result  of  his  upright 
life  he  was  honored  and  respected  by  all  who 
knew  him.  He  married  Amanda  L.  Tully, 
who  was  always  a  very  bright  and  active 
woman,  a  fine  financier  and  business  woman 
of  unusual  ability  and  acumen.  Twelve 
children  have  been  born  to  this  union  as 
follows :  Anna  E.,  Alice  J.,  John  E.,  Lewis 
O.,  Andrew  R.,  Mark  T.,  Silas  L.,  Rosa  A. 
The  ninth  in  order  of  birth  died  in  infancy. 
Minnie  M.  was  next  in  order ;  then  Emma 
A.  and  Adis  M.  Anna  chose  the  teacher's 
profession  when  quite  young.  She  success- 
fully taught  for  twenty-four  years,  and  after 
she  became  a  widow  and  had  reached  the 
meridian  of  life  attended  one  of  the  state 
normals  and  graduated  therefrom,  since 
which  time  she  taught  in  a  normal  train- 
ing school  in  Chicago  and  later  in  Salem. 
Alice  J.  is  a  very  domestic  woman,  and  her's 
is  one  of  the  coziest  homes  in  Salem.  She 
is  a  natural  artist  and  at  one  time  was  quite 
a  cultured  singer.  John  E.  is  a  prosperous 
lawyer  in  Salem.  He  was  a  school  teacher 
for  many  years,  and  has  served  as  Master 
in  Chancery  for  eight  years.  He  is  noted 
for  his  honor  and  integrity.  (A  fuller 


sketch  of  John  E.  Bryan  appears  elsewhere 
in  this  volume.)  Lewis  O.  is  a  lawyer  at  Van 
Buren,  Arkansas,  and  is  quite  wealthy.  He 
is  noted  for  his  true  philanthropy  and  is  the 
poor  man's  friend.  Andrew  R.  lives  in 
Salem  and  is  highly  esteemed  by  all  who 
know  'him.  Mark  T.  died  when  six  years 
old.  Silas  L.  died  in  infancy.  Rosa  A. 
lives  a  mile  from  Van  Buren,  Arkansas,  on 
a  fine  fruit  farm.  She  is  a  woman  of  thrift 
and  has  a  bright,  interesting  family.  Min- 
nie M.  is  a  resident  of  Indianapolis.  Emma 
A.  resides  in  Centralia,  this  county.  Adis 
M.  is  in  the  real  estate  business  at  Van 
Buren,  Arkansas,  and  has  become  noted  as 
a  politician. 

Elizabeth  Bryan,  the  judge's  youngest 
sister,  married  George  Baltzell,  and  they 
live  at  Deer  Ridge,  St.  Louis  county,  Mis- 
souri. She  is  the  mother  of  the  following 
children,  namely:  Anna,  Albert,  Florence, 
Edwin.  The  last  named  died  while  in  col- 
lege. They  are  influential  and  highly  re- 
spected in  their  community. 

Thus  it  is  no  wonder  that  this  family 
should  become  so  useful  and  influential  and 
should  be  leaders  of  society  in  its  various 
phases,  when  we  consider  how  they  have 
kept  the  even  tenor  of  their  way,  how  they 
were  reared  in  "the  fear  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord,"  and  how  they  have  kept  the 
faith  of  their  worthy  ancestors,  maintaining 
in  all  the  relations  of  life  that  strict  in- 
tegrity and  loyalty  of  principle  to  lofty 
ideals  and  honorable  records  in  private, 
commercial,  professional  and  public  life. 
The  influence  for  good  to  humanity  and 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


235 


the  amelioration  of  the  human  race  of  such 
a  noble  family  is  too  far-reaching  and  in- 
scrutable to  be  measured  or  contemplated 
with  any  degree  of  accuracy.  Truly  such 
characters  are  as  "a  shining  light  which 
grows  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day," 
purifying,  refining,  strengthening  and  en- 
couraging the  wayworn  traveler  on  life's 
rugged  steeps,  teaching  the  less  courageous 
that  he  who  would  ascend  to  the  heights 
of  life  where  the  purer  atmosphere  that  in- 
spires the  souls  of  men  may  be  breathed, 
must  be  true,  loyal,  ambitious,  energetic, 
honorable  and  of  indomitable  energy 


THE  CUNNINGHAM  FAMILY. 

The  name  of  Cunningham  has  long  been 
an  honored  one  in  Clay  county,  Illinois, 
where  for  several  generations  have  lived  most 
worthy  representatives  of  the  family,  who 
were,  and  are,  always  to  be  found  associated 
with  every  movement  which  promised  an 
addition  to  the  community's  wealth  and  ma- 
terial advancement.  Especially  is  this  true 
of  the  late  John  M.  Cunningham,  for  many 
years  a  valued  and  honored  citizen  of  Flora, 
and  his  son,  Charles  S.,  the  prominent  busi- 
ness man  and  present  head  of  the  city  govern- 
ment. The  family  is  of  Scotch  origin  and 
descends  from  an  old  and  honored  one  of  Vir- 
ginia, where  was  born  Benjamin  F.  Cun- 
ningham, who,  when  a  young  man,  made 
his  way  westward  and  settled  in  Clay  county, 
becoming  one  of  its  earliest  pioneers.  He 


first  located  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
along  Cottonwood  creek  and  there  engaged 
in  the  milling  industry.  His  equipment  was 
crude  and  his  labor  arduous,  but  by  sturdy 
industry  he  succeeded.  Later  he  came  to 
Flora  and  engaged  in  the  banking  business 
under  the  firm  name  of  the  Cunningham  and 
Harter  Savings  Bank.  It  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  institutions  of  the  locality.  This 
business  he  conducted  with  much  ability  un- 
til withn  a  year  of  his  death  which  occurred 
in  1876.  He  possessed  many  rare  and  excel- 
lent traits  of  character,  and  abounding  in- 
dustry and  was  much  honored  and  es- 
teemed. Among  his  children  was  John  M. 

John  Minor  Cunningham  was  born  near 
Flora,  March  24,  1844,  and  was  there 
reared  and  grew  to  manhood.  He  acquired 
such  an  education  as  the  community  afforded 
which  was  broadened  in  later  life  by  reading, 
association,  contact  and  native  intelligence. 
He  was  associated  with  his  father  for  some 
time  in  various  enterprises,  finally  embark- 
ing in  the  jewelry  business  which  he  con- 
ducted profitably  for  many  years.  He  was 
directly  and  indirectly  connected  with  vari- 
ous other  enterprises,  ever  putting  his  shoul- 
der to  the  wheel  of  progress,  and  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  growth  and  advancement 
of  his  native  county,  and  in  all  that  per- 
tained to  its  welfare. 

Mr.  Cunningham  first  married  on  January 
i,  1866,  Jennie  E.  Hawkins,  whose  early 
death  occurred  on  September  24,  1874.  To 
this  yqion  three  children  were  born,  one  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  Those  living  are 
Charles  S.,  and  Clyde  L.,  the  latter  a  resident 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


of  Julesburg,  Colorado.  The  mother  of 
these,  whose  death  was  sincerely  mourned, 
was  of  Scotch  ancestry,  her  mother  and 
grandmother  having  emigrated  from  Scot- 
land. 

On  February  3,  1876,  Mr.  Cunningham 
again  married,  the  lady  being  Mary  Eliza- 
beth Finch,  a  direct  descendant  of  Sir  Hene- 
age  Finch,  who  was  born  in  Kent,  England, 
in  1621,  and  whose  eldest  son,  Heneage,  was 
first  Earl  of  Nottingham  and  was  Lord 
Chancellor  of  England.  Mrs.  Cunningham 
was  born  September  25,  1854,  and  was  the 
first  white  child  born  in  Flora.  To  this 
marriage  there  came  children  as  follows: 
Fremont,  who  died  in  infancy;  Nelle,  born 
September  29,  1875,  and  married  Jerry  J. 
Bowman,  October  22,  1902,  and  Max  F., 
born  April  14,  1883. 

Mr.  Cunningham  was  a  member  of  Flora 
Lodge  No.  204,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star  No.  105, 
Royal  Arch  Chapter  No.  154,  and  of  Grand 
Commandery  No.  14,  Knights  Templar.  He 
was  much  attached  to  these  orders  and  highly 
prized  the  associations  there  enjoyed.  He 
attended  the  Knights  Templar  conclaves  at 
Boston,  Louisville  and  Denver.  At  his  death 
the  funeral  auspices  were  conducted  by  Gorin 
Commandery  No.  14,  of  Olney.  He  and  his 
wife  were  for  many  years  regular  attend- 
ants and  liberal  contributors  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church  of  Flora  and  of  whose 
board  of  trustees  he  was  an  honored  mem- 
ber. At  the  death  of  Mr.  Cunningham. 
which  occurred  suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
March  13,  1906.  fitting  and  appropriate  reso- 


lutions were  adopted  by  the  various  commer- 
cial, religious  and  fraternal  units  with  which 
he  was  connected,  and  from  these  we  quote 
the  following:  "From  among  us  there  has 
been  taken  a  loving  husband,  a  kind  and  in- 
dulgent father,  a  faithful  friend,  a  genial 
companion,  a  successful  business  man  and 
honored  citizen  and  one  whose  place  can 
not  be  filled." 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  directors  of 
the  Flora  National  Bank,  of  which  he  was 
a  director  from  January,  1893,  to  his  death, 
suitable  resolutions  were  drawn  and  spread 
upon  the  minutes.  In  part  these  resolutions 
said :  "His  counsels  were  always  wise  and 
at  all  meetings  he  took  a  prominent  part.  We 
feel  our  great  loss  and  will  miss  the  sound 
advice  which  he  was  ever  ready  and  compe- 
tent to  give,  and  his  good  judgment  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  bank."  Resolutions 
of  like  character  were  adopted  by  the  Ma- 
sonic and  other  bodies. 

Of  Mr.  Cunningham  on  eld  friend  has 
written:  "A  grand  life  indeed  was  that  of 
John  Minor  Cunningham,  a  life  set  to  the 
Golden  Rule,  to  kind  acts  and  ways,  helpful 
at  needed  times,  a  friend  to  his  fellowman, 
assisting,  if  it  were  a  loss  to  him,  aiding,  if 
the  sacrifice  fell  on  him,  and  in  an  active 
business  career  covering  many  years  he  was 
ever  fair  and  just  in  his  dealings.  He  was 
associated  with  Flora  from  its  infant  state, 
aided  in  its  growth,  assisted  in  the  introduc- 
tion of  its  schools,  churches  and  public  itu 
stitutions.  He  was  foremost  in  establishing 
business  in  Flora,  co-operating  with  the  best 
interests  of  the  city  'and  its  rural  districts. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


237 


daring  and  bold  in  the  advocacy  of  social 
order,  sober  living,  good  government  and 
fair  and  honest  transactions  of  business." 

Charles  S.  Cunningham,  son  of  John  M., 
was  born  in  Flora,  March  27,  1870,  and,  like 
his  father,  has  lived  there  all  of  his  life.  He 
attended  the  public  schools,  afterwards  en- 
tering the  jewelry  store  of  his  father.  He 
long  ago  mastered  every  detail  of  the  busi- 
ness and  conducts  perhaps  the  leading  estab- 
lishment in  that  line  of  trade  in  Southern 
Illinois. 

Mr.  Cunningham  married  in  1890,  Eva  L.. 
daughter  of  John  Jackson,  of  Allegan,  Michi- 
gan. To  this  union  two  sons  have  been 
born,  Rexford  J.,  and  Charles  J.  He  has 
figured  somewhat  conspicuously  in  the  politi- 
cal affairs  of  Flora  and  was  first  elected  City 
Treasurer,  in  which  capacity  he  served  two 
years;  he  was  then  Alderman  for  two  years 
and  in  the  spring  of  1907  he  was  elected 
Mayor  of  Flora  and  has  given  the  city  an 
economical,  efficient  and  thoroughly  moral 
administration,  taking  the  same  care  and 
interest  in  public  affairs  as  he  does  in  those 
of  purely  personal  nature.  Mr.  Cunning- 
ham, it  may  be  here  stated,  has  not  sought 
for  or  accepted  office  because  of  the  honor 
that  might  be  attached  thereto,  but  has  been 
actuated  solely  by  a  desire  to  lend  the  best 
efforts  that  is  in  him  toward  the  maintenance 
of  law  and  order  and  the  growth  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  city  and  its  commercial, 
moral  and  material  worth.  He  has  been  es- 
pecially vigorous  in  the  enforcement  of  lo- 
cal option  laws  and  is  earnestly  advocating  a 
system  of  water  and  other  municipal  advan- 


tages. Aside  from  his  official  duties  and  his 
personal  affairs,  Mr.  Cunningham  is  also 
prominently  connected  with  various  other 
enterprises,  being  a  director  and  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Flora,  a 
director  of  the  Breese-Trenton  Coal  and 
Mining  Company  and  of  the  Friend  Tele- 
phone company  of  Flora.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics ;  fraternally  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Flora  Lodge  No.  204,  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and  of  the  Ben-Hur  lodge.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Illinois  State  Historical  So- 
ciety of  Springfield,  and  both  he  and  Mrs. 
Cunningham  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
church  of  Flora.  Mr.  Cunningham  appears 
entirely  capable  of  emulating  the  example  of 
his  worthy  progenitors  and  is  closely  follow- 
ing in  their  footsteps.  He  possesses  an  un- 
blemished character,  a  strict  integrity,  an  in- 
telligent appreciation  of  his  responsibilities 
and  a  faculty  of  accomplishment.  He  fully 
realizes  that  these  traits  of  character  have 
described  through  the  blood  of  his  ancestry 
and  to  whatever  heights  he  may  be  destined 
to  ascend,  his  most  valued  possession,  his 
greatest  pride  shall  ever  be  that  priceless  her- 
itage of  his  forefathers — an  honored  name. 


LEVI  MONROE  KAGY. 

In  the  collection  of  material  for  the  bio- 
graphical department  of  this  publication 
there  has  been  a  constant  aim  to  use  a  wise 
discrimination  in  regard  to  the  selection  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


subjects  and  to  exclude  none  worthy  of  rep- 
resentation within  its  pages.  Here  will  be 
found  mention  of  worthy  citizens  of  all  vo- 
cations, and  at  this  juncture  we  are  per- 
mitted to  offer  a  resume  of  the  career  of  one 
of  the  substantial  and  highly  esteemed,  in 
fact,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  industrial 
world  of  this  section  of  the  state,  where  he 
has  long  maintained  his  home  and  where  he 
has  attained  a  high  degree  of  success  in  his 
chosen  field  of  labor  and  enterprise. 

Levi  Monroe  Kagy,  the  popular  and  well 
known  president  of  the  Salem  State  Bank, 
of  Salem,  Marion  county,  Illinois,  was  born 
near  Tiffin,  Senaca  county,  Ohio,  December 
15,  1855,  the  son  of  David  Kagy,  also  a 
native  of  Seneca  county,  who  came  to 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  the  year  1859. 
He  devoted  his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits 
which  he  made  successful  and  at  the  time 
became  a  man  of  much  influence  in  his  com- 
munity and  well  known  as  a  scrupulously 
honest  and  public-spirited  citizen.  He  was 
called  from  his  earthly  labors  February  8, 
1887,  after  a  very  active  and  useful  life. 
The  mother  of  the  subject  was  known  in 
her  maidenhood  as  Sarah  Milley.  She  is  a 
woman  of  many  estimable  traits  and  is  the 
recipient  of  the  admiration  and  esteem  of  a 
large  coterie  of  friends  and  acquaintances 
in  the  vicinity  where  she  is  still  living  in 
1908  on  the  old  homestead  where  she  and 
her  worthy  life  companion  settled  nearly  a 
half  century  ago.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David 
Kagy  were  born  only  two  children,  Alice  A. 
a  woman  of  fine  attributes,  who  is  making 
her  home  with  her  mother;  and  Levi  Mon- 


roe, our  subject.  The  parents  spared 
no  pains  in  giving  these  children  every  pos- 
sible care  and  advantage  and  the  wholesome 
environment  of  their  home  life  is  clearly  re- 
flected in  the  lives  of  the  subject  and  his 
sister. 

Our  subject  lived  on  the  parental  farm 
until  he  was  twenty-five  years  old  and  as- 
sisted his  father  with  the  farm  work,  giving 
him  all  his  earnings  up  to  the  time  of  his 
maturity,  and  it  was  while  thus  engaged  in 
the  free  outdoor  life  of  the  farm  that  he 
acquired  many  qualities  of  mind  and  body 
that  have  assisted  very  materially  in  his  sub- 
sequent success  in  life.  He  attended  the 
neighborhood  schools  where  he  applied  him- 
self in  a  most  assiduous  manner,  outstrip- 
ping many  of  his  classmates,  and  therefore 
gained  a  broad  and  deep  mental  foundation 
which  has  since  been  greatly  developed  by 
systematic  home  study  and  contact  with  the 
world.  After  receiving  what  education  he 
could  in  the  home  schools  Mr.  Kagy  taught 
several  terms  of  school  in  a  most  praise- 
worthy manner,  teaching  in  the  winter 
months  and  farming  in  the  summer,  having 
possesed  not  only  a  clear  and  well  defined 
text-book  training,  but  also  the  tact  to  deal 
with  his  pupils  in  a  manner  to  gain  the  best 
results,  at  the  same  time  winning  their  good 
will  and  lasting  friendship. 

After  reaching  young  manhood,  Mr. 
Kagy  decided  that  his  true  life  work  lay 
along  a  different  course  than  that  of  farm- 
ing and  school  teaching,  so  he  accordingly 
began  to  save  his  earnings  in  order  to  de- 
fray the  expense  of  a  course  in  Union  Col- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


239 


lege  of  Law  at  Chicago,  now  the  North- 
western University,  and  he  graduated  from 
that  institution  with  high  honors  on  June 
14,  1883,  after  having  made  a  brilliant  rec- 
ord in  the  same  for  scholarship  and  de- 
portment. 

He  at  once  began  practice  at  Salem, 
where  his  success  was  instantaneous,  and 
with  the  exception  of  one  year  spent  on  the 
farm  after  his  father's  death,  he  has  been 
in  Salem  ever  since  where  he  is  now  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  potent  factors  in 
her  civic,  industrial  and  social  life.  Mr. 
Kagy  practices  with  uniform  success  in 
county,  state  and  federal  courts,  and  his  ser- 
vices are  in  constant  demand  in  cases  re- 
quiring superior  ingenuity  and  apt  ability. 
His  untiring  energy,  indefatigable  research 
and  persistency  have  made  him  successful 
where  less  courageous  characters  would 
have  quailed  and  been  submerged. 

Something  of  the  subject's  peculiar  and 
unquestioned  executive  ability  is  shown 
from  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the  princi- 
pal organizers  in  1903  of  the  Salem  State 
Bank,  one  of  the  most  substantial,  popular 
and  sound  institutions  of  its  kind  in  south- 
ern and  central  Illinois.  Mr.  Kagy  is  presi- 
dent of  the  same,  the  duties  of  which  he 
performs  in  a  manner  to  gain  the  unqualified 
confidence  of  the  public,  and  the  citizens  of 
Salem  and  Marion  county  do  not  hesitate  to 
place  their  funds  at  his  disposal,  knowing 
that  they  could  not  be  trusted  to  safer  and 
more  conservative  hands.  He  is  also  stock- 
holder in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Kin- 
mundy,  Illinois.  He  also  helped  organize 


the  Haymond  State  Bank  of  Kinmundy,  and 
afterwards  was  instrumental  in  merging  this 
institution  with  the  First  National  Bank  of 
that  city.  Mr.  Kagy  was  appointed  Master 
in  Chancery  of  Marion  county  in  1889,  and 
afterwards  twice  re-appointed.  He  has 
served  as  president  of  the  Salem  School 
Board  and  declined  re-election.  In  all  these 
public  capacities  he  displayed  unusual 
adroitness  in  handling  the  affairs  entrusted 
to  him. 

Mr.  Kagy's  happy  and  harmonious  do- 
mestic life  dates  from  May  18,  1887,  when 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Alice  Larimer, 
the  youngest  daughter  of  the  late  Smith 
Larimer,  an  ex-Treasurer  of  Marion  county, 
an  influential  and  highly  respected  citizen. 
Mrs.  Kagy  is  a  cultured  and  highly  accom- 
plished woman  of  many  estimable  attributes 
and  possessing  a  gracious  and  pleasing  per- 
sonality which  makes  her  popular  among  a 
wide  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances, 
and  she  presides  over  the  modern,  cozy, 
elegantly  furnished  and  beautifully  appoint- 
ed home  of  the  subject  and  family  with 
modest  grace  and  dignity.  Into  this  model 
home  two  bright  and  interesting  children 
add  sunshine  and  cheerfulness.  They  are: 
John  Larimer,  who  was  born  February  22, 
1888,  now  a  student,  in  1908,  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois,  where  he  is  making  a 
splendid  record;  and  Leigh  Monroe,  who 
was  born  March  15,  1901 ;  a  girl  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

In  1898,  during  the  Spanish- American 
war,  Mr.  Kagy  was  active  in  organizing  a 
company,  and  was  elected  captain  of  the 


240 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


same ;  after  much  drilling  it  was  ready  to  go 
to  the  front.  Later  Mr.  Kagy  was  appointed 
by  Gov.  John  B.  Tanner,  major  of  Pitten- 
ger's  Provisional  Regiment.  Although  it 
was  fully  ready  to  go  to  the  front  it  was  not 
called  upon  to  do  so. 

Levi  M.  Kagy  was  one  of  the  twenty-two 
men  who  subscribed  twenty-two  thousand 
dollars  in  order  to  induce  the  Chicago  & 
Eastern  Illinois  Railroad  shops  to  locate  in 
Salem.  The  public-spirited  and  energetic 
disposition  of  the  citizens  of  this  progressive 
city  can  be  ascertained  by  the  statement  that 
this  sum  was  raised  in  one  night.  Mr.  Kagy 
was  in  San  Francisco  at  the  time,  but  his 
friends  volunteered  to  vouch  for  him  for 
eleven  hundred  dollars,  and  he  promptly 
paid  the  full  amount  upon  his  return  home. 
Mr.  Kagy  always  practiced  law  alone  until 
January,  1907,  when  he  took  E.  B.  Van- 
dervort,  of  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  as  an  as- 
sociate. They  have  a  splendid  and  well 
equipped  suite  of  rooms  in  the  Kagy  Build- 
ing. Mr.  Kagy,  although  interested  in  many 
industrial  enterprises,  gives  his  time  almost 
exclusively  to  his  law  practice  which  is  very 
large  and  which  requires  the  major  part  of 
his  time. 

Fraternally  our  subject  is  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Woodmen.  He 
has  occupied  the  chairs  in  the  local  Odd  Fel- 
lows lodge,  and  is  one  of  the  trustees  of 
the  I.  O.  O.  F.  Old  Folks'  Home  of  Illinois, 
of  Mattoon,  Illinois. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kagy  and  their  oldest  son 
are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 


In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  advocate  of  the 
principles  and  policies  of  the  Democratic 
party,  with  which  he  has  been  affiliated  from 
the  time  of  attaining  his  majority,  and  he 
has  ever  lent  his  aid  in  furthering  his  party's 
cause,  being  well  fortified  in  his  political 
convictions,  while  he  is  essentially  public- 
spirited  and  progressive.  In  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life  he  has  been  found  faithful  to 
every  trust  confided  in  him  and  because  of 
his  genuine  worth,  splendid  physique, 
courteous  manners  and  genial  disposition 
he  has  won  and  retains  the  warm  regard 
of  all  with  whom  he  associates. 


SAMUEL  F.  PHILLIPS. 

Among  the  members  of  the  many  families 
of  early  settlers  who  have  forged  to  the 
front  in  the  realm  of  public  life  and  in  their 
daily  avocations  in  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
few  indeed,  have  reached  a  higher  standing 
than  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  whose  long 
life  has  ever  been  associated  with  the  prog- 
ress of  the  county,  especially  in  the  township 
where  he  resides. 

Samuel  F.  Phillips  was  born  October  20, 
1829,  in  the  vicinity  of  Clarksville,  Mont- 
gomery county,  Tennessee.  His  fatherjona- 
than  Phillips,  came  of  a  well  known  family 
in  the  state  where  he  resided,  and  his  moth- 
er's maiden  name  was  Sarah  Fowler,  who 
came  of  a  family  equally  well  connected. 
Jonathan  Phillips'  father  was  Samuel  Phil- 
lips, who,  together  with  his  wife.  Nancy 


MRS.  XAXCY.  PHILLIPS. 


S.  F.  PHILIPS. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


241 


(Crow)  Phillips,  born  in  Virginia,  were 
among  the  earliest  settlers  in  Tennessee.  The 
elder  Phillips  was  a  hardy  and  industrious 
farmer  and  he  and  his  wife  lived  a  long  life 
on  their  farm  in  Davidson  county,  Tennes- 
see, where  they  reared  a  family  of  eight 
children;  four  sons  and  four  daughters. 
The  sons  were  David,  Thomas,  George  and 
Jonathan,  the  father  of  Samuel  F. 

Jonathan  Phillips  spent  the  early  part  of 
his  life  on  his  father's  farm,  and  he  re- 
ceived a  limited  education  in  the  common 
schools  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  home. 
When  he  had  reached  manhood  he  married 
and  in  1831  he  and  his  wife  drove  in  the  an- 
tiquated vehicles  of  the  period  across  the 
long  stretches  of  country,  starting  from 
Montgomery  county,  Tennessee,  finally 
landing  and  settled  in  section  i,  Centralia 
township,  Marion  county,  Illinois.  At  this 
time  he  obtained  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  government  land  at  one  dollar  and 
twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  which  farm  he 
added  to  at  different  times  until  he  had  six 
hundred  acres,  becoming  a  farmer  of  more 
than  average  industry  and  he  succeeded  in 
improving  and  changing  the  appearance  of 
the  property.  Though  well  known  and 
widely  respected  in  the  locality,  he  never 
aspired  for  public  patronage.  In  politics 
he  was  first  a  Whig  and  on  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  older  party  became  a  Democrat. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
brotherhood  in  religious  life  and  a  sturdy 
upholder  of  that  belief.  As  a  man  and  an 
active  farmer,  he  was  well  known  and 
16 


widely  esteemed.  The  date  of  his  birth  was 
in  the  year  1799,  and  his  death  occurred 
on  April  2,  1856.  His  wife  was  born  July 
20,  1806,  and  died  July  10,  1893.  Her 
father,  William  Fowler,  lived  in  Montgom- 
ery county,  Tennessee,  where  he  died.  He 
had  married  a  Miss  Fyke  and  their  union 
brought  forth  four  children,  two  sons  and 
two  daughters,  namely:  Drury,  Richard, 
Sarah,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of  our 
sketch,  and  Mary. 

Jonathan  Phillips  and  his  wife  reared  six 
children,  James  George  Washington,  died 
1856,  was  a  farmer,  married  Margaret 
Sugg,  and  lived  at  home  until  his  death. 
Another  was  Samuel  F.,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  William,  who  married  Rebecca  Al- 
len, was  a  farmer  in  Centralia  township 
where  he  died  in  1859.  Joseph  R.  died 
April  2,  1862.  Nancy  married  Isaac  Phil- 
lips and  lived  at  Cobden,  Illinois.  She,  as 
well  as  her  husband,  is  dead.  John  P.,  a 
farmer  in  Centralia  township,  married  three 
times:  first,  Vitula  Cazy;  second,  Martha 
Norfolk ;  and  third,  Ida  Johnson. 

As  a  boy,  Samuel  F.  Phillips  had  little 
chance  to  go  to  school.  However,  he  attend- 
ed the  local  subscription  schools  at  infre- 
quent intervals.  The  circumstances  of  his 
youthful  schooling  did  not  affect  him  in  after 
life,  for  he  was  always  of  an  observant  and 
intelligent  turn  of  mind  and  in  this  way  as- 
similated much  useful  information.  He 
was  of  much  assistance  to  his  father  in  im- 
proving the  paternal  residence,  and  he  re- 
mained there  in  a  useful  capacity  until  his 


242 


inoGKAPHICAL    AXIJ    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


thirtieth  year.  In  1859  in  Davidson  county, 
Tennessee,  he  married  the  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Eliza  (Chadwell)  Phillips,  of 
the  same  county  and  name,  his  wife's  first 
name  being  Nancy  Jane.  This  Phillips  fam- 
ily had  come  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  set- 
tling there  in  section  12,  Centralia  township, 
in  1852.  The  father  spent  his  life  on  the  farm 
in  his  new  surroundings  where  he  died; 
his  wife  died  in  Odin,  Illinois.  The  children 
of  the  marriage  were :  Nancy  Jane,  the  wife 
of  Samuel  F.  Phillips,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch;  Martha  E.,  who  married  Noah 
Wooters,  both  deceased ;  Mary  K.,  who  was 
the  wife  of  James  Stroup,  both  of  whom 
are  dead ;  Minerva  T.,  the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  J. 
Fyke,  of  Odin;  Sarah  B.,  the  wife  of  W. 
D.  Farthing,  attorney-at-law,  at  Odin; 
George  died  young,  at  home;  William  H., 
druggist  at  luka,  Illinois,  lives  in  Centralia 
township.  He  married  Frances  Summer- 
ville;  Samuel  D.,  druggist  at  Odin,  married 
Jessie  Lester;  John  G.  married  Laura  John- 
son, and  lives  in  Oklahoma. 

Samuel  F.  Phillips  and  his  wife  lead  a 
happy  domestic  life  and  have  had  nine  chil- 
dren. His  sons  and  daughters  are  mostly 
all  married  and  are  important  factors  in  the 
life  of  the  community.  William  W.  is1  a 
farmer  in  Centralia  township  and  is  married 
to  Malissa  Rial.  Sarah  E.  married  John 
H.  McGuire,  engineer  on  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  at  Centralia ;  they  have  two  chil- 
dren, Tressa  and  Erma.  Etta,  the  widow 
of  G.  W.  S.  Bell,  lives  near  Centralia. 
Patra  married  John  F.  Guymon,  of  Cen- 
tralia, and  they  have  one  daughter,  Beulah. 


Martha  B.  is  the  wife  of  Charley  Whit- 
church,  of  Centralia  township,  and  the  moth- 
er of  three  children,  Carl,  Boyd  and  Harry. 
Allie  married  W.  B.  Carr,  of  Raccoon  town- 
ship. Alphia  married  Joseph  L.  Hill,  of 
Ewing,  Illinois.  Samuel  T.  married  Nora 
Sutherland,  of  Centralia  township,  and  has 
two  children,  Hazel,  born  October  17,  1905, 
and  Samuel  Howard,  born  March  7,  1907. 
Samuel  T.  is  a  farmer  in  Centralia  township. 
George  Robert,  another  son,  who  is  at  home 
working  with  his  father,  is  unmarried. 

In  the  year  1860,  Samuel  F.  Phillips  lo- 
cated on  his  present  property.  Since  then 
he  has  striven  to  enhance  the  value  of  the 
land.  It  consists  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
acres.  He  principally  engages  in  stock 
raising  and  does  a  general  farming  business. 

Samuel  F.  Phillips  is  a  member  of  the 
Missionary  Baptist  church  and  is  influen- 
tial in  church  advancement  matters.  In 
politics  he  gives  his  support  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  The  first  time  he  exercised  his 
right  to  vote  he  recorded  it  for  Granville 
Pierce. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  received 
fitting  public  recognition.  His  record  as  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace  is  of  forty-four  years' 
standing,  and  he  has  been  a  Notary  Public 
for  fourteen  years.  He  has  been  associated 
with  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Centralia 
township  for  twenty  years.  For  sixteen 
years  he  has  been  Township  Assessor. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  board 
of  township  high  school.  He  is  still 
in  harness,  his  seventy-nine  years  weigh 
but  lightly  upon  him,  and  it  is  the  wish 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


243 


of  a  large  circle  of  friends  that  he  be 
long  spared  to  his  affectionate  family,  and 
to  the  people  of  his  township  for  whom  he 
has  worked  so  diligently. 


CHARLES  S.  CUNNINGHAM. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  occupies  a 
prominent  place  in  the  esteem  of  the  people 
of  Flora  and  Clay  county,  and  is  universal- 
ly respected  and  as  a  business  man  fair 
dealing  is  his  watchward  in  all  his  trans- 
actions. He  is  optimistic,  looking  on  the 
bright  side  of  life  and  never  complains  at 
the  rough  places  in  the  road,  knowing  that 
life  is  a  battle  in  which  no  victories  are 
won  by  the  slothful,  but  that  the  prize  is  to 
the  vigilant  and  the  strong  of  heart. 

Charles  S.  Cunningham,  the  present  pop- 
ular Mayor  of  Flora,  Illinois,  was  born  in 
this  city,  March  27,  1870,  the  son  of  John 
M.  Cunningham,  who  was  a  native  of  Clay 
county.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  jewelry 
business  now  conducted  by  our  subject, 
which  he  carried  on  successfully  until  1896, 
when  our  subject  bought  the  business.  In 
March  of  that  year  John  M.  Cunningham 
was  called  from  his  earthly  labors.  B.  F. 
Cunningham,  grandfather  of  the  subject, 
was  a  native  of  Virginia,  who  came  to  Clay 
county  when  a  young  man  and  was  one  of 
the  first  settlers,  having  first  located  in  the 
southern  part  of  Clay  county,  called  Cotton- 
\vood  creek,  and  there  engaged  in  the  mill- 
ing business.  Later  he  came  to  Flora  and 


established  the  Cunningham  &  Harter  Sav- 
ings Bank,  which  he  conducted  until  about 
1875.  He  died  in  1876.  The  Cunningham 
family  is  of  Scotch  origin.  The  mother  of 
the  subject  was  Jennie  Hawkins,  whose 
people  were  also  of  Scotch  descent,  her 
mother  and  grandmother  having  emigrated 
from  that  country.  Mrs.  John  M.  Cun- 
ningham passed  to  her  rest  about  1875. 
Three  children  constituted  this  family,  one 
of  whom  died  in  infancy;  the  subject's 
brother,  Clyde  L.  Cunningham,  lives  in 
Julesburg,  Colorado. 

Charles  S.  Cunningham  has  spent  all  of 
his  life  in  Flora,  where  he  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  and  received  a  good  education. 
He  went  to  work  when  eighteen  years  old 
in  his  father's  jewelry  store,  and  has  been 
identified  with  the  same  ever  since.  He 
long  ago  mastered  every  detail  of  the  busi- 
ness and  is  one  of  the  leading  jewelers  of 
this  part  of  the  state,  having  a  mod- 
ern and  nicely  furnished  store,  and  an  ex- 
cellent and  carefully  selected  stock. 

Mr.  Cunningham  was  united  in  marriage 
in  1890  to  Eva  L.  Jackson,  the  daughter 
of  John  Jackson,  of  Allegan,  Michigan,  and 
to  this  union  two  sons  have  been  born.  Rex- 
ford  J.  and  Charles  J.,  whose  ages  at  this 
writing  are  fifteen  and  twelve,  respectively. 
They  are  attending  school  and  making  ex- 
cellent progress  in  their  studies. 

Mr.  Cunningham  has  figured  somewhat 
conspicuously  in  the  political  affairs  of 
Flora,  and  was  first  elected  City  Treasurer 
in  which  capacity  he  ably  served  for  two 
vears.  He  was  then  Alderman  for  two 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


years,  and  in  the  spring  of  1907,  he  was 
elected  Mayor  of  Flora,  and  he  has  given 
the  city  a  very  economical  administration, 
managing  its  affairs  with  as  much  care  as 
he  does  his  individual  business.  He  has 
been  vigorous  in  his  fight  against  illegal 
liquor  selling,  the  saloons  having  been  voted 
out  when  he  was  elected.  In  many  ways 
he  has  benefited  the  community  in  a  last- 
ing and  material  way.  At  the  present  time 
plans  and  specifications  are  making  for  a 
system  of  water  works,  and  Mayor  Cun- 
ningham is  very  much  interested  in  secur- 
ing this  for  the  city. 

The  subject  has  won  definite  success  in 
the  financial  world  through  his  close  appli- 
cation to  business  and  his  honorable  meth- 
ods. He  is  a  director  and  vice-president  in 
the  First  National  Bank,  also  a  director  in 
the  Breese-Trenton  Coal  Mining  Company, 
the  head  offices  of  the  company  being  in 
St.  Louis.  He  is  also  a  director  in  the 
Friend  Telephone  Company,  of  Flora. 
Fraterally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Flora 
Lodge  No.  204,  of  Masons,  also  the  Ben 
Hur  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  church  as  is  also 
Mrs.  Cunningham.  Mayor  Cunningham  is 
a  member  of  the  Illinois  State  Historical 
Society  of  Springfield,  and  in  politics  he  is 
a  Republican,  always  taking  an  active  in- 
terest in  his  party's  affairs.  His  fearless- 
ness in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  and  his 
appreciation  of  the  responsibilities  that  de- 
volve upon  him  are  such  as  to  make  him  a 
most  acceptable  incumbent  of  the  Mayor's 
office,  and  his  worth  is  widelv  acknowl- 


edged, while  his  record  as  a  business  man 
has  been  so  honorable  that  he  has  gained 
the  confidence  and  trust  of  all  with  whom 
he  has  been  brought  in  contact. 


J.  E.  BRYAN. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch  has  long  enjoyed  prestige  as  a  lead- 
ing citizen  of  the  community  in  which  he 
resides,  and  as  an  official  against  whose 
record  no  word  of  suspicion  was  ever  uttered 
he  has  been  for  years  an  important  factor 
in  the  history  of  Marion  county,  Illinois. 
His  prominence  in  the  community  is  the  di- 
rect and  legitimate  result  of  genuine  merit 
and  ability,  and  in  every  relation,  whether 
in  the  humble  sphere  of  private  citizenship, 
or  as  a  trusted  public  official,  his  many  ex- 
cellencies of  character  and  the  able  and  im- 
partial manner  in  which  he  discharged  his 
every  duty  won  for  him  an  enviable  repu- 
tation as  an  enterprising  and  representative 
self-made  man.  He  was  for  some  time  a 
prominent  figure  at  the  local  bar,  but  desir- 
ing the  more  prosaic  routine  of  the  abstrac- 
ter,  he  abandoned  the  legal  profession  and 
has  for  many  years  successfully  conducted 
an  abstract  office  in  Salem,  being  known 
throughout  the  county  in  this  line  of  work. 

J.  E.  Bryan  was  born  two  and  one-half 
miles  north  of  Salem,  July  4,  1851,  the  son 
of  A.  R.  Bryan,  a  native  of  Virginia  and  a 
fine  old  southern  gentleman,  who  came  to 
Illinois  when  a  boy.  He  was  a  tanner  by 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


245 


trade  and  after  a  busy,  successful  and  hon- 
orable career  passed  to  his  rest  in  1901.  He 
lived  first  at  Shawneetown,  then  at  Mt. 
Vernon,  later  at  Walnut  Hill,  then  at  Salem, 
where  he  spent  the  balance  of  his  life.  The 
mother  of  the  subject  was  Amanda  Tully, 
whose  people  came  from  Tennessee  and  were 
among  the  first  settlers  in  Marion  county, 
having  come  here  when  the  prairies  were 
overrun  by  red  men  and  wild  beasts,  but 
they  were  people  of  sterling  qualities  and 
surmounted  every  obstacle,  winning  a  com- 
fortable home  as  a  result  of  their  habits  of 
industry  and  economy.  The  maternal 
grandfather  of  the  subject  was  the  first 
Sheriff  of  Marion  county.  This  family  con- 
sisted of  twelve  children,  nine  of  whom  are 
living  in  1908,  namely:  Mrs.  Anna  Tor- 
rence,  who  resides  on  the  old  homestead, 
where  the  mother  of  the  subject  was  born, 
in  Salem;  Mrs.  Alice  J.  Kite,  who  is  also 
living  at  the  old  homestead  in  Salem;  J.  E., 
our  subject ;  Lewis  O.,  living  in  Van  Buren, 
Arkansas;  Andrew  R.,  of  Salem;  Mrs.  Rosa 
Kagy,  living  in  Arkansas;  Mrs.  Minnie 
Fisher,  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana;  Mrs. 
Emma  Shepherd,  of  Centralia,  Illinois;  Ad- 
is,  living  at  Van  Buren,  Arkansas.  The 
mother  of  the  subject,  who  was  a  woman 
of  many  praiseworthy  traits,  passed  to  her 
rest  several  years  ago.  Mr.  Bryan's  father, 
A.  R.  Bryan,  was  a  brother  of  Silas  Bryan, 
father  of  W.  J.  Bryan. 

J.  E.  Bryan  was  reared  in  Salem,  and  he 
preferred  to  risk  his  fortunes  in  his  native 
community  rather  than  see  uncertain  success 
in  other  fields,  consequently  he  has  spent  his 


life  right  here  at  home.  He  attended  the 
common  schools  at  Salem,  applying  himself 
most  diligently  to  his  text  books  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty  began  to  read  law,  making 
rapid  progress  from  the  first,  and  in  1876 
he  was  admitted  to  practice,  his  success  be- 
ing instantaneous  and  he  soon  became 
widely  known  as  an  able  practitioner  in  all 
the  local  courts;  but  after  twenty  years  of 
arduous  work  at  the  bar,  during  which  time 
he  built  up  an  extensive  business  and  won 
the  unqualified  confidence  and  esteem  of  a 
large  clientele  and  of  his  brothers  in  the 
legal  profession,  he  abandoned  the  law  and 
opened  an  abstract  office  in  Salem  since 
since  which  time  he  has  devoted  his  time 
and  attention  to  this  business  with  gratify- 
ing success  as  indicated  above.  In  his  fra- 
ternal relations  Mr.  Bryan  is  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

Mr.  Bryan  was  married  in  1876  to  Jo- 
sephine W.  Pace,  a  native  of  Salem  and  the 
accomplished  representative  of  an  old  and 
highly  respected  family.  No  children  have 
been  bom  to  this  union. 

Something  of  the  confidence  which  the 
people  of  Salem  repose  in  our  subject  will 
be  gained  when  we  learn  that  he  has  been 
School  Treasurer  of  Salem  township  for 
over  thirty  years  at  the  time  of  this  writing, 
1908.  He  has  devoted  much  attention  to 
the  development  of  the  local  public  school 
system  with  the  result  that  much  has  been 
accomplished  toward  making  the  Salem 
schools  equal  to  any  in  the  country.  Mr. 
Bryan  was  also  Master  in  Chancery  for 
Marion  county  for  a  period  of  eight  years, 


246 


B10CKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OE 


which  responsible  position  he  filled  with 
great  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  to  all  concerned.  In  business  he 
has  always  been  successful  and  is  at  present 
one  of  the  stockholders  of  the  Salem  State 
Bank,  He  has  ever  had  the  welfare  of  his 
community  at  heart  and  has  always  been 
found  willing  to  devote  his  time  to  any 
movement  looking  to  the  development  of  the 
public  weal,  and  as  a  result  of  his  genuine 
worth,  his  pleasing  demeanor,  integrity  of 
principal  and  honesty  of  purpose,  he  is  to- 
day recognized  as  one  of  Marion  county's 
foremost  citizens. 


MICHAEL  E.  RAPP. 

Michael  E.  Rapp  was  born  in  Wurtenburg, 
Germany,  April  3,  1843,  the  son  of  Leon- 
hart  and  Margaret  (Eberhardt)  Rapp,  both 
natives  of  Germany,  where  they  were  mar- 
ried and  where  they  lived  on  a  farm  until 
1853,  when  they  emigrated  to  the  United 
States,  having  come  across  the  Atlantic  in 
a  sailing  vessel,  the  voyage  requiring  fifty 
days.  They  did  not  encounter  many  storms 
on  the  way,  but  the  slow  passage  was  caused 
by  the  absence  of  winds.  They  landed  in 
New  York,  where  they  remained  a  few  days 
when  they  went  to  Buffalo,  touching  at  Al- 
bany, Philadelphia  and  other  points  on  the 
way,  having  been  three  days  making  the 
trip.  The  parents  of  the  subject  settled  at 
Buffalo  and  remained  there  until  their  death, 
the  father  dying  about  1891,  at  the  age  of 


nearly  seventy-five  years,  having  been  sur- 
vived by  his  widow  for  about  two  years,  she 
dying  in  1893,  having  reached  the  age  of 
seventy-five.  Both  are  buried  in  the  city 
cemetery  there.  They  were  the  parents  of  five 
children,  only  two  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity, three  having  died  in  childhood,  the 
subject  being  the  oldest  in  order  of  birth.  He 
remained  with  his  parents  until  he  was  about 
twelve  years  of  age,  when  he  came  to  Ohio 
to  live  with  an  uncle  who  was  engaged  in 
the  smelting  business  where  he  remained  for 
nearly  two  years,  when  he  came  to  Indiana, 
and  later  returned  to  Buffalo,  New  York, 
where  he  undertook  to  learn  the  brass  fin- 
ishing business,  but  he  remained  at  this  for 
only  about  two  years,  when  hard  times  caused 
the  shop  to  practically  close  down.  The 
subject  then  went  back  to  Indiana,  working 
on  a  farm  in  Vanderburg  county  by  the 
month  until  the  war  broke  out,  when  he  en- 
listed and  on  August  18,  1862,  was  mustered 
into  service  at  Indianapolis,  Company  E. 
Thirty-second  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Eslinger. 
The  subject  was  at  once  sent  south  and  im- 
mediately marched  to  the  front,  joining  the 
regiment  just  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh. 
From  that  time  on  he  was  in  all  the  engage-' 
ments  of  his  regiment,  but  was  never  cap- 
tured or  wounded,  however,  he  had  many 
"close  calls"  from  both.  Some  of  the  prin- 
cipal battles  in  which  he  fought  in  a  most 
gallant  manner,  according  to  his  comrades, 
were:  Stone  River,  Liberty  Gap,  Chicka- 
mauga.  Missionary  Ridge.  The  regiment 
was  later  sent  to  Knoxville  to  re-enforce 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


247 


Burnside,  where  they  remained  during  the 
winter  of  1863  and  1864,  having  suffered 
greatly  from  cold  weather  and  exposure, 
and  lack  of  clothing.  In  the  following 
summer  the  subject  took  part  in  every  en- 
gagement from  Tunnel  Hill  to  Atlanta, 
Georgia,  and  endured  many  great  hard- 
ships and  privations.  He  was  mustered 
out  of  service  at  the  close  of  the  war,  June 
25,  1865,  having  been  honorably  discharged. 
Mr.  Rapp  then  returned  to  Indiana  and  on 
November  24,  1868,  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Catherine  Frye,  in  Evansville.  She  was 
born  in  Posey  county,  Indiana,  December  24, 
1848,  the  daughter  of  Michael  and  Charlotte 
( Stauff)  Frye,  both  natives  of  Wurtenburg, 
Germany,  where  they  married.  They  came 
to  the  United  States  about  1840,  landing  in 
New  York,  but  soon  came  on  to  Indiana,  set- 
tling in  Posey  county  on  a  farm  in  the  midst 
of  the  wilderness  where  they  experienced 
many  hardships  in  clearing  the  land  and  de- 
veloping a  home  for  themselves  and  family. 
They  remained  there  the  rest  of  their  lives, 
their  home  having  been  in  Parker  township. 
The  mother  of  Mrs.  Rapp  died  in  August, 
1850,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years,  the 
father  having  survived  several  years,  later 
remarrying.  They  were  the  parents  of  six 
children,  four  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
Mrs.  Rapp  being  the  youngest  of  the  number. 
Mr.  Frye's  death  occurred  February  16. 
1 86 1,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one  years.  He  was 
buried  in  the  St.  Peter  cemetery  and  his  wife 
in  the  Methodist  cemetery  of  the  old  Brick 
church,  Parker  township.  Mrs.  Rapp  re- 
mained at  home  with  her  parents  until  her 


father's  death  when  the  home  was  broken  up 
and  she  went  to  work  out  for  herself,  which 
she  continued  to  do  until  her  marriage  with 
the  subject.  Her  education  was  obtained  in 
the  German  schools  of  Posey  county,  but  she 
never  learned  to  read  or  write  English,  for 
she  was  not  permitted  to  attend  school  long 
in  those  early  days.  The  same  was  true  with 
our  subject  who  attended  school  for  a  time 
in  Germany  before  he  came  to  the  United 
States.  He  also  went  to  school  a  short  time 
in  Buffalo,  New  York,  learning  to  read  and 
write  German,  but  received  only  a  meagre 
English  education. 

When  our  subject  and  his  wife  were  mar- 
ried they  lived  in  Evansville,  where  Mr.  Rapp 
worked  as  a  stationary  engineer  until  he 
moved  to  Illinois  in  March,  1876,  when 
they  settled  in  Richland  county,  in  Denver 
township,  near  the  Clay  county  line  on  a 
farm  where  they  lived  for  about  two  years, 
when  they  moved  to  the  place  where  they 
now  live. 

Ten  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Rapp,  nine  of  whom  have  grown  to 
maturity,  one  having  died  in  childhood.  They 
are:  George  M.,  Edward  Frederick,  de- 
ceased ;  Michael,  deceased ;  John  Henry,  Car- 
oline, Catherine,  Daniel  W.,  Margaret,  Eve 
Charlotte  and  Mary  E.  George  M.,  who  mar- 
ried Celia  Ruppert,  resides  on  a  farm  in  Den- 
ver township.  Catherine  is  the  wife  of  Wal- 
ter Coffee,  residing  in  Stonington,  Christian 
county,  Illinois.  The  other  children  are  all 
single  and  make  their  home  with  their  par- 
ents on  the  farm. 

Mr.  Rapp  has  served  on  the  County  Board 


248 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


as  Supervisor  in  Denver  township  for  two 
years,  and  an  unexpired  term  of  Township 
Clerk,  also  served  as  School  Trustee  for  a 
period  of  nine  years.  His  son  held  the  office 
of  Township  Clerk  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
Mr.  Rapp  has  always  been  a  Republican.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
Public.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rapp  and  some  of 
their  children  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
church  in  Denver  township,  having  long 
taken  an  active  part  in  church  work,  the  sub- 
ject having  been  a  steward  in  the  church 
for  several  years,  which  office  he  now  very 
creditably  holds. 


THE  SCHWARTZ  BROTHERS. 

Eminent  business  talent  is  composed  of  a 
combination  of  high  mental  and  moral  at- 
tributes ;  although  these  are  essential,  there 
must  be  sound  judgment,  breadth  of  capa- 
city and  rapidity  of  thought,  justice  and 
firmness,  the  foresight  to  perceive  the  course 
of  the  drifting  tides  of  business  and  the 
will  and  ability  to  control  them.  The  sub- 
jects of  this  review  afford  a  striking  exem- 
plification of  this  talent,  in  a  very  high  order 
of  development  and  of  such  character  as  to 
gain  them  worthy  prestige  in  business  cir- 
cles and  positions  of  commanding  influence. 

The  Schwartz  brothers,  Joseph  and 
Frank,  are  not  only  twins  but  their  lives 
and  interests  have  been  so  closely  inter- 
woven, their  purposes  and  ideals  so  nearly 
identical  and  their  achievements  of  such 


similar  character  that  the  history  of  one  is 
practically  the  history  of  both. 

As  the  name  indicates  the  Schwartz  fam- 
ily is  of  German  origin,  the  subject's  father, 
Bernard  Schwartz,  having  been  a  native  of 
Luxemburg,  where  his  ancestors  had  lived 
for  many  generations.  When  a  young  man 
Bernard  Schwartz  came  to  the  United 
States  and  located  at  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  worked  for  some  years 
at  the  tailor's  trade  and  where  in  due  time 
he  married  Christina  Lacroix,  who  was  also 
of  German  birth.  Disposing  of  his  inter- 
ests in  Massachusetts  in  1855  he  moved  to 
Salem,  Illinois,  where  he  opened  a  shop  and 
conducted  a  very  successful  tailoring  busi- 
ness for  a  number  of  years,  the  meanwhile 
by  judicious  investments  and  careful  man- 
agement becoming  the  possessor  of  a  large 
amount  of  valuable  property  in  various 
parts  of  Marion  county,  and  earning  the 
reputation  of  an  enterprising  and  praise- 
worthy citizen.  From  1868  until  his  death 
in  the  year  1906  Bernard  Schwartz  lived  a 
life  of  honorable  retirement,  but  kept  in 
close  touch  with  business  matters,  amassed 
considerable  wealth  and  for  a  number  of 
years  was  classed  with  the  financially  solid 
and  reliable  men  of  Salem.  He  was  a  fine 
type,  of  the  successful  German-American, 
possessed  to  a  marked  degree  of  the  ster- 
ling qualities  for  which  his  nationality  is 
distinguished,  did  much  to  promote  the  ma- 
terial interests  of  his  adopted  city  and  his 
death  was  deeply  lamented  by  all  who  knew 
him.  Bernard  and  Christina  Schwartz 
were  earnest  and  devout  Catholics  in  their 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


249 


religious  belief  and  trained  their  children  in 
the  faith  of  the  Holy  Mother  church,  to  the 
teaching  of  which  they  have  been  ever  true 
and  loyal.  Their  oldest  child,  a  daughter, 
by  the  name  of  Flora,  is  the  wife  of  Mi- 
chael Berens,  and  lives  in  Salem ;  the  twins, 
Frank  and  Joseph  being  the  next  in  order  of 
birth;  Christine  died  when  four  years  of 
age  and  Bernard,  the  youngest  of  the  famv- 
ily,  a  young  man  of  fine  business  ability  and 
high  social  standing,  departed  this  life  on 
the  1 5th  day  of  January,  1907.  Like  his 
older  brothers,  Bernard  Schwartz  pos- 
sessed much  more  than  ordinary  powers  of 
mind  and  had  reached  an  important  and  in- 
fluential position  in  the  business  world, 
when  his  brilliant  and  promising  career  was 
untimely  terminated  by  the  stern  hand  of 
death.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Salem 
high  school  with  the  honors  of  his  class, 
after  which  he  took  a  pharmaceutical  course 
in  which  he  became  especially  proficient  and 
for  a  number  of  years  served  on  the  State 
Board  of  Pharmacy,  to  which  position  he 
was  first  appointed  by  Governor  Tanner, 
and  later  by  Governor  Yates  and  had  not 
death  intervened  he  doubtless  could  have 
held  the  place  indefinitely  as  Governor  De- 
neen  signified  his  intention  of  reappointing 
him  a  short  time  prior  to  his  demise. 

Joseph  and  Frank  Schwartz,  to  a  brief  re- 
view of  whose  career  the  reader's  attention 
is  here  respectfully  invited,  were  born  on 
August  agth,  of  the  year  1859,  in  Salem, 
and  spent  their  childhood  and  youth  in  their 
native  town.  As  indicated  in  a  preceding 
paragraph  their  lives  having  been  passed 


under  similar  circumstances  were  in  most 
respects  strikingly  similar,  nevertheless  to  a 
better  understanding  of  the  purposes  and 
ambitions  of  each  it  is  deemed  proper  to 
give  their  early  lives  separately. 

Joseph  Schwartz  was  reared  under  ex- 
cellent home  influences  and  during  his 
youth  received  from  his  parents  a  thorough 
instruction  in  the  basic  principles  of  moral- 
ity and  correct  conduct  so  that  while  a  mere 
lad  he  became  so  imbued  with  these  princi- 
ples as  to  make  them  a  rule  by  which  his  sub- 
sequent life  should  be  governed.  At  the  prop- 
er age  he  entered  the  public  schools  of  Sa- 
lem and  in  due  time  completed  the  pre- 
scribed course  of  study  graduating  from 
the  high  school  with  the  class  of  1877.  Ac- 
tuated by  a  laudable  desire  for  a  more  thor- 
ough scholastic  training  he  subsequently 
became  a  student  of  the  State  University  at 
Champaign,  where  he  prosecuted  his  studies 
and  researches  until  1881  when  he  was 
graduated  with  an  honorable  record,  im- 
mediately after  which  he  engaged  in  the 
drug  business  with  his  brother  Frank,  their 
place  of  business  being  the  store  room  on 
the  site  originally  occupied  by  the  house  in 
which  he  was  born. 

By  diligent  attention  and  successful  man- 
agement the  Schwartz  brothers  soon  built 
up  a  large  and  lucrative  patronage  and  it 
was  not  long  until  they  led  the  drug  busi- 
ness in  Salem,  their  establishment  being  the 
largest  and  most  popular  of  the  kind  not 
only  in  the  city  but  in  the  county.  From 
the  beginning  the  enterprise  prospered  be- 
yond their  highest  expectations  and  proved 


250 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


the  source  of  an  ample  income  which  being 
judiciously  invested  in  due  time  placed  them 
on  the  high  road  to  fortune. 

Frank  Schwartz,  like  his  brother,  spent 
his  early  life  pretty  much  after  the  manner 
of  the  majority  of  town  lads  but  unlike 
many  was  not  permitted  to  eat  of  the  bread 
of  idleness,  during  the  formative  period  of 
his  character  when  fancy  paints  with  glow- 
ing colors  the  future  and  holds  out  to  the 
unwary  those  pleasures  which  have  no  sub- 
stantial foundation  and  which  if  identified 
invariably  terminate  in  regret  and  remorse. 
Under  the  guidance  of  his  parents  he  grew 
up  to  the  full  stature  of  well  rounded  man- 
hood with  a  proper  conception  of  life  and 
its  duties  and  responsibilities  and  with  the 
idea  ever  paramount  that  all  true  success 
and  advancement  must  depend  upon  con- 
secutive toil  and  endeavor.  After  obtaining 
a  good  practical  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Salem,  he  entered  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  the  drug  store  of  D.  K.  Green  & 
Son,  where  he  clerked  for  a  period  of  four 
years,  during  which  time  he  devoted  his  at- 
tention very  carefully  to  the  business  with 
the  object  in  view  of  ultimately  engaging 
in  the  trade  upon  his  own  responsibility.  At 
the  expiration  of  the  time  indicated  he  pur- 
chased an  interest  in  the  establishment, 
which  during  the  following  year  was  con- 
ducted under  the  name  of  Green  & 
Schwartz;  his  brother,  Joseph,  then  bought 
Mr.  Green's  interest  and  under  the  firm 
name  of  Schwartz  Brothers,  the  business 
grew  rapidly  in  magnitude  and  importance 
and,  as  already  stated,  soon  became  the 
leading  establishment  of  the  kind  in  Salem, 


and  proved  to  be  the  source  from  which  no 
small  part  of  their  subsequent  fortune  grew. 
Meanwhile  the  Schwartz  Brothers  turned 
their  attention  to  various  other  lines  of 
business  becoming  largely  interested  in  real 
estate,  agriculture  and  horticulture,  which 
with  other  enterprises  of  an  industrial  and 
financial  nature  paved  the  way  to  the  high 
position  they  now  hold  in  business  circles, 
and  gave  them  much  more  than  local  re- 
pute as  capable,  judicious  and  eminently 
honorable  business  men.  Without  follow- 
ing in  detail  the  different  lines  of  enterprise 
to  which  the  Schwartz  brothers  have  given 
attention,  suffice  it  to  state  that  all  of  their 
undertakings  have  been  prosperous  and  they 
are  today  not  only  the  leading  business  men 
of  their  own  city  and  county,  but  occupy  a 
conspicuous  place  among  the  leaders  of  in- 
dustry in  the  southern  part  of  the  state.  In 
1907  they  disposed  of  their  drug  house, 
since  which  time  they  have  not  been  active- 
ly identified  with  any  particular  enterprise, 
devoting  their  attention  to  their  large  prop- 
erty interests  and  other  investments,  being 
heavy  stockholders  in  the  Salem  State  Bank 
and  owning  extensive  tracts  of  real  estate 
in  Marion  and  other  counties,  including  one 
fruit  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
two  and  a  fourth  miles  southeast  of  Salem, 
another  consisting  of  eight  hundred  acres 
within  a  reasonable  distance  of  the  county 
seat,  besides  being  associated  with  Mr. 
Rogers  in  the  fruit  evaporating  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Rogers  &  Schwartz 
Brothers,  they  do  an  immense  and  far- 
reaching  business.  They  are  also  mem- 
bers of  the  real  estate  firm  of  Telford  & 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


251 


Schwartz,  which  with  loans  and  insurance, 
constitutes  the  most  successful  business  of 
the  kind  in  the  city.  They  own  the 
Schwartz  Block,  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
valuable  properties  in  Salem,  and  as  mem- 
bers of  the  firm  of  Rainey  &  Schwartz,  own 
Rainey  Lake,  also  a  large  pear  orchard 
which  adds  much  to  their  liberal  and  con- 
stantly growing  income.  In  addition  to  the 
interests  enumerated  the  Schwartz  broth- 
ers have  many  other  valuable  holdings  in 
both  city  and  country,  including  the  busi- 
ness block  occupied  by  the  Sweeney  & 
Company's  drug  stock,  a  large  lot  at  the 
rear  of  the  State  Bank,  also  quite  a  num- 
ber of  private  dwellings  in  various  parts  of 
the  town  to  say  nothing  of  a  vast  amount  of 
valuable  personal  property  and  bank  ac- 
counts, comparing  favorably  in  bulk  with 
those  of  any  other  depositor  in  the  county. 

Under  the  name  of  Schwartz  Brothers, 
by  which  the  firm  has  always  been  known, 
Joseph  and  Frank  Schwartz  have  filled  a 
prominent  place  in  the  business  affairs  of 
Salem  and  Marion  county,  and  from  the  be- 
ginning their  careers  present  a  series  of 
continued  successes  which  have  placed  them 
among  the  most  progressive  men  of  their 
day  and  generation  in  southern  Illinois  and 
earned  them  state  wide  reputation  in  busi- 
ness and  financial  circles. 

They  are  politicians  of  the  Democratic 
school  and  alive  to  all  that  concerns  the 
best  interest  of  their  party.  Religiously  they 
are  loyal  to  the  tenets  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic church  in  which  they  were  reared  and 
for  which  they  have  the  most  profound  love 


and  regard  contributing  liberally  to  its  ma-, 
terial  support  and  by  their  daily  lives  ex- 
emplifying the  beauty  and  value  of  the 
principles  and  doctrines  upon  which  it  is 
based. 

Joseph  Schwartz  was  married  in  the  year 
1886  to  Clara  Rose,  of  Salem,  daughter  of 
Gordon  Rose,  an  engineer  on  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  road,  and  a  most  excellent  and 
praiseworthy  citizen.  The  pledges  of  this 
union  are  two  bright  and  interesting  daugh- 
ters, namely :  Helen,  born  in  1893,  and  Chris- 
tine, whose  birth  occurred  in  the  year  1905. 
The  domestic  life  of  Frank  Schwartz  dates 
from  the  8th  day  of  July,  1896,  at  which 
time  he  was  united  in  the  holy  bonds  of 
wedlock  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  with  An- 
nie Trimpe,  of  that  city,  a  union  terminated 
by  the  death  of  the  wife  on  Thanksgiving 
day,  1903,  after  bearing  her  husband  two 
children,  Mattie  Christine  and  Emma  Ger- 
trude, born  in  1897  and  1901,  respectively. 
On  September  19,  1907,  Mr.  Schwartz 
chose  a  second  wife  and  companion  in  the 
person  of  Mrs.  Fannie  Simpson,  of  Salem, 
a  lady  of  many  estimable  qualities,  who 
presides  over  his  household  with  grace  and 
dignity  and  who  is  deeply  concerned  in  all 
of  his  undertakings  making  his  interests  her 
own  and  contributing  not  a  little  to  his  suc- 
cess. Fraternally  Joseph  Schwartz  is  iden- 
tified with  the  ancient  and  honorable  Ma- 
sonic brotherhood  and  also  holds  member- 
ship with  the  Orders  of  Woodmen  and  Ben 
Hur,  in  all  of  which  he  is  an  active  and  in- 
fluential worker,  which  may  also  be  record- 
ed of  his  brother,  Frank. 


252 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


HON.  HARVEY  W.  SHRINER. 

Mr.  Shriner  stands  admittedly  among  the 
leaders  of  the  legal  profession  in  Southern 
Illinois,  where  he  has  long  been  practicing 
in  all  the  courts,  often  handling  some  of 
the  most  important  cases  on  the  various 
dockets.  Being  courteous,  genial,  well  in- 
formed, alert  and  enterprising,  he  is  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  representative  men  of 
Clay  county — a  man  who  is  a  power  in  his 
community. 

Harvey  W.  Shriner  was  born  in  Vinton 
county,  Ohio,  October  25,  1861,  the  son  of 
Silas  Shriner,  also  a  native  of  Ohio.  He 
was  a  farmer  and  came  to  Clay  county,  Il- 
linois, in  October,  1864,  remaining  here  un- 
til his  death  in  June,  1906.  His  grand- 
father was  Francis  Shriner,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  afterward  removed  to 
Ohio.  He  also  devoted  his  life  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  The  subject's  mother  was 
Susan  Luse,  whose  people  were  from  Ohio. 
She  is  living  in  Flora,  and  is  a  woman  of 
gracious  personality.  Six  children  were 
born  to  the  subject's  parents,  five  of  whom 
are  living.  They  are :  Ibbie.  deceased ; 
Mrs.  Louisa  Frame,  of  Chicago;  Harvey 
W.,  the  subject;  Albert  G..  of  Springfield, 
Illinois ;  Mrs.  Ida  McGregor,  of  Flora : 
Pearl  V.,  who  is  living  on  the  old  home 
farm,  five  miles  northeast  of  Flora. 

Mr.  Shriner  received  his  primary  educa- 
tion in  the  Flora  public  schools,  and  then 
attended  business  college  at  Carmi,  Illinois. 
Then  he  attended  the  National  University 


at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  making  a  splendid  rec- 
ord for  scholarship.  He  taught  school  for 
six  winters  in  Clay  county.  He  made  his 
way  through  school.  Believing  that  the 
legal  profession  was  best  suited  to  his  tastes, 
he  began  the  study  of  law  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  February,  1887.  In  June  fol- 
lowing he  formed  a  partnership  with  D.  C. 
Hagle,  a  prominent  lawyer.  This  partner- 
ship proved'  to  be  a  very  strong  one  and 
lasted  up  to  the  death  of  Mr.  Hagle  in 
1897,  since  which  time  the  subject  has  been 
practicing  alone.  He  was  successful  from 
the  first  and  his  practice  has  steadily  in- 
creased until  he  Is  now  a  very  busy  man.  He 
has  a  well  equipped  law  library,  which  is 
kept  stocked  with  the  latest  legal  books  and 
decisions.  He  was  elected  State's  Attorney 
of  Clay  county,  in  1888,  on  the  Republican 
ticket.  And  he  was  re-elected  in  1872  and 
in  1892,  having  faithfully  performed  the 
duties  of  this  office.  He  was  again  elected 
in  1896.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Education  for  several  terms  and 
also  Supervisor  of  his  township.  In  1904 
Mr.  Shriner  made  the  race  and  was  tri- 
umphantly elected  to  the  Legislature,  serv- 
ing one  term  in  a  manner  that  proved  the 
wisdom  of  his  constituents  in  selecting  him 
for  their  representative.  He  voted  for  and 
was  one  of  the  original  advocates  of  local 
option.  A  conclusive  proof  of  his  popular- 
ity is  the  fact  that  he  ran  ahead  of  his  ticket 
when  elected  to  the  Legislature. 

In  November,  1905,  Mr.  Shriner  was  ap- 
pointed Deputy  Revenue  Collector  for  Di- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


253 


vision  No.  4,  of  the  Thirteenth  District  of 
Illinois,  which  he  has  very  creditably  held 
to  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Shriner  was  happily  married  in  Sep- 
tember, ;  1885,  to  Emma  Critchlow,  of 
Louisville,  Clay  county,  the  representative 
of  an  influential  family  of  that  place.  To 
this  union  three  sons  were  born:  Austin  D., 
Carlton  C.  and  Silas.  Mrs.  Shriner  was 
called  to  her  rest  in  January,  1896.  After- 
wards the  subject  was  married  again,  his 
last  wife  being  Frances  Higginson,  of 
Flora,  and  to  this  union  one  winsome 
daughter,  Mabel,  has  been  born. 

Mr.  Shriner  owns  a  valuable  and  well 
improved  farm  in  Standford  township,  this 
county,  five  miles  northeast  of  Flora,  in 
which  he  takes  much  interest.  He  is  a  good 
judge  of  stock,  and  some  good  breeds  may 
be  found  on  his  place.  Fraternally  he  be- 
longs to  the  Masons  and  the  Woodmen. 

Mr.  Shriner  takes  an  abiding  interest  in 
local  affairs  and  labors  for  the  welfare  of 
the  county,  looking  beyond  the  exigencies 
of  the  moment  to  the  possibilities  of  the  fu- 
ture, working  not  alone  for  what  will  bene- 
fit his  fellow  citizens  today,  but  also  for 
what  will  be  of  advantage  at  a  later  time. 
He  is  a  man  of  distinct  and  forceful  in- 
dividuality, as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
he  started  out  in  life  on  his  own  account, 
without  money  or  influential  friends  to  aid 
him.  He  looked  at  life,  however,  from  a 
practical  standpoint  and  placed  his  de- 
pendence upon  elements  that  are  sure  win- 
ners in  the  race  for  success — persistent  pur- 
pose, indefatigable  industry  and  unabating- 
energy. 


WILLIAM  H.  FARTHING. 

The  subject  has  long  been  recognized  as 
one  of  Marion  county's  foremost  business 
men,  holding  high  rank  among  the  finan- 
ciers of  the  community  in  which  he  lives  and 
whose  interests  he  has  ever  had  at  heart  and 
which  he  has  ever  striven  to  promote  in 
whatever  laudable  manner  that  presented  it- 
self. The  life  of  Mr.  Farthing  has  been  led 
along  high  planes  and  has  been  true  to 
every  trust  that  has  been  reposed  in  him. 

William  H.  Farthing,  the  well  known 
banker  of  Odin,  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
was  born  in  Odin,  February  2,  1869,  and 
not  being  lured  away  by  the  wanderlust 
that  caused  so  many  of  his  contemporaries 
to  leave  the  old  hearth  stone  he  has  pre- 
ferred to  live  here.  He  is  the  son  of 
George  and  Susan  (Michaels)  Farthing, 
natives  of  the  state  of  Mississippi, 
Grandfather  Farthing  was  from  Kentucky, 
having  come  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in 
the  fifties  and  settled  in  this  vicinity  where 
he  worked  a  farm,  and  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  days  having  died  in  the 
seventies.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  Bap- 
tists. They  were  the  parents  of  five  chil- 
dren. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
Logan  county,  Kentucky,  and  received  his 
education  in  the  Blue  Grass  state.  He  de- 
voted his  life  to  farming  and  railroading, 
and  was  about  sixty  years  old  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  He  left  a  widow  and  six 
children.  The  subject's  mother  is  living  at 
the  age  of  fifty-three.  Our  subject  was  the 
second  child  in  order  of  birth.  He  received 


254 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Odin, 
but  was  obliged  to  leave  school  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years,  when  he  commenced  clerk- 
ing in  a  store  in  which  he  continued  for  ten 
years,  in  the  meantime  developing  into  an 
excellent  salesman.  Being  economical,  he 
was  enabled  at  the  end  of  that  time  to  pur- 
chase one-half  interest  in  the  store  from  his 
savings.  He  continued  in  this  store  for  an- 
other period  of  ten  years,  during  which  time 
the  trade  of  the  firm  rapidly  increasd,  cus- 
tomers coming  from  all  parts  of  the  county, 
because  of  the  reputation  of  the  firm  for 
fairness  and  courteous  treatment  had  ex- 
tended to  all  localities  roundabout.  Mr. 
Farthing  finally  sold  his  interest  in  the  store. 
He  then  handled  real  estate  and  other  lines 
for  two  years  with  gratifying  success.  Then 
he  purchased  the  bank  at  Odin,  which  had 
been  started  some  time  previous.  Under 
Mr.  Farthing's  management  it  was  soon 
placed  on  an  excellent  basis  and  it  was  pat- 
ronized by  the  local  people  and  by  the  farm- 
ers in  that  locality,  for  Mr.  Farthing's  name 
gave  the  bank  a  sound  prestige,  for  every- 
one knew  that  their  funds  would  be  entirely 
safe  entrusted  to  him,  owing  to  his  natural 
ability  as  a  financier  and  his  reputation  for 
honesty  in  all  his  business  dealings.  The 
bank  is  still  under  his  management,  he  be- 
ing the  sole  owner.  This  bank  was  first 
opened  for  business  in  May,  1905. 

Our  subject  was  first  married  on  Novem- 
ber 15,  1893,  to  Effie  Sugg,  a  native  of 
Odin.  Four  children  were  born  to  this 
union,  one  of  whom  is  living,  Ira  J.  F., 
whose  date  of  birth  occurred  August  17, 


1898.  The  subject's  first  wife  was  called  to 
her  rest  April  12,  1901,  and  Mr.  Farthing 
was  again  married  on  September  12,  1906, 
to  Ida  A.  Kell,  of  this  county,  the  daugh- 
ter of  James  and  Martha  (McWham)  Kell, 
natives  of  this  county.  Joseph  McWham 
is  paymaster  at  the  present  time  in  the 
United  States  Army.  The  grandfather, 
Robert  McWham,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil 
war  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-Third 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  which  he 
served  about  two  years  and  was  honorably 
discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Our 
subject  has  one  child  by  his  last  wife,  Mar- 
tha, who  was  born  September  7,  1907. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Farthing  is 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  Blue  lodge,  the 
Chapter,  the  Knights  Templar,  also  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the 
Woodmen  and  Eastern  Star.  He  has 
passed  all  the  chairs  in  the  Blue  lodge  and 
the  Odd  Fellows.  He  has  been  a  delegate 
to  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state  of  Illinois. 
Mrs.  Farthing  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  Mr.  Farthing  is  a  Demo- 
crat in  his  political  relations  and  has  al- 
ways been  interested  in  his  party's  welfare, 
giving  his  time  and  influence  to  the  work  of 
his  party  in  the  county.  He  was  elected 
and  served  in  a  most  creditable  manner  as 
City  Clerk,  Alderman  and  was  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Town  Board  and  is  at  this  writ- 
ing Treasurer  of  the  city  of  Odin.  He  has 
long  been  noted  throughout  the  county  for 
his  honesty,  integrity  and  fair  dealing,  and 
his  interest  in  all  movements  tending  to  pro- 
mote the  county's  welfare  in  any  manner 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


255 


possible,  and  as  a  result  of  his  sterling  worth 
his  integrity  and  his  pleasing  manner,  he  is 
held  in  high  regard  by  all  classes  and  has 
hosts  of  friends. 


JOHN  J.  FYKE,  M.  D. 

One  of  the  representative  members  of  the 
medical  fraternity  in  Marion  county  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  engaged  in 
practice  in  Odin,  and  who  holds  high  rank 
in  his  profession,  while  his  ability  and  cour- 
tesy have  won  him  the  confidence  and  es- 
teem of  all  who  know  him. 

Dr.  Fyke  is  a  successful,  self-made  man. 
Peculiar  honor  attaches  to  that  individual, 
who,  beginning  the  great  struggle  of  life 
alone  and  unaided,  gradually  overcomes  un- 
favorable environment,  gaining  at  last  the 
g'oal  of  success  by  the  force  of  his  own  in- 
dividuality. Such  is  the  record,  briefly 
stated,  of  this  popular  citizen  of  Odin,  Il- 
linois, to  a  synopsis  of  whose  life  and  char- 
acter the  following  paragraphs  are  devoted. 

Dr.  John  J.  Fyke  was  bom  in  Marion 
county  in  1842,  the  son  of  Joshua  A.  and 
Margaret  (Wilson)  Fyke,  the  latter  being 
the  first  female  white  child  born  in  the  coun- 
ty, a  distinction  of  which  anyone  might  be 
justly  proud.  The  date  of  her  birth  was  in 
1822,  and  in  1908  she  is  still  living,  being 
in  possession  of  her  full  faculties.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  hear  her  tell  of  the  great 
development  she  has  seen  here  since  the 
early  pioneer  days — wonderful,  indeed,  the 


most  wonderful  progress  in  the  history  of 
the  world,  having  been  made  during  the 
lapse  of  her  long  life.  Her  people  came  to 
Illinois  from  North  Carolina,  in  1818,  and 
settled  among  the  earliest  pioneers  in  this 
locality.  They  took  up  government  land, 
and  developed  excellent  farms.  Her  parents 
reared  their  children  here  and  died  here  at 
advanced  ages.  There  were  three  boys  and 
three  girls  in  this  family.  Grandfather 
Fyke  was  reared  in  North  Carolina  and 
moved  to  Tennessee,  where  he  spent  the 
balance  of  his  days. 

The  father  of  the  subject  was  born  in 
1812,  an  historic  year  in  our  national  his- 
tory. His  father  was  a  farmer  and  lived  to 
an  advanced  age,  having  reared  a  large  fam- 
ily. His  wife  also  lived  to  be  very  old.  The 
father  of  our  subject  came  to  this  county  in 
1839.  His  early  educational  advantages 
were  limited,  but  he  was  a  great  reader  and 
finally  became  well  informed.  He  was  a 
Methodist  and  an  exhorter.  He  made  polit- 
ical speeches,  and  was  a  loyal  Democrat. 
He  was  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  thirty 
years.  His  family  consisted  of  twelve  chil- 
dren, five  boys  and  one  girl  having  lived  to 
maturity.  Two  brothers  of  the  subject  liv- 
ing in  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  are  practicing 
attorneys. 

The  early  education  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  obtained  in  the  common  schools 
of  this  county  and  one  year  in  McKendree 
College,  Lebanon,  Illinois.  He  then  com- 
menced reading  medicine  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Doctor  Davenport,  of  Salem,  where 
he  continued  for  three  years,  making  a 


256 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


splendid  record  for  scholarship.  During 
this  time  he  attended  medical  college,  part 
of  the  time  at  Chicago  and  the  balance  at 
St.  Louis,  making  splendid  records  at  both 
places.  He  commenced  practice  in  1866, 
having  located  in  Odin,  where  he  has  con- 
tinued practice  ever  since.  He  was  success- 
ful from  the  start  and  his  patients  are  now 
so  numerous  that  he  can  hardly  find  time  to 
do  anything  outside  of  his  regular  work. 

Doctor  Fyke  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1867  to  Minerva  Phillipps,  a  native  of  Ten- 
nessee, the  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Eliza 
(Chadwell)  Phillipps.  They  were  natives  of 
Tennessee,  having  moved  to  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  in  1855.  They  settled  on  a  farm 
here  where  they  spent  the  remainder  of 
their  lives  and  where  they  died,  both  having 
lived  to  an  old  age,  having  reared  a  family 
of  eight  children. 

Three  children,  all  boys,  have  been  born 
to  our  subject  and  wife,  namely:  Edgar  E., 
who  was  born  in  1868,  who  is  now  a  prac- 
ticing physician,  and  the  father  of  three 
children,  all  girls.  The  second  and  third 
children  of  Dr.  Fyke  and  wife  were  twins, 
Thomas  Emmett  and  Josiah  Harley,  who 
were  born  in  1872.  They  are  both  living 
on  a  farm  near  Odin. 

Our  subject  in  his  fraternal  relations  is  a 
Mason,  having  passed  all  the  chairs  in  the 
local  lodge.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the  Metho- 
dist church,  of  which  both  he  and  his  wife 
are  faithful  members  and  liberal  supporters. 
The  doctor  is  a  loyal  Democrat.  He  is  a 
member  and  president  of  the  pension  board. 
Dr.  Fyke  is  one  of  the  well  known  men  in 


Marion  county,  where  his  long  and  success- 
ful career  has  been  spent,  and  has  a  pleas- 
ant and  well  furnished  home  in  Odin. 


CHARLES  C.  SANDERS. 

The  subject  has  seen  the  development  of 
Marion  county  from  an  obscure  wild  prairie 
district  to  one  of  the  leading  counties-  of 
the  state,  and  he  has  done  his  full  share  in 
promoting  the  industrial  and  civic  affairs  of 
the  county,  ranking  today  among  her  best 
known  and  most  highly  honored  citizens. 

Charles  C.  Sanders  was  born  in  Centralia 
township,  Marion  county,  December  21, 
1848,  the  son  of  Robert  and  Nancy  (Cop- 
pie)  Sanders,  both  natives  of  Indiana.  The 
father  came  to  this  county  a  single  man  in 
an  early  day  and  married  here.  He  was  al- 
ways a  farmer  and  blacksmith,  having 
bought  a  farm  in  Centralia  township  which 
he  sold  and  went  to  Missouri,  where  he  re- 
mained a  short  time,  then  came  back  to 
Centralia  township  and  bought  another 
farm  on  which  he  lived  until  his  death  in 
1855.  His  wife  died  in  1854.  They  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  namely:  Cath- 
erine, deceased;  Charles  C.,  our  subject; 
John,  deceased;  Samuel,  Robert  and  the 
youngest  child  was  a  boy.  The  subject's 
parents  died  when  he  was  small  and  he  went 
to  live  with  John  Thomas  for  three  years  in 
Centralia  township,  also  three  years  with 
John  McClelland,  who  was  his  guardian 
until  1865. 

When  seventeen    years    old  our    subject 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


257 


went  to  enlist  in  the  Union  army  as  a  sub- 
stitute, but  his  uncle  prevented  him  from  en- 
listing. He  then  went  to  work  out  at 
different  places,  until  he  was  nineteen  years 
old.  On  December  28,  1867,  he  married 
Martha  Jane  Hudlow,  who  was  born  De- 
cember ii,  1849,  m  Jefferson  county,  Illi- 
nois, the  daughter  of  James  and  Roxanna 
(Hildibiddle)  Hudlow.  James  Hudlow 
died  in  1849.  His  widow  then  married 
Alexander  Garren;  her  third  husband  was 
John  Sprouse,  and  her  fourth  husband  was 
George  Birge.  She  died  in  1898.  Mrs.  San- 
ders had  one  sister  who  married  Thomas 
Groves.  She  lived  in  Indiana. 

After  his  marriage  the  subject  lived  on 
his  father!s  place  for  a  time,  then  he  traded 
for  his  present  farm  in  section  25,  Centralia 
township,  where  he  has  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres.  It  had  only  a  few  improve- 
ments on  it  when  he  took  charge,  but  being 
a  hard  worker  he  developed  a  good  home 
and  a  fine  farm,  about  half  of  the  place  now 
being  cleared,  on  which  highly  productive 
land  he  raises  corn,  hay,  apples,  peaches, 
pears  and  much  small  fruit,  and  he  also 
raises  some  good  horses,  hogs  and  cattle, 
and  carries  on  a  general  farming  business 
with  great  success,  being  a  good  manager. 
He  has  always  been  a  farmer,  but  he  found 
time  to  operate  a  threshing  machine  for 
twenty-seven  years  and  did  a  thriving  busi- 
ness. 

Mr.  Sanders  is  a  Democrat  and  he  has 
held  minor  offices,  having  served  on  the 
school  board.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian church. 


The  subject  and  wife  are  the  parents  of 
six  children,  namely:  Robert  C.,  a  farmer 
in  Clinton  county,  this  state,  married  Addie 
J.  Cameron  and  they  have  five  children, 
namely :  Fred,  Dwight,  Claude,  Melinda  and 
Menzo.  Mary  Etta,  the  second  child  of  the 
subject,  married  Elmer  Satterfield,  of  Rac- 
coon township,  and  they  have  the  following 
children :  Frank,  Bert,  Clara,  James,  Sarah 
and  Ottie.  Nancy,  the  subject's  third  child, 
married  Edgar  Morrison,  lives  at  Odin,  Il- 
linois, and  has  three  children,  Jessie,  Charlie 
and  Mary.  Lillie,  who  married  George 
Day,  lives  at  Odin,  Illinois,  and  has  one 
daughter,  Pearl ;  Edgar  is  a  farmer  in  Rac- 
coon township,  this  county,  who  married 
Delle  Martin,  and  they  have  two  children, 
Ruby  and  Floyd;  Dicey  May  is  living  at 
home. 

Our  subject  is  a  well  known  man  in  this 
county  where  he  has  many  friends  and  bears 
an  exemplary  reputation. 


DANIEL  C.  GENOWAY. 

The  people  of  Denver  township,  Rich- 
land  county,  Illinois,  point  to  Daniel  C. 
Genoway  as  one  of  their  most  valued  citi- 
zens, admiring  him  for  his  high  moral 
character,  for  his  life  among  them  for  more 
than  a  half  century  may  well  be  likened 
unto  an  open  book.  That  they  place  implicit 
confidence  in  him  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  they  have  elected  him  to  several  town- 
ship offices,  the  duties  of  which  he  dis- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


charged  with  credit.  He  made  his  advent 
into  the  world  in  the  pioneer  days,  and 
spent  his  boyhood  days  upon  the  farm. 

Mr.  Genoway  was  born  in  Clermont 
county,  Ohio,  September  7,  1831,  and  in 
his  early  "teens"  left  the  farm  to  become  an 
apprentice  to  a  carpenter.  He  also  learned 
the  cooper's  trade,  but  did  not  work  at  it 
for  a  great  length  of  time.  The  father  of 
the  subject  was  Joseph  Genoway.  His 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Rebecca  Crum- 
baugh,  born  in  Ohio  in  1799.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  the  subject,  Joseph.  Geno- 
way. came  from  his  native  France,  as  one 
of  General  LaFayette's  soldiers  to  aid  the 
America  colonists  in  the  Revolutionary 
war.  Liking  the  country,  he  remained  here 
becoming  a  citizen  of  the  young  republic, 
and  finally  settling  in  Connecticut.  Mr. 
Genoway's  maternal  grandfather.  Jacob 
Crumbaugh,  emigrated  from  Germany  to 
this  country,  settling  in  Kentucky,  and  a 
few  years  later  was  married  to  Mary  Baker, 
of  Maryland,  whose  ancestors  were  from 
Germany. 

The  subject  came  to  what  is  now  Denver 
township,  Richland  county,  in  1855,  and 
worked  industriously  at  his  trade,  building 
many  dwellings  and  bams.  He  and  Philip 
Heltman,  well  known  in  this  locality,  were 
engaged  in  building  a  barn  in  Jasper  county 
during  the  days  of  the  Civil  war,  when  a 
recruiting  officer  happened  to  pass,  and  de- 
scending from  the  roof  Mr.  Heltman  en- 
listed on  the  spot.  Mr.  Genoway  was  mar- 
ried to  Ruth  McGuire  in  January,  1861. 
Their  children  were  Charles  Vanlanding- 


ham,  bom  October  27,  1862;  Peter  Elmer, 
born  February  n,  1865.  The  first  named 
was  educated  for  the  medical  profession, 
and  after  some  local  practice  being  anxious 
to  advance,  studied  medicine  in  New  York 
City,  Vienna,  Austria  and  Rome.  He  is 
now  an  eminent  physician  in  Spokane, 
Washington.  He  has  a  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren. Peter  Elmer  was  educated  at  Olney, 
and  is  now  a  professional  teacher.  He 
holds  a  high  official  position  in  the  Ben  Hur 
fraternity.  He  married  Miss  Eva  McLain, 
and  has  two  children.  Some  time  after  the 
birth  of  these  children  the  wife  of  the  sub- 
ject died,  and  on  March  7,  1869,  he  es- 
poused Martha  Washburn.  His  second 
wife  was  born  in  Denver  township,  Febru- 
ary 22,  1851,  and  was  the  daughter  of  Hen- 
ry and  Eleanor  (Gard)  Washburn.  Her  pa- 
ternal grandparents  were  Willis  and  Nan- 
cy (Allender)  Washburn,  born  respective- 
ly in  1799  and  1801.  Her  uncle,  Joseph 
Washburn,  was  a  soldier  in  Wilders'  fa- 
mous brigade,  as  was  her  uncle,  James 
Washburn.  who  died  in  the  army  hospital 
at  New  Albany,  Indiana.  Her  ancestors 
were  generally  members  of  the  Baptist 
faith.  The  subject  and  his  wife  had  six  chil- 
dren :  Harry  E.  was  born  February  9,  1870. 
He  has  traveled  extensively,  but  is  now  at 
home  with  his  parents ;  Rebecca  E.,  born 
November  n,  1871,  died  the  same  year; 
John  H.,  born  March  5,  1873,  married  to 
Florence  Watts  in  1894,  and  lives  near  Fred- 
ricktown,  Missouri,  being  a  miner:  Lemuel 
T.,  born  September  6,  1874.  served  in  the 
Spanish  war  and  died  October  19,  1904; 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


Lillie  M.,  born  February  2,  1877,  now  the 
wife  of  Clifton  O.  Walker,  of  Piatt  county, 
with  three  children,  Fern,  Martha  and  Del- 
bert;  George  Andrew  Louis,  born  Novem- 
ber 7,  1883,  married  December  24,  1905,  to 
Bertha  Cook,  was  in  the  regular  army  as 
telegrapher  in  Alaska  for  three  years,  and 
received  from  the  government  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land  near  Wendt,  South 
Dakota,  where  he  is  now  operator  and  ex- 
press agent,  and  where  he  owns  in  addition 
to  government  land  a  tract  of  equal  size 
which  he  purchased. 

The  father  of  the  wife  of  the  subject, 
Henry  R.  Washburn,  is  still  an  active  man 
at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years,  and  lives 
in  Piatt  county,  Illinois.  He  was  twice 
married  and  the  fruit  of  each  union  was 
nine  children.  When  he  first  came  to  Il- 
linois he  worked  for  fifty  cents  a  day,  and 
through  his  own  efforts  acquired  a  farm  of 
two  hundred  acres.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geno- 
way  are  known  as  very  charitable  people, 
and  they  are  now  raising  two  little  girls, 
who  were  left  homeless,  Frances  Steward 
and  Cora  Cagel.  The  former  was  taken  into 
the  home  when  eleven  years  old,  and  the 
latter  when  two  years  old. 


FRANK  BRADFORD. 

The  subject  of  this  review  enjoyed  dis- 
tinctive prestige  among  the  enterprising 
men  of  Marion  county,  having  fought  his 
way  onward  and  upward  to  a  prominent 


position  in  industrial  circles  and  in  every 
relation  of  life  his  voice  and  influence  were 
on  the  side  of  right  as  he  saw  and  under- 
stood the  right.  He  was  always  interested 
in  every  enterprise  for  the  general  welfare 
of  the  community  and  liberally  supported 
every  movement  calculated  to  benefit  his  fel- 
low men;  and  although  the  last  chapter  in 
his  life  drama  has  been  brought  to  a  close 
and  he  has  been  called  to  a  higher  sphere 
of  action,  his  influence  is  still  felt  for  good 
in  his  community  and  he  is  greatly  missed 
by  hosts  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 

Frank  Bradford  was  born  in  Weymouth, 
Medina  county,  Ohio,  August  10,  1852, 
where  he  spent  his  boyhood  days  and  at- 
tended the  common  schools.  About  1865  he 
came  with  his  father,  George  Bradford,  and 
family  to  Flora,  Illinois,  where  the  father 
conducted  the  old  Buckeye  House  and  where 
Frank  engaged  successfully  in  farming  and 
trading  until  1879,  in  which  year  he  was 
happily  married  to  Mary  E.  Hull,  the  only 
daughter  of  the  late  Erasmus  Hull,  and  to 
this  union  a  son  and  a  daughter  were  born, 
the  former  having  died  in  infancy ;  the  latter 
is  now  Mrs.  Roland  C.  Brinkerhoff.  Of 
Mr.  Bradford's  own  family  but  two  sisters 
survive  in  1908,  namely:  Mrs.  Minnie 
Bettis,  of  Arkansas,  and  Rose  Lebus,  of 
Ardmore,  Oklahoma.  Mrs.  Bradford,  a 
woman  of  many  fine  traits,  is  living  in  Salem 
in  the  cozy,  substantial  and  well  furnished 
Bradford  residence.  Frank  Bradford  was 
a  descendant  of  the  ninth  generation  of 
Gen.  William  Bradford,  of  Revolutionary 
fame.  George  Bradford,  father  of  our  sub- 


200 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ject,  was  born  in  Rowley,  Essex  county, 
Massachusetts,  and  he  was  called  to  his  rest 
while  living  in  Arkansas.  The  mother  of 
the  subject  was  known  in  her  maidenhood 
as  Abalinda  Russell,  who  was  born  in  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  April  10,  1823,  and  she 
was  called  to  her  reward  while  living  in 
Flora,  Illinois,  February  27,  1872,  at  the 
age  of  forty-eight  years.  The  subject's 
parents  were  of  the  best  blood  and  reputa- 
tion and  were  much  admired  in  whatever 
community  they  lived  for  their  honest  and 
hard-working  lives. 

When  but  a  mere  lad  Mr.  Bradford  united 
vvith  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at 
Flora,  Illinois.  He  was  received  into  the 
Methodist  church  in  Salem  by  letter  on  De- 
cember 12,  1879,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
Fred  L.  Thompson  and  he  remained  in  that 
faith,  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  church  un- 
til his  death. 

Soon  after  his  marriage,  Mr.  Bradford 
located  in  Salem  and  entered  upon  a  long 
and  honorable  business  career  of  which  all 
speak  with  words  of  praise.  Being  of  a 
jolly  disposition  and  having  a  kind  word 
for  everyone,  he  commanded,  perhaps,  the 
largest  patronage  of  any  single  salesman  in 
the  community.  His  scrupulously  honest 
methods  and  his  natural  ability  also  at- 
tracted scores  of  customers.  He  first  en- 
tered the  mercantile  establishment  of  Hull 
and  Morris.  In  1880,  Mr.  Hull  having 
purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Morris  and 
also  the  interest  of  Scott  Muggy  in  the  firm 
of  Atkin  &  Muggy,  the  two  stocks  were 
combined  under  the  firm  name  of  Hull  & 


Atkin,  and  Mr.  Bradford  took  a  position 
with  this  firm  which  soon  became  E.  Hull 
&  Son, .  changing  later  to  the  Hull  Dry 
Goods  Company  and  then  to  C.  E.  Hull. 
Mr.  Bradford  remained  through  all  these 
changes,  having  been  regarded  as  indispens- 
able to  the  firm's  business,  until  he  went  as 
manager  for  the  firm  to  Kinmundy,  where 
he  remained  for  a  short  time  building  up  the 
trade  in  a  very  substantial  way,  and  later 
he  was  manager  for  Hammond  &  Hull  in 
Salem.  While  conducting  the  latter  busi- 
ness Mr.  Bradford  suffered  an  attack  of  ner- 
vous prostration  and  was  very  sick  for  a 
time.  Both  for  recreation  and  as  a  means, 
of  regaining  his  health  he  began  managing 
his  farm,  spending  only  an  occasional  day 
in  the  store;  but  improvement  was  not  so 
rapid  as  was  expected  for  the  long  and 
strenuous  life  in  the  commercial  world  had 
undermined  his  health  so  extensively  that 
rapid  improvement  and  even  recuperation 
could  not  be  expected,  consequently  on  Wed- 
nesday night,  February  6,  1907,  when  he 
was  planning  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the 
Pythian  Sisters  in  company  with  his  wife, 
about  5  130  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  was 
seized  with  an  attack  of  apoplexy  while  at 
his  home.  This  soon  developed  into  paraly- 
sis of  the  left  side  which  soon  became  com- 
plete. He  remained  in  an  unconscious  state 
until  6 150  the  following  morning,  when  the 
white  winged  messenger  came.  The  funeral 
services  were  conducted  at  the  residence 
Saturday  afternoon  following,  by  Rev.  J. 
G.  Tucker,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  interment  was  made  in  the 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


26l 


family  lot  in  East  Lawn  Cemetery.  The 
floral  offerings  were  beautiful  and  elaborate 
from  the  many  friends  of  the  deceased  and 
also  from  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  lodges,  the 
Pythian  Sisters  and  the  Rebekahs,  of  which 
orders  either  he  or  Mrs.  Bradford  had  been 
consistent  members.  And  the  great  throng 
of  sorrowing  friends  and  acquaintances  that 
came  to  pay  a  last  tribute  to  their  much 
loved  friend  attested  as  fully  as  was  possible 
the  love  and  high  esteem  in  which  Mr. 
Bradford  was  held  by  every  one  who  knew 
him.  Public-spirited  and  liberal  he  was 
ever  in  the  forefront  of  all  plans  for  im- 
provement and  the  betterment  of  Salem  and 
his  sudden  calling  away  was  a  distinct  loss 
to  the  entire  community,  for  his  life  had 
been  industrious,  scrupulously  honest  and 
kind. 


JAMES   HARVEY  DELZELL. 

James  H.  Delzell  is  justly  proud  of  the 
fact  that  his  ancestors  were  among  those 
hardy  pioneers  who  endured  with  great  for- 
titude the  numerous  perils  and  hardships 
that  beset  men  and  women  who  sought 
homes  in  the  wilderness  of  the  new  republic 
in  its  earlier  days.  Mr.  Delzell  is  one  of 
the  striking  figures  in  Denver  township, 
Richlancl  county,  Illinois,  not  only  from  a 
physical,  but  a  mental  standpoint.  He  is  a 
man  who  has  seen  much  of  the  world,  and 
has  kept  in  touch  with  human  events.  He 
ranks  among  the  heaviest  land  owners  in 


the  township,  and  such  possessions  as  he 
holds  he  has  accumulated  through  the  prac- 
tice of  honest  and  straightforward  business 
methods. 

The  subject  is  the  son  of  John  N.  Delzell, 
and  was  bom  in  Tennessee  August  13, 
1845.  His  father,  who  was  born  December 
29,  1818,  in  Blount  county,  died  December 
12,  1903.  He  was  educated  in  a  college  at 
Marysville,  Tennessee,  and  after  leaving 
that  institution  became  a  teacher,  and  later 
engaged  in  mercantile  business.  He  re- 
moved to  Denver  township  in  1861  with 
his  family  and  team,  and  with  eighty-four 
dollars  in  his  pocket.  Through  his  indus- 
try he  eventually  accumulated  farm  land 
amounting  to  four  hundred  acres,  a  large 
portion  of  which  he  cleared  for  cultivation. 
The  grandfather  of  the  subject.  Robert  Del- 
zell, came  to  Denver  township  in  1853,  and 
died  there.  He  was  born  about  1788,  and 
was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812.  His 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Dorcas  Da- 
vis, was  of  Scotch  ancestry,  and  her  father 
served  as  a  soldier  during  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  The  subject  had  five  brothers  and 
two  sisters.  Daniel,  bom  July  5,  1847.  was 
educated  for  the  ministry,  while  John, 
whose  birth  occurred  September  9,  1849, 
became  a  teacher,  and  was  for  many  years 
Clerk  of  Olney,  Illinois.  Both  of  these 
brothers  were  educated  at  McKendree  Col- 
lege, Lebanon,  Illinois,  and  both  are  now 
dead.  William  H.  was  born  April  27,  1852, 
and  is  now  a  resident  of  Wichita,  Kansas, 
having  retired  from  active  life.  Charles 
was  born  October  27.  1855,  and  died  in 


262 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


early  manhood.  The  birth  of  Alice  (Del- 
zell)  Adams  occurred  February  28,  1858, 
while  Laura  (Delzell)  Mitchell  was  born  No- 
vember 24,  1860.  The  date  of  George's 
birth  was  August  24,  1868,  ad  he  lives  at 
Newton,  Illinois. 

The  subject  married  Martha  Lowe  March 
24,  1868,  and  their  children  were  D.  W. 
and  Mrs.  Ora  (Delzell)  Hoel.  The  former 
was  married  to  Teressa  Tippett,  and  they 
have  six  children,  Mattie,  Howard,  Grace, 
lister,  Edna  and  Mabel.  Mrs.  Hoel,  daugh- 
ter of  the  subject,  is  the  mother  of  three 
children.  The  subject  has  been  married 
four  times,  his  second  wife  having  been 
Emma  Monroe,  his  third  Nancy  Adeline 
Hardin.  His  present  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Mary  Jackson,  was  born  Novem- 
ber 22,  1854,  and  married  May  10,  1877. 
Their  children  are:  John,  born  March  i, 
1 88 1,  a  merchant  at  Palestine,  Illinois;  Mrs. 
Sadie  Dauwalder,  born  November  27,  1882; 
Mrs.  Dora  Seessengood,  born  July  26, 
1884;  Elsie,  born  September  21,  1888;  Ed- 
ward, born  October  26,  1890;  Myrtle,  born 
May  6,  1893;  Raymond,  October  31,  1895. 

The  father  of  Mrs.  Delzell,  Cornelius 
Jackson,  died  April  i,  1894,  aged  sixty 
years.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
owner  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
well  improved  land,  and  has  been  one  of 
the  most  active  agriculturists  in  this  com- 
munity, combining  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil  with  stock  raising  and  shipping.  The 
family  of  which  he  is  a  member  has  al- 
ways preserved  an  honorable  name,  and  is 
highly  esteemed  in  this  county.  Mr.  Delzell 


was  made  a  Mason  in  1866.  He  has  strong 
religious  convictions,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  long 
standing. 


JOHN  E.  MARTIN. 

John  E.  Martin  has  spent  his  entire  life 
in  Salem,  Illinois,  having  been  born  here 
December  24,  1857,  the  son  of  Gen.  James 
S.  Martin.  His  mother  was  known  in  her 
maidenhood  as  Jane  Elston,  of  English 
ancestry.  The  parents  of  the  subject  were 
married  in  Salem.  To  them  were  born  seven 
children,  three  of  whom  are  living,  namely : 
John  E.,  our  subject;  Luther,  living  in 
Salem;  and  Mrs.  Grace  M.  Webster,  also  of 
Salem.  They  all  received  the  most  care- 
ful training  possible  by  their  parents  and 
were  given  good  common  school  educations. 
The  subject's  father,  whose  life  history  is 
given  in  detail  on  another  page  of  this 
work,  passed  away  in  1907,  after  a  long  and 
busy  career,  and  the  mother  of  the  subject, 
who  was  a  woman  of  beautiful  attributes, 
was  called  home  in  1889. 

John  E.  Martin,  our  subject,  spent  his 
boyhood  in  Salem,  where  he  attended  the 
common  schools,  making  a  splendid  record 
in  the  same.  He  later  attended  the  Claverack 
(New  York)  Military  School,  and  a 
private  school  at  Kennett  Square,  Penn- 
sylvania, which  was  later  moved  to  Media, 
that  state.  He  also  went  to  school  at  Boon- 
ville,  Missouri,  to  the  Kemper  Family 
school.  In  both  of  the  latter  he  made  rapid 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


progress  and  came  out  well  fitted  for  life's 
duties.  After  leaving  school  Mr.  Martin 
launched  in  the  dry  goods  business  in  Salem 
in  which  he  continued  with  marked  success 
attending  his  efforts  for  a  number  of  years, 
finally  moving  his  store  to  Sandoval,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  also  remained  for  several 
years,  building  up  an  excellent  trade  by  rea- 
son of  his  minute  knowledge  of  this  line 
of  business  and  his  courteous  treatment  of 
customers,  always  giving  them  value  re- 
ceived. In  1888  our  subject  assisted  his 
father,  who  was  State  Chairman  of  the  Re- 
publican State  Committee,  in  the  clerical 
work,  and  after  the  campaign  he  accepted 
a  position  with  J.  B.  Farwell  Company  at 
Chicago,  as  salesman,  and  he  remained  with 
this  firm  for  five  or  six  years,  giving  entire 
satisfaction  in  his  work.  He  came  back  to 
Salem  about  1890  for  the  purpose  of  ac- 
cepting a  position  with  the  Salem  Na- 
tional Bank  which  he  has  been  connected 
with  since  that  time,  giving  the  managers 
of  this  institution  entire  satisfaction  and 
handling  his  position  in  such  a  way  as  to 
increase  the  prestige  of  the  bank  and  reflect 
much  credit  upon  his  innate  ability.  He 
has  prospered  by  reason  of  his  executive 
ability  and  modern  business  methods  until 
he  has  accumulated  considerable  property, 
owning  at  this  time  valuable  farming  lands. 
He  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  Salem  Na- 
tional Bank. 

Mr.  Martin's  domestic  life  dates  from 
June  1 8,  1894,  when  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Clara  Merritt,  the  accomplished 
daughter  of  Hon.  T.  E.  Merritt,  an  old  and 
respected  family  of  Salem.  This  union  has 


been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  five  children, 
two  of  whom  are  living  and  three  deceased. 
Their  names  are:  The  first  child  died  in 
infancy,  unnamed ;  James  Stewart  and  Mar- 
garet Merritt,  twins,  are  both  deceased; 
Merritt  Elston  and  Alice  Jane  are  living, 
both  bright  and  interesting  children. 

Mr.  Martin  takes  a  great  interest  in 
church  work,  being  a  member  of  the  Episco- 
pal church,  to  which  his  wife  also  belongs. 
He  has  been  interested  in  helping  build  the 
new  church  on  West  Union  street,  which  is 
one  of  the  most  attractive  and  subtsantial 
little  churches  in  Salem.  In  politics  Mr. 
Martin  is  a  loyal  Republican,  always  ready 
to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  promote  the  in- 
terests of  his  community  whether  along  po- 
litical, educational,  moral  or  religious  lines. 
The  home  of  the  subject  is  nicely  furnished, 
and  presided  over  with  rare  grace  and 
dignity  by  Mrs.  Martin,  who  is  often  host- 
ess to  numerous  friends  of  this  popular 
family.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  are  pleasant 
people  to  meet,  always  courteous  and  kind. 


AARON  BUGHER  FARQUHAR. 

Another  of  the  representative  farmers  of 
Richlancl  county  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
who  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  landed  estate  in 
sections  22  and  23,  Denver  township,  and  is 
carrying  on  the  various  departments  of  his 
enterprise  with  that  discretion  and  diligence 
that  insures  success. 

Aaron  B.  Farquhar  was  torn  in  Fayette 
county,  Pennsylvania,  January  5,  1841,  the 
son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Moss)  Farquhar. 


264 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


They  were  both  natives  of  Washington  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  and  were  married  in  Fay- 
ette  county,  that  state,  living  on  a  farm 
there  the  remainder  of  their  lives,  the  father 
dying  January  26,  1856,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
five  years ;  his  wife  survived  him  many  years, 
dying  about  1898,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-five  and  was  buried  in  Red  Stone 
cemetery,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania, 
while  the  remains  of  her  husband  rest  in  the 
Quaker- cemetery,  near  Fayette  City,  Penn- 
sylvania. They  were  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, five  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  one 
dying  in  childhood,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
being  the  youngest  in  order  of  birth. 

Aaron  B.  Farquhar  remained  at  home  on 
the  farm  and  attended  the  free  schools  there 
until  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  his  father 
having  died  when  he  was  about  fifteen  years 
of  age,  he  remained  on  the  place  with  his 
mother  for  three  years  after  his  father's 
death.  In  1860  the  subject  came  by  rail  to 
Illinois  where  he  worked  on  a  farm  by  the 
month  in  Knox  county,  near  Galesburg.  He 
left  Knox  county  in  1861,  returning  to  Penn- 
sylvania and  began  the  study  of  dentistry  and 
began  practicing  the  same  in  Knox  county, 
Illinois,  in  1861,  to  which  place  he  had  re- 
turned from  Pennsylvania.  He  was  very 
successful  in  his  practice  and  he  remained  in 
Knox  county  until  1862.  In  May  of  that 
year  he  went  to  California,  where  he  prac- 
ticed his  profession  part  of  the  time,  also 
did  some  gold  mining  while  there.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1863,  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  that  win- 
ter and  on  March  24,  1864.  gave  way  to  his 


patriotic  feeling  and  enlisted  his  services  in 
defense  of  his  country,  in  Company  H,  Eight- 
eenth United  States  Infantry,  under  Cap- 
tain Mills,  in  which  he  served  until  October, 
1866,  when  he  was  transferred  to  Company 
C,  Second  Battalion,  where  he  remained  un- 
til he  was  mustered  out  of  service,  March 
24,  1867,  at  Fort  Philip  Kearney.  Dakota. 
This  was  at  the  place  of  the  Sioux  Indian 
massacre,  December  21,  1866.  Eighty- four 
men  were  sent  out  to  protect  a  wood  train 
from  the  Indians  and  not  a  man  returned 
alive,  all  having  been  killed  and  scalped, 
by  the  Indians,  and  had  it  not  been  that  the 
subject  was  on  guard  duty  at  that  time  he 
would  have  been  with  the  unfortunate  sol- 
diers that  fell  a  prey  to  the  Sioux.  During 
the  Civil  war  Mr.  Farquhar  served  gallantly 
in  the  battles  of  Resaca,  Buzzard's  Roost, 
Missionary  Ridge,  Kenesaw  Mountain, 
Chickamauga  and  many  others,  comprising 
ten  principal  battles,  from  Missionary 
Ridge  to  Jonesboro,  Georgia.  He  returned  ' 
to  Lookout  Mountain  and  did  picket  duty 
during  the  winter  of  1864.  In  March,  1865, 
he  was  detailed  to  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  did  recruiting  service.  He  was 
also  at  Ft.  Wayne,  Indiana,  and  Chicago,  on 
the  same  mission.  In  April,  1866,  he  again 
joined  the  regiment  and  moved  to  the  Da- 
kotas,  where  he  remained  until  mustered  out. 
He  returned  to  Pennsylvania  where  he  re- 
mained one  year  after  he  had  been  mustered 
out,  enjoying  a  rest  after  the  many  hard- 
ships of  an  army  career. 

Mr.  Farquhar  then  came  to  Illinois,  first 
settling  near  Galesburg,  where  he  had  for- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


merly  lived.  He  remained  there  for  one  year, 
then  moved  to  Richland  county  and  pur- 
chased the  farm  which  he  now  owns  in  Den- 
ver township,  consisting  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres  in  this  township  and  thirty-two 
acres  just  across  the  border  in  Noble  town- 
ship. It  was  on  February  14,  1870,  that  the 
subject  came  to  this  county,  paying  as  high 
as  twenty-five  dollars  per  acre  for  some  of 
this  land.  He  has  an  excellent  farm  which 
he  has  greatly  improved  and  he  has  good 
buildings  on  it;  also  keeps  some  good  stock 
on  the  place. 

Mr.  Farquhar  was  married  January  18, 
1870,  in  Fayette  City,  Pennsylvania,  to  Ma- 
ria Eckard,  who  was  born  April  i,  1839,  m 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  the 
daughter  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Rhine- 
hardt)  Eckard,  also  natives  of  Pennsylvania, 
where  they  were  married  and  where  they 
lived  all  their  lives,  Mr.  Eckard  dying  in 
1876,  and  his  wife  in  1888.  Both  are  buried 
in  the  Fayette  City  cemetery,  Fayette  county, 
Pennsylvania.  They  were  the  parents  of 
eight  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
only  three  of  them  now  living,  Mrs.  Far- 
quhar being  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth.  She 
remained  with  her  parents  at  home  until  her 
marriage  to  the  subject.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Far- 
quhar are  the  parents  of  four  children,  three 
of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  one  having  died 
in  childhood,  namely :  Frank  D.,  who  mar- 
ried Ida  Cope,  resides  in  Olney,  Illinois, 
where  he  is  interested  in  the  marble  works. 
One  child  born  to  them,  died  in  in- 
fancy. Following  are  their  children  :  lola, 
who  at  this  writing,  1909,  is  eleven  years 
old :  Alora,  age  eight ;  Aaron,  age  seven ; 


John,  age  six;  Ersula,  age  four;  Ira  Ennis, 
age  one.  Ennis  M.,  the  second  child  of  the 
subject  and  wife,  is  single  and  is  still  a  mem- 
ber of  the  home  circle  on  the  farm ;  Dessie 
B.  is  the  wife  of  Walter  Hall,  residing  on  a 
farm  in  Denver  township.  Mrs.  Farquhar 
has  been  an  invalid  for  the  past  three  years, 
totally  helpless. 

Our  subject  has  held  the  office  of  Town- 
ship Trustee  for  twenty-one  years  in  a  very 
acceptable  manner  in  this  township.  He  is  a 
very  staunch  Republican,  although  he  never 
aspires  for  any  political  office.  He  voted 
first  for  Abraham  Lincoln  for  his  second 
term.  The  subject  and  his  wife  have  always 
been  active  in  church  work,  always  attending 
the  Methodist  church,  giving  assist- 
ance to  its  work,  both  morally  and  finan- 
cially, although  neither  of  them  are  members. 
The  subject  has  held  the  office  of  trustee  of 
the  church  for  twenty  years  or  more. 

The  subject  has  been  very  successful  finan- 
cially and  now  owns  one  of  the  modern  and 
valuable  farms  of  Denver  township,  also  a 
very  desirable  home.  He  is  now  sixty-eight 
years  old  and  his  wife  is  two  years  his  senior. 
They  live  as  nearly  a  retired  life  as  a  farm 
will  permit  and  they  are  both  held  in  high 
esteem  by  their  neighbors. 


WILLIAM  WHAM. 

He  of  whom  this  sketch  is  written  is  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  honored  pioneer 
families  of  Marion  county,  Illinois,  where 
he  has  passed  practically  his  entire  life,  and 


266 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


he  is  one  of  the  successful  and  prominent 
citizens  of  Cartter,  where  he  is  the  leading 
merchant,  being  well  known  to  the  people  of 
that  vicinity  as  a  man  of  clean  business  prin- 
ciples and  public-spirited,  having  attained 
prosperity  through  his  own  well  directed  ef- 
forts. 

William  Wham  was  born  in  this  county 
in  1853,  the  son  of  William  Wham,  a  na- 
tive of  Tennessee,  who  came  to  Illinois 
when  a  young  boy  and  settled  in  Marion 
county  where  he  developed  a  good  farm  and 
always  made  a  comfortable  living.  He  was 
a  charter  member  of  the  Masonic  lodge, 
Xo.  130,  at  Salem.  He  became  well  known 
and  influential.  He  passed  to  his  rest  in 
1893.  The  mother  of  the  subject  was  Lou- 
isa Anna  Rainey,  a  native  of  Hopkinsville, 
Kentucky,  who  came  to  Illinois,  when  elev- 
en years  old.  She  was  a  woman  of  many 
praiseworthy  traits.  She  died  some  six 
years  prior  to  her  husband's  demise. 

Eight  children  were  born  to  the  parents 
of  the  subject,  four  of  whom  are  living  in 
1908.  They  are  named  in  order  of  their 
birth  as  follows:  Margaret  is  the  widow  of 
James  Mount,  of  Kell,  Illinois;  Martha  I., 
living  at  Cartter,  is  the  widow  of  William 
K.  Storment;  H.  B.  owns  a  farm  near  Cart- 
ter, Illinois;  William,  our  subject,  who 
spent  his  boyhood  on  a  farm  near  Cartter, 
working  during  the  summer  months,  and 
attending  the  country  schools  the  balance 
of  the  year.  His  early  life  was  spent  in 
farming,  trading  and  dealing  in  stock,  of 
which  he  made  a  success.  After  abandoning 
this  he  went  into  the  mercantile  business  in 


1895  at  Cartter,  Illinois,  and  has  been  thus 
engaged  since  that  time,  having  built  up  an 
excellent  trade  by  reason  of  his  courteous 
treatment  of  customers  and  his  natural  abil- 
ity. His  store  is  known  throughout  this 
locality  as  the  place  where  the  best  goods  in 
the  market  can  be  obtained  at  reasonable 
prices,  and  his  trade  has  constantly  grown 
from  year  to  year.  Mr.  Wham  has  pros- 
pered by  reason  of  his  well  directed  energy, 
and  he  has  become  the  owner  of  the  Park 
Hotel  at  Salem,  the  leading  hostelry  of  that 
city,  and  he  is  also  a  director  of  the  Salem 
National  Bank.  He  also  has  a  large  inter- 
est in  the  Robinson  oil  fields  in  Crawford 
county.  He  was  chairman  of  the  building 
committee  for  the  new  building  for  the  Sa- 
lem National  Bank,  which  was  erected  in 
1908.  He  also  has  valuable  farm  lands.  All 
this  our  subject  has  attained  by  reason  of 
his  own  unaided  efforts,  and  every  dollar 
he  possesses  was  obtained  in  an  honest  man- 
ner. 

Mr.  Wham  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1874  to  Emma  C.  Adams,  the  refined  and 
accomplished  daughter  of  James  Adams,  of 
near  Salem.  Her  father  is  a  well  known 
farmer.  One  child,  born  to  the  subject 
and  wife,  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Wham  is 
postmistress  at  Cartter,  which  position  she 
has  creditably  filled  for  the  past  fourteen 
years,  having  been  appointed  by  Grover 
Cleveland  and  re-appointed  by  every  Pres- 
ident since.  She  is  a  woman  of  rare  execu- 
tive ability  as  well  as  many  pleasing  traits 
which  renders  her  popular  with  all  classes. 
Mrs.  Wham's  mother.  Mrs.  Paulina  Adams. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


267 


is  living  at  Springfield,  Illinois.  The  father 
of  the  subject's  wife  is  deceased.  They 
were  both  natives  of  Virginia  and  scions  of 
well  known  old  southern  families.  Mr. 
Wham's  grandfather  was  also  named  Wil- 
liam Wham.  He  was  a  native  of  Ireland, 
and  a  man  of  sterling  qualities. 

Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Blue  Lodge,  Chapter  at  Salem.,  and  the 
Commandery  at  Centralia.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wham  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  church  at  Cartter,  be- 
ing liberal  subscribers  to  the  same.  Mr. 
Wham  was  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Su- 
pervisors of  Marion  county,  having  been 
elected  as  an  independent  and  was  a  good 
official,  having  ably  disposed  of  the  duties 
of  this  important  trust  in  a  manner  that  re- 
flected much  credit  upon  his  ability. 


GEN.  JAMES  STEWART  MARTIN. 

It  is  a  great  badge  of  honor  to  have  the 
distinction  of  serving  the  government  in  the 
conflict  with  Mexico,  assisting  in  the  ardu- 
ous campaigns  until  the  stars  and  stripes 
were  unfurled  on  the  citadel  of  the  Monte- 
zuma,  and  also,  less  than  two  decades  later 
to  have  been  permitted  to  serve  the  na- 
tional Union  in  the  four  years  of  polemic 
struggle  between  the  states.  Among  the 
conspicuous  figures  of  these  great  inter- 
necine conflicts  is  the  well  remembered  gen- 
tleman whose  name  forms  the  caption  of 


this  biographical  memoir,  who,  although 
his  life  history  has  been  closed  by  death, 
his  influence  continues  to  pervade  the  lives 
of  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
He  was  always  mindful  of  his  duty  to  his 
fellow  men  and  ready  with  word  or  deed  to 
assist  them  in  the  struggle  up  life's  steep 
path.  No  man  in  his  day  and  generation 
in  this  locality  exercised  a  greater  influence 
for  the  civic,  material  and  moral  uplift  of 
the  community  than  General  Martin,  for  his 
life  was  that  of  the  patriot,  the  Christian 
gentleman,  the  true  American  nobleman. 

General  James  Stewart  Martin  was  born 
August  19,  1826,  in  Estillville,  now  Gate 
City,  Scott  county,  Virginia,  the  son  of 
John  S.  and  Malinda  (Morrison)  Martin, 
pioneers  of  that  part  of  the  Old  Dominion 
state  and  a  fine  old  Southern  family  of  great 
influence  in  their  day,  his  father  having  been 
a  man  of  considerable  political  prominence 
and  highly  educated.  He  served  as  County 
Clerk,  Circuit  Clerk,  and  Master  of  Chan- 
cery for  about  twenty  years.  The  mother 
of  the  subject,  who  was  born  in  Sullivan 
county,  Tennessee,  was  a  woman  of  many 
commendable  attributes,  noted  for  her 
broad  charity  and  high  culture,  and  before 
she  was  called  to  her  rest,  in  1828,  she 
emancipated  her  slaves.  The  subject's 
father  moved  to  Illinois  in  1844  and  settled 
on  a  farm  seven  miles  north  of  Salem, 
where  his  son,  our  subject,  resided  for  a 
period  of  three  years,  assisting  in  develop- 
ing the  farm  from  its  primitive  state  into  a 
highly  productive  place. 

James  S.  Martin,  our  subject,  received  his 


268 


HIOGKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
community  in  Virginia,  making  such  notable 
progress  and  manifesting  such  a  thirst  for 
the  higher  learning  that  he  was  subsequently 
placed  in  Emery  and  Henry  College,  Wash- 
ington county,  Virginia,  where  he  made  a 
brilliant  record  for  scholarship.  A  lad  of 
strong  patriotism  from  his  early  youth 
which  continued  to  increase  with  advancing 
years,  he  was  glad  to  have  an  opportunity 
to  enter  the  army  during  the  Mexican  war, 
having  enlisted  in  Company  C,  First  Regi- 
ment, Illinois  Volunteers,  in  the  spring  of 
1847,  and  he  made  such  an  excellent  soldier 
that  he  was  made  third  sergeant  of  his  com- 
pany. The  regiment  was  mustered  into  ser- 
vice at  Alton,  then  transported  to  Fort 
Leavenworth  and  marched  across  the  plains 
to  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico.  He  performed 
conspicuous  service  during  the  strenuous 
campaign  against  the  Mexicans.  After  the 
war,  while  on  the  homeward  trip,  his  com- 
pany nominated  him  for  County  Clerk  of 
Marion  county,  and  the  people  here  ratified 
their  action  upon  the  arrival  of  the  men  at 
Salem.  He  was  duly  elected  and  in  a  most 
able  and  creditable  manner  discharged  the 
duties  of  the  same  for  a  period  of  twelve 
years.  He  was  also  Master  in  Chancery  for 
two  terms,  in  which  he  also  showed  his  su- 
perior ability  in  official  capacity.  Being  an 
ambitious  man  he  sought  every  means  pos- 
sible to  improve  himself  and  to  be  of  the 
greatest  service  to  his  fellow  men,  conse- 
quently while  holding  these  offices  he  de- 
voted his  spare  moments  to  the  study  of  law, 
and  upon  admittance  to  the  bar,  July  4, 


1 86 1,  formed  a  partnership  with  B.  F. 
Marshall  and  D.  C.  Jones  and  opened  an  of- 
fice in  Salem.  Owing  to  the  great  strength 
and  prestige  of  this  well  known  trio  their 
legal  business  was  heavy  from  the  first  and 
the  reputation  of  the  firm  soon  spread 
throughout  this  part  of  the  state. 

In  1862,  when  the  clouds  of  rebellion 
were  the  darkest  and  the  lambent  flames  of 
discontented  citizenship  of  the  South  were 
the  most  direful,  our  subject  realized  that 
every  loyal  son  of  the  North  should  do  what 
he  could  toward  preserving  the  integrity  of 
the  Union,  consequently  he  sought  and  ob- 
tained permission  from  Governor  Yates  to 
raise  a  regiment,  with  the  result  that  the 
famous  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  was 
mustered,  and  Mr.  Martin  was  selected  as 
the  man  most  worthy  and  able  to  command 
it,  therefore  he  became  colonel  of  the  same. 
It  was  composed  of  seven  companies  from 
Marion  county,  one  from  Clay  and  one  from 
Clinton  county,  the  regiment  comprising 
nine  hundred  and  thirty  men  and  officers, 
and  it  was  mustered  into  service  September 
1 8,  1862,  and  joined  General  Davies  at  Co- 
lumbus, Kentucky.  Our  subject  served  in 
the  capacity  of  colonel  all  through  the  war, 
his  services  showing  that  he  was  a  man  of 
much  military  courage  and  genius,  having 
from  time  to  time  led  his  men  into  the  brunt 
of  the  fighting.  During  1863  he  was  in 
command  of  the  post  at  Columbus  and  later 
at  Paducah,  Kentucky.  From  there  he  went 
to  Florence,  Alabama,  whither  he  was  or- 
dered by  General  Sherman,  and  he  later 
went  into  winter  quarters  at  Pulaski,  Ten- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


269 


nessee.  From  March  16,  1864,  he  served 
with  the  Sixteenth  Army  Corps,  until  the 
close  of  the  struggle,  having  seen  much 
hard  service  during  that  time,  being  with 
Sherman  on  his  march  to  the  sea  and  having 
led  his  regiment  at  the  great  battles  of 
Resaca,  Dallas,  Kenesaw  Mountain,  Atlanta, 
Jonesboro,  Fort  McAllister  and  received 
the  surrender  of  the  commander  of  this  fort. 
He  was  brevetted  brigadier  general  in  July, 
1864,  and  participated  in  the  grand  review 
in  Washington  City,  and  was  mustered  out 
in  Springfield,  Illinois,  in  June,  1865. 

After  the  war  General  Martin  plunged 
into  the  active  affairs  of  civil  life  and  won 
signal  distinction  in  the  field  of  politics  and 
business.  He  launched  into  banking  in  Sa- 
lem, building  up  the  nucleus  of  a  large  for- 
tune through  his  wonderful  executive  abil- 
ity. Taking  an  interest  in  Republican  poli- 
tics after  the  war  he  was  elected  County 
Judge  in  1866,  overwhelming  a  Democratic 
majority  of  six  hundred.  He  was  nominated 
for  Congress  in  1872  and  was  elected  over 
Judge  Silas  L.  Bryan,  father  of  Hon.  Wil- 
liam J.  Bryan.  He  ably  served  one  term 
in  Washington. 

General  Martin  was  appointed  Commis- 
sioner of  the  Southern  Illinois  Penitentiary 
by  Governor  Cullom,  September  4,  1879, 
which  position  he  creditably  served  for  four 
years.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the  Re- 
publican State  Central  Committee  for  a 
period  of  nearly  twenty  years,  and  was  chair- 
man of  the  same  during  the  canvass  which 
elected  Governor  Fifer.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  National  Convention  in  1876,  when 


he  voted  for  the  nomination  of  James  G. 
Elaine  for  President.  As  might  be  expected 
he  was  an  interested  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  and  was  honored  in 
the  same  by  being  elected  department  com- 
mander of  Illinois  for  two  terms.  He  was 
largely  instrumental  in  1882  in  organizing 
the  Southern  Illinois  Soldiers  and  Sailors 
Reunion  Association,  of  which  he  continu- 
ously served  as  commander.  In  all  the  offi- 
cial positions,  General  Martin  conducted 
himself  as  a  most  able  and  worthy  exponent 
of  the  country's  good,  and  proved  at  all 
times  to  be  an  unselfish  public  servant  of 
the  most  humanitarian  and  altruistic  mo- 
tives and  principles. 

The  domestic  life  of  our  subject  dates 
from  1852,  when  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Jane  Elston,  of  Salem,  Illinois,  to 
whom  four  children  were  born,  three  sur- 
viving. They  are :  Grace  M.,  the  wife  of 
George  O.  Webster;  Luther  and  John  E. 
A  complete  history  of  the  last  child  named 
is  to  be  found  on  another  page  of  this  work. 
The  subject's  first  wife  passed  to  her  rest 
in  1889,  and  in  1903  General  Martin  was 
married  to  Margaret  Savage,  of  Ashland, 
Kentucky,  who,  with  their  daughter,  Daisy, 
a  cultured  and  refined  lady,  survive  in  1908. 
Three  brothers  of  the  subject,  Robert,  Ben- 
jamin and  Thomas,  are  also  living  in  Salem. 

Thus  after  a  most  active,  useful  and  ex- 
emplary life  which  the  kind  Heavenly 
Father  greatly  prolonged  he  passed  to  his 
rest,  November  20,  1907. 

The  city  of  Salem  owes  a  great  debt  of 
gratitude  to  General  Martin  for  he  aided  in 


2JO 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


many  ways  in  its  upbuilding  and  general 
development  as  he  did  also  Marion  county, 
where  he  was  for  many  decades  held  in  the 
highest  esteem  by  all  classes,  for  he  was 
universally  regarded  as  a  hero  both  in  war 
and  in  peace,  one  of  the  component  parts  of 
the  nation's  substantial  pillars,  and  the  rev- 
erence with  which  the  citizens  of  this  lo- 
cality cherish  his  memory  will  serve  as  a 
greater  monument  than  marble  shaft  or 
bronze  obelisk.  He  was  truly  a  brave  and 
good  man  whose  life  was  a  continued  sacri- 
fice for  others,  a  benefactor  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  term.  His  career  was  fraught  with 
untold  blessings  to  the  world,  and  when  in 
common  with  all  things  human  his  earthly 
course  was  ended  and  he  was  called  to  a 
higher  plane  of  action,  the  memory  of  his 
noble  deeds  and  honorable  achievements 
continued  to  constitute  a  record  to  which 
each  passing  year  will  give  additional  luster. 


].  D.  TELFORD. 

In  such  men  as  Mr.  Telford  there  is  pecu- 
liar satisfaction  in  offering  their  life  his- 
tories justification  for  the  compilation  of 
works  of  this  character — not  that  their  lives 
have  been  such  as  to  gain  them  particularly 
wide  notoriety  or  the  admiring  plaudits  of 
men,  but  that  they  have  been  true  to  the 
trusts  reposed  in  them,  have  shown  such 
attributes  of  character  as  entitle  them  to 
the  regard  .of  all. 

J.  D.  Telford  was  born  in  Marion  county, 


Illinois,  September  2,  1848.  He  is  the 
son  of  Samuel  G.  Telford,  a  native  of  Jef- 
ferson county,  Illinois.  Grandfather  James 
Telford,  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  came 
to  Jefferson  county  as  early  as  1822,  and 
moved  to  this  county  in  1836,  when  the 
father  of  the  subject  was  nine  years  old,  and 
like  most  of  the  sturdy  pioneers  of  that  early 
time,  was  compelled  to  undergo  many  pri- 
vations and  do  much  hard  work  in  estab- 
lishing a  home,  but  being  a  man  of  sterling 
qualities  and  indomitable  energy  he  con- 
quered the  many  obstacles  that  confronted 
him  and  led  a  useful  and  influential  life  as 
a  farmer  there,  as  did  also  his  son,  father  of 
our  subject,  who  seemed  to  inherit  much  of 
the  older  Telford's  better  traits,  and,  indeed, 
the  family  characteristics  have  come  on 
down  to  our  subject,  who  is  carefully  order- 
ing his  life  so  as  to  carry  out  the  early 
praiseworthy  characteristics  of  his  ances- 
tors. Samuel  G.  Telford  spent  his  life  on 
the  farm,  having  lived  on  the  same  farm  for 
sixty  years.  This  was  taken  out  of  the  new 
prairie  land,  but  the  wild  soil  was  soon 
transformed  into  highly  productive  fields. 
He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army,  having 
enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty- 
sixth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  ren- 
dered gallant  service  until  the  winter  of 
1864.  He  is  still  living  in  1908  near  Cartter, 
Marion  county.  The  mother  of  the  subject 
was  called  to  her  rest  in  1882.  Her  maiden 
name  was  Mary  Baldridge.  She  was  a  na- 
tive of  Illinois,  but  her  people  came  from 
North  Carolina. 

James  Telford  was  an  Abolitionist  and 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


27I 


was  an  historic  character  in  his  day,  having 
played  an  important  part  in  the  famous  un- 
derground railway  when  Illinois  was  ad- 
mitted as  a  free  state  in  1818.  He  came  to 
this  state  because  he  was  opposed  to  slavery. 
His  wife's  maiden  name  was  Kell,  and  she 
was  also  a  native  of  South  Carolina.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  five  of 
whom  are  living  at  this  writing,  the  father 
of  the  subject  being  the  only  one  of  the  boys 
living. 

Samuel  G.  Telford  and  wife  were  the 
parents  of  nine  children,  named  in  the  order 
of  their  birth  as  follows:  J.  D.,  subject  of 
this  sketch;  Joseph,  of  Alma  township, 
Marion  county;  Margaret  J.,  deceased;  Eva, 
who  is  married  and  living  in  Ashville, 
North  Carolina ;  Alice,  the  wife  of  William 
Wyatt,  of  Durant,  Oklahoma ;  Kate,  wife  of 
Doctor  Richardson,  of  Union  City,  Okla- 
homa ;  George  B.,  who  is  living  in  Kansas ; 
Arthur,  a  -farmer  of  Marion  county ;  Belle, 
who  became  Mrs.  Arnold,  is  deceased. 

J.  D.  Telford,  our  subject,  lived  with  his 
father  until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old, 
assisting  with  the  work  on  the  old  home- 
stead and  attending  the  country  schools 
during  the  winter  months.  Having  applied 
himself  well  to  his  text-books  he  became 
fairly  well  educated,  and  later  has  added  to 
this  by  home  reading  and  coming  in  contact 
with  the  world.  The  happy  and  harmonious 
domestic  life  of  the  subject  dates  from 
January  19,  1872,  when  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Sarah  A.  Wyatt,  the  estimable 
daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  Wyatt,  a 
highly  respected  family  of  Marion  county, 


natives  of  Tennessee,  who  came  to  Marion 
county  in  1860. 

The  following  children  have  been  born  to 
the  subject  and  wife,  all  of  whom  are  well 
established  in  life  and  give  promise  of  suc- 
cessful futures:  Dr.  A.  T.,  who  lives  at 
Olney,  Illinois;  E.  D.,  is  an  attorney  at 
Salem,  this  county;  Ula,  is  a  stenographer 
in  the  Life  Savings  Station  at  Chicago; 
Omer  F.  is  a  farmer  in  Marion  county; 
Oran  is  a  member  of  the  family  circle  at 
their  home  in  Salem,  as  is  also  J.  D.,  Jr. 
The  Telford  residence  is  modern  and  always 
cheerful. 

The  subject  is  engaged  in  farming  and 
real  estate,  largely  interested  in  fruit  grow- 
ing, at  which  he  is  highly  competent,  having 
long  taken  an  abiding  interest  in  horticul- 
ture. He  has  two  large  orchards  containing 
six  thousand  and  five  hundred  apple  trees 
of  excellent  variety  and  quality.  He  de- 
votes much  of  his  time  to  the  care  of  his 
orchards,  which  are  among  the  most  valu- 
able in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  useless  to 
add  that  the  financial  returns  from  the  sale 
of  his  fruit  are  usually  quite  satisfactory. 
Politically  Mr.  Telford  is  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican and  having  been  actuated  by  a  laudable 
desire  for  political  preferment,  his  friends 
elected  him  to  the  important  office  of  Sher- 
iff of  Marion  county,  the  duties  of  which  he 
faithfully  performed  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all  concerned  for  a  period  of  four  years, 
having  been  elected  in  1882  and  serving 
until  1886.  He  is  well  grounded  in  his  po- 
litical convictions,  and  always  lends  his 
aid  in  supporting  his  party's  principles,  en- 


272 


IUOGKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


deavoring  to  place  the  best  men  possible  in 
local  offices.  He  is  a  well  informed  man, 
not  only  on  political  matters  and  current 
events,  but  he  is  well  read  on  scientific,  liter- 
ary and  diverse  subjects  which  make  his 
conversation  interesting  as  well  as  instruc- 
tive, and  he  is  generally  regarded  as  one  of 
the  substantial  men  of  Marion  county. 


BENJAMIN  F.  RODGERS,  M.  D. 

In  giving  the  life  record  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  the  publishers  of  this  work  be- 
lieve that  it  will  be  an  incentive  to  the 
young  who  may  peruse  it  to  lead  nobler 
lives,  have  higher  ambitions  and  accomplish 
more  for  their  fellow  men,  for  his  life  has 
always  been  led  along  a  plane  of  high  en- 
deavor, always  cdnsistent  with  the  truth  in 
its  higher  forms  and  ever  in  keeping  with 
honorable  principles.  He  is  the  scion  of 
pioneer  ancestors  of  the  most  sterling  qual- 
ities who  did  much  in  their  day  for  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  lived,  and  Doctor 
Rodgers  is  a  worthy  descendant  of  his  for- 
bears, thus  for  many  reasons,  not  the  least  of 
which  is  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the 
patriotic  sons  of  the  North,  who,  when  the 
tocsin  of  war  sounded,  left  his  hearthstone 
and  business  to  do  what  he  could  in  saving 
the  country  from  treason,  the  biographer  is 
glad  to  give  him  just  representation  in  this 
work. 

Dr.  Benjamin  F.  Rodgers  was  born 
in  York,  Pennsylvania,  in  1829,  the  son  of 


Joseph  D.  and  Mary  (Hamilton)  Rodgers. 
Grandfather  Rodgers,  who  came  to  America 
in  1776,  settling  in  Maryland,  was  a  weaver 
by  profession  and  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  He  lived  to  be  ninety-four 
years  old,  and  the  grandmother  of  the  sub- 
ject lived  to  her  ninety-sixth  year.  They 
were  the  parents  of  a  large  family. 

The  father  of  the  subject,  who  was  born 
in  Maryland,  moved  to  Pennsylvania  when 
a  boy,  later  to  Ohio,  where  he  spent  the  bal- 
ance of  his  days  on  a  farm.  There  were 
eleven  children  in  this  family,  six  of  whom 
lived  to  maturity.  The  subject's  parents 
were  Presbyterians  and  the  father  and  moth- 
er both  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  nine  years 
old  when  he  moved  to  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
ceived a  fairly  good  education  by  attending 
the  subscription  schools  of  his  community. 
He  clerked  in  a  store  in  Ohio  for  two  years, 
then  learned  to  be  a  shoemaker;  but  neither 
of  these  lines  seemed  to  suit  his  tastes,  be- 
lieving that  he  was  capable  of  rendering  a 
better  service  to  humanity,  consequently  he 
began  the  study  of  medicine,  in  which  he 
made  rapid  progress  and  he  soon  entered  a 
medical  college.  After  completing  the  pre- 
scribed course  with  honor,  he  began  prac- 
tice in  Ohio,  and  later  located  at  Elizabeth- 
town,  Kentucky,  having  soon  gained  a  firm 
foothold.  But  believing  that  better  oppor- 
tunities awaited  him  at  Belleville,  Illinois,  he 
removed  thereto  in  1849,  and  afterwards 
removed  to  Jacksonville,  and  at  that  place 
the  doctor  enlisted  in  September,  1861,  in 
the  Union,  enlisted  in  September,  1861,  in 


B.  F.  RODGERS.  M.  D. 


.***• 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


273 


the  Second  Illinois  Light  Artillery,  and  so 
efficient  were  his  services  that  he  was  com- 
missioned captain  of  Company  K.  His  rec- 
ord in  the  army  is  a  most  creditable  one.  He 
was  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson,  at  Jack- 
son, Mississippi,  and  was  in  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg.  Engraved  on  a  monument  erect- 
ed at  Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  in  honor  of 
Company  K,  Second  Illinois  Light  Artillery, 
are  the  words : 

"Battery  K,  Second  Light  Artillery, 

Capt.  Benjamin  Rodgers, 
"Fourth  Division  Sixteenth  Corps. 
"Entered  Campaign  About  May  20, 
1863.     Served  with  the  Division  Dur- 
ing siege." 

He  takes  great  pride  in  his  military  life 
and  relates  his  battery  was  nearer  the  en- 
emy's works  than  any  other  battery  of  the 
siege,  which  occupied  forty-two  days.  He 
was  Chief  of  Artillery  on  the  staff  of  Gen- 
eral Lauman,  Gen.  Crocker  Gresham, 
Logan,  and  was  Chief  of  Staff  of  General 
Ranson  at  Natchez. 

He  was  also  in  the  southwestern  cam- 
paign and  the  battles  subsequent  to  that.  He 
was  mustered  out  at  Memphis,  Tennessee, 
December  31,  1864.  After  the  close  of  the 
war  Doctor  Rodgers  located  in  Patoka, 
where  he  has  practiced  his  profession  ever 
since. 

Doctor  Rodgers  was  united  in  marriage 

on  November  3,  1848,  with  Mary  K.  Chiell, 

daughter  of  Casper  Chiell.     He  has  four 

children  living,  also  fourteen  grandchildren, 

18 


and  seven  great-grandchildren.  Mrs.  Rod- 
gers was  called  from  her  earthly  labors  at 
the  age  of  seventy-two  years. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  loyal  Repub- 
lican, and  he  has  ever  taken  a  great  interest 
in  public  affairs,  having  made  his  influence 
felt  for  the  good  of  his  community  in  many 
ways  and  served  in  a  most  able  manner  as 
postmaster  and  also  Mayor  of  Patoka;  in 
fact,  he  might  be  called  the  father  of  this 
town.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  and  has  been  commander  of 
the  local  post.  In  his  fraternal  relations  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the 
lodge  at  Jacksonville,  Illinois.  No  man  in 
this  part  of  Marion  county  is  better  or  more 
favorably  known  than  he,  known  for  his 
professional  skill,  his  public  spirit,  his  integ- 
rity and  kind  heartedness. 


ADAM  H.  BACHMANN. 

The  United  States  can  boast  of  no  better 
or  more  law-abiding  class  of  citizens  than 
the  great  number  of  German  people  who 
have  found  homes  within  her  borders. 
Though  holding  dear  and  sacred  the  beloved 
mother  country,  they  are  none  the  less  de- 
voted to  the  fair  country  of  their  adoption. 
Among  this  class  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who  for  a  number  of  years  has  been 
one  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  has  labored  not 
only  for  his  own  advancement,  but  also  for 
the  good  of  the  community,  his  efforts  hav- 


274 


r.IOCK.  UMIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ing  been  amply  repaid  with  abundant  finan- 
cial success  and  the  esteem  of  his  fellow 
men. 

Adam  H.  Bachmann,  the  well  known  and 
popular  president  of  the  Salem  National 
Bank,  was  born  in  Saxony,  Germany,  No- 
vember 28,  1845,  the  son  of  George  Bach- 
mann, a  man  of  sterling  qualities,  who  was 
also  a  native  of  Germany,  and  who  died 
there  in  1860.  The  mother  of  the  subject 
was  known  in  her  maidenhood  as  Mocklin 
Sputh,  also  of  the  Fatherland,  who  was 
called  to  her  rest  in  1866.  Of  the  six  chil- 
dren born  to  the  elder  Bachmann,  there  are 
living  the  following  in  1908:  Mrs.  Lizzie 
Sputh  and  Ernest  Bachmann,  both  of  Ger- 
many, and  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  These 
children  received  every  care  and  attention 
possible  by  their  parents  who  were  people  of 
industry  and  uprightness. 

Adam  H.  Bachmann  left  Germany  in 
March.  1866,  landing  in  America  the  fol- 
lowing April,  having  barely  attained  his  ma- 
jority. He  had  received  eight  years  of 
schooling  in  his  native  land,  receiving  a 
fairly  good  education  for  he  was  an  am- 
bitious lad  and  diligently  applied  himself  to 
his  school-books  and  this  careful  founda- 
tion has  since  been  greatly  strengthened  and 
built  up  through  his  contact  with  the  world 
and  his  habits  of  home  reading,  so  that  Mr. 
Bachmann's  conversation  is  at  once  learned, 
interesting  and  instructive.  Our  subject  lo- 
cated at  Lebanon.  Illinois,  shortly  after 
coming  to  the  New  World,  where  he 
worked  as  a  cabinet  maker.  In  the  spring 
of  1868,  he  came  to  Salem,  this  state,  and 


engaged  in  the  furniture  business  with 
which  he  has  since  been  identified,  and 
which  was  a  successful  venture  from  .the 
first  and  by  reason  of  the  subject's  careful 
attention  to  duty,  his  natural  ability  as  a  far- 
sighted  and  cautious  business  man,  coupled 
with  his  kind  and  courteous  treatment  of 
customers,  his  trade  has  gradually  grown 
all  these  years,  his  place  of  business  being 
generally  known  as  one  of  the  safest,  most 
reliable  as  well  as  up-to-date  furniture  estab- 
lishments in  this  locality.  After  building  the 
business  up  to  its  present  high  state  of  effi- 
ciency, Mr.  Bachmann  turned  it  over  to  his 
two  sons,  Frank  and  Charley,  both  very  able 
and  progressive  young  men,  who  are  con- 
ducting a  modern  and  well  stocked  store, 
being  numbered  among  the  leading  young 
business  men  of  the  county,  to  whom  the  fu- 
ture holds  unbounded  success  and  honor, 
since  they  are  not  only  young  men  of  sound 
business  principles,  but  also  of  the  finest 
personal  traits. 

Mr.  Bachmann  was  united  in  marriage 
November  15,  1868,  to  Mary  Alkire,  the 
representative  of  a  highly  respected  and  influ- 
ential family  of  Lebanon,  Illinois,  who  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania.  Eleven  children  have 
been  born  to  the  subject  and  wife,  seven  of 
whom  are  living  at  the  time  of  this  writing. 
1908,  named  in  order  of  their  birth,  as  fol- 
lows :  Mrs.  Lizzie  Kolb,  of  Lebanon,  Illinois ; 
Frank,  of  Salem,  this  county;  Mrs.  Amy 
Stonecipher,  also  of  Salem ;  Maud,  living  at 
home:  Charley,  Adam  H.,  Jr..  and  Paulina, 
all  live  with  their  parents  in  Salem. 

Mr.  Bachmann  deserves  much  credit  for 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


275 


the  well  defined  success  he  has  attained  since 
casting-  his  lot  among  Americans,  partly  be- 
cause he  has  been  the  architect  of  his  own 
fortunes,  beginning  his  business  career  ab- 
solutely empty-handed,  and  with  no  one  to 
encourage  or  assist  in  any  way,  and  partly 
because  he  has  made  his  competency  by  hon- 
est, straight-forward  business  methods  that 
no  one  can  question.  When  he  first  landed 
on  our  shores  he  had  a  capital  of  only  three 
cents  and  today  he  is  the  wealthiest  man  in 
Marion  county.  He  had  the  insight,  the 
rare  sagacity  and  perceptive  instinct  to 
grasp  situations  as  they  arose  and  the  splen- 
did business  acumen  to  turn  seemiing  ob- 
stacles into  ultimate  sucess.  Such  men  are 
born  leaders  in  the  financial  world  and  they 
are  not  any  too  frequently  met  with. 

Mr.  Bachmann  is  president  of  the  Salem 
National  Bank,  president  of  the  Farmers' 
and  Merchants'  Bank  at  St.  Peter,  Illinois; 
besides  being  an  extensive  land  owner,  hav- 
ing nine  large  farms  in  Marion  county. 
They  are  all  very  valuable,  well  drained,  se- 
curely fenced,  the  soil  being  highly  produc- 
tive and  the  buildings  on  each  modern  and 
convenient.  Besides  these  he  has  much  other 
real  estate.  Also  owns  about  as  much  prop- 
erty in  East  St.  Louis  as  he  has  here.  Mr. 
Bachmann  has  large  property  interests  at 
Mattoon  and  Oakland,  this  state.  His  large 
real  estate  holdings  and  financial  loans  oc- 
cupy the  major  part  of  his  time  and  atten- 
tion, however,  he  finds  time  to  assist  in  for- 
warding any  movement  for  the  betterment 
of  his  community.  In  fact,  he  is  a  pioneer 
in  the  development  and  progress  of  Marion 


county.  He  came  to  Salem,  when  there  was 
only  one  brick  house  here,  but  he  had  the 
sagacity  to  note  the  possibilities  in  the  place 
and  soon  decided  to  cast  his  lot  here  with 
the  result  that  he  has  benefited  not  only 
himself,  but  also  the  entire  community, 
more,  perhaps,  than  any  other  man  has  done 
or  is  likely  to  do  in  the  years  to  come.  In 
other  words,  the  wonderful  things  that  the 
future  held  seemed  to  be  within  Mr.  Bach- 
mann's  horoscope,  and  he  began  on  the 
ground  floor,  developing  with  the  country, 
which  is  wonderfully  rich  in  resources  and 
possibilities.  While  Mr.  Bachmann  has 
been  too  busy  to  devote  much  time  to  polit- 
ical matters,  never  having  entertained  an 
ambition  for  political  preferment,  he  has 
ever  assisted  in  any  way  he  could  the  de- 
velopment of  the  community  whether  polit- 
ical, educational,  moral  or  civic,  and  he  did 
much  in  making  the1  city  a  clean  and  de- 
sirable place  in  which  to  live,  principally 
while  ably  serving  it  as  Alderman.  In  his 
fraternal  relations  our  subject  is  a  Mason. 

The  Bachmann  residence,  which  is  one  of 
the  finest,  most  modern,  substantial  and 
beautiful  in  Salem,  is  elegantly  furnished 
and  a  place  where  the  many  friends  and  ad- 
mirers of  this  popular  family  delight  to 
gather,  being  presided  over  with  rare  grace 
and  dignity  by  the  subject's  wife  who  is  a 
charming  hostess,  congenial  and  talented. 

Mr.  Bachmann  is  a  pleasant  man  to  meet, 
jovial,  and  at  all  times  agreeable,  never 
pompous  or  phlegmatic.  His  is  a  well 
rounded  character,  in  which  the  different  in- 
terests of  life  are  given  their  due  proportion 


276 


IIIOCKAPHICAL    AND   REM1 XISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


of  attention.  One  line  of  thought  or  work 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  others  produces  an 
abnormal  development  and  makes  the  in- 
dividual narrow  in  his  views  of  life.  Mr. 
Bachmann  has  never  followed  such  a  course 
for  while  giving  his  chief  attention  to  his 
business,  as  do  the  majority  of  men,  he 
finds  time  and  opportunity  to  take  an  in- 
terest in  matters  pertaining  to  the  progress 
and  growth  of  his  county,  state  and  nation, 
and  to  mingle  with  hisi  friends,  enlarging 
the  circle  of  his  acquaintance  and  broaden- 
ing his  mind  through  the  interchange  of 
thought  with  others. 


E.  LOUIS  BLEDSOE. 

The  names  of  those  men  who  have  dis- 
tinguished themselves  through  the  posses- 
sion of  those  qualities  which  daily  contrib- 
ute to  the  success  of  private  life  and  to  the 
public  stability  and  who  have  enjoyed  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  those  about  them, 
should  not  be  permitted  to  perish.  Such  a 
one  is  the  subject  of  this  review,  one  of  the 
leading  lumber  dealers  in  Marion  county. 

E.  L.  Bledsoe,  president  of  the  Bledsoe 
Lumber  Company,  of  Salem,  was  born  in 
Bradford,  Indiana,  in  1858.  His  father  was 
William  J.  Bledsoe,  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
who  came  to  Indiana  when  a  young  man. 
He  was  a  United  Brethren  minister.  Wil- 
liam J.  Bledsoe  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union 
army  during  the  Civil  war,  having  been  a 
member  of  the  Thirty-seventh  Iowa  Volun- 


teer Infantry.  He  died  in  a  hospital  in  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  from  illness  contracted 
while  in  line  of  duty.  Two  sons,  William 
J.,  Jr.,  and  James  W.,  were  also  in  the  army, 
having  enlisted  in  Company  H,  Twenty- 
fifth  Iowa  Volunteer  Infantry.  They 
fought  side  by  side  in  twenty-seven  battles. 
Both  re-enlisted  after  their  time  was  up  and 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  James 
W.  was  wounded  twice.  Both1  were  with 
Sherman  on  his  famous  march  to  the  sea. 
They  are  both  living.  The  father  died  May 
5,  1867. 

The  mother  of  the  subject  was  Martha 
Ridgeway,  a  native  of  Chillicothe,  Ohio, 
who  married  the  subject's  father  in  Franks- 
ville,  Indiana.  She  was  a  woman  of  many- 
fine  traits  and  was  called  to  her  rest  in  1883 
while  living  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois.  The 
following  children  were  born  to  this  union : 
James  W.,  of  Rock  Island;  William  J.  Jr., 
also  of  Rock  Island ;  George  B.  died  at  Rock 
Island  in  1906;  J.  P.,  of  Davenport,  Iowa; 
E.  L.,  our  subject;  Frank  A.,  of  Rock  Is- 
land; Mark  S.,  of  St.  Louis;  Mattie  J.,  who 
is  a  physician  located  at  Chickasha,  Okla- 
homa. Our  subject  was  taken  to  Iowa  by 
his  parents  when  about  three  years  old.  The 
family  located  at  Washington,  but  most  of 
the  subject's  boyhood  was  spent  in  Mar- 
shall. He  received  only  a  common  school 
education,  his  course  of  study  being  inter- 
rupted by  reason  of  the  fact  that  his  father 
frequently  moved  from  town  to  town  in  car- 
rying on  his  ministerial  work,  but  he  is  a 
well  educated  man,  nevertheless,  having- 
gained  it  first  handed  from  the  world. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


277 


Mr.  Bledsoe  has  been  twice  married,  first 
in  1876  to  Minnie  Dizotell,  of  Eldon,  Iowa, 
the  ceremony  having  been  performed  in  that 
city.  She  was  born  in  Canada.  Her  father 
was  of  French  lineage  and  her  mother  was 
Irish.  After  bearing  the  subject  one  child, 
she  was  called  to  her  rest  in  1901  at  St. 
Louis,  Missouri.  The  child  bom  to  this 
union  is  Truman  C.  Bledsoe,  manager  of 
the  Bledsoe-McCreery  Lumber  Company, 
of  St.  Louis.  He  married  Stella  Farrell,  of 
that  city,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two 
children,  Barbara  Louis,  and  Truman  C, 
Jr.  The  subject  was  married  in  1903,  his 
second  wife  being  Lillie  Mattox,  of  Terre 
Haute,  Indiana.  One  son  has  blessed  this 
union,  Maurice  William,  who  was  bom  on 
September  2,  1904. 

The  following  history  of  Mr.  Bledsoe's 
railroad  career,  which  forms  the  lengthiest 
and  one  of  the  most  important  chapters  in 
his  life  history,  is  based  on  a  sketch  which 
the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific  Railway 
system  issued  in  book  form,  containing  a 
history  of  the  road's  representative  em- 
ployes, which  article  shows  the  high  regard 
this  company  had  for  Mr.  Bledsoe. 

When  only  a  lad  of  fifteen  our  subject 
began  working  as  a  water  boy  for  Howell's 
corps  of  engineers  in  1870.  A  survey  was 
then  being  made  from  Washington,  Iowa, 
to  Princeton,  Missouri,  the  line  being  an  ex- 
tension of  the  Chicago  and  Southwestern 
Railway,  which  was  later  absorbed  by  the 
"Rock  Island  System."  The  lad  was  famil- 
iarly known  as  "Squire,"  which  soubriquet 
has  clung  to  him  through  life.  He  worked 


his  way  to  more  important  positions  in  this 
corps,  having  remained  with  them  until  the 
survey  was  completed  and  the  corps  was 
disbanded  at  Princeton.  Our  subject  then 
returned  to  Eldon,  Iowa,  to  which  point  his 
mother  had  moved  during  his  absence.  In 
the  fall  of  1872  he  determined  to  become  a 
brakeman,  to  which  idea  his  mother  strong- 
ly protested,  arguing  that  such  a  life  was 
too  hazardous  for  her  son  to  undertake,  but 
the  son  began  his  career  as  head  brakeman 
on  a  very  cold  night  the  following  winter, 
his  duties  being  partly  to  watch  for  dangers 
ahead  and  to  watch  the  lights  on  the  ca- 
boose. The  rear  cars  had  broken  loose  on 
this  particular  occasion  and  were  running 
down  grade  as  if  about  to  crash  into  the 
section  of  the  train  ahead.  There  were  no 
air  brakes  on  freight  trains  at  that  time, 
and  the  old  square  draw  bar  was  danger- 
ous and  hard  to  handle.  It  was  up  grade 
and  down  grade  from  Eldon  to  Washing- 
ton, but  the  boy  stuck  faithfully  at  his  post 
and  all  came  out  well,  and  from  that  night 
of  somewhat  exciting  initiation  to  the  last 
one  on  which  he  pulled  the  brakes,  he  proved 
loyal  to  his  trust,  having  laid  off  only  about 
ten  days  during  his  entire  service.  Mr. 
Bledsoe  was  a  model  young  man  and  soon 
all  who  formed  his  acquaintance  learned  to 
admire  him.  and  up  to  this  writing,  1908, 
not  a  drop  of  intoxicating  liquor  has  ever 
touched  his  lips  or  a  profane  word  ever 
passed  them,  and  up  to  the  time  of  the  death 
of  his  first  wife  he  had  never  used  tobacco, 
but  since  that  time  he  has  been  accustomed 
to  smoke,  having  been  greatly  shocked  at 


278 


P.IOGKAPIIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


her  demise  from  which  he  has  never  fully 
regained  his  former  vivacity.  His  word 
has  always  been  as  good  as  his  note  and  he 
has  been  all  his  life  an  exemplary  character, 
which  is  the  result  of  careful  teachings  by 
a  Christian  mother.  He  has  always  been  a 
modest  and  retiring  man,  unassuming  and 
never  in  the  least  pompous  or  found  seek- 
ing notoriety,  according  to  the  friends  who 
know  him  best.  He  has  always  been  cool 
and  calculating  and  this  fact  has  doubtless 
saved  him  accidents  while  in  the  railway 
service,  however,  death  stared  him  in  the 
face  twice  during  his  service  on  the  road: 
once  when  he  was  assisting  the  fireman  in 
taking  coal  at  Perlee,  Iowa,  he  was  caught 
between  the  cob  and  the  apron  of  the  schute, 
but  the  engineer,  Frank  Hudler,  prevented 
the  accident.  At  Washington,  Iowa,  while 
making  a  coupling  he  was  pressed  into  a 
very  close  place  by  the  giving  way  of  a  draw 
bar,  but  the  rear  car  received  the  impact  and 
rebounded  away  preventing  an  accident.  In 
due  time  Mr.  Bledsoe  was  promoted  for  his 
faithful  service  and  wore  the  badge  of  con- 
ductor. When  he  resigned  it  was  after  nine 
years  of  freight  runs  on  the  first  Iowa  di- 
vision of  the  southwestern  branch  of  the 
Rock  Island  System,  his  resignation  taking 
place  in  1881,  which  was  tendered  for  the 
purpose  of  retiring  permanently  from  rail- 
road life,  but  he  was  induced  to  accept  a  po- 
sition on  the  St.  Louis  division  of  the  Chi- 
cago, Burlington  &  Quincy  Railroad,  with 
which  he  remained  for  three  years,  and  then 
resigned  to  accept  a  position  as  sleeping  car 
conductor  for  the  Pullman  Palace  Car  Com- 


pany. He  remained  with  that  company  for 
four  years,  during  the  latter  part  of  which 
he  was  inspector  of  all  the  company's  cars 
entering  St.  Louis.  He  had  the  distinction 
of  placing  in  the  union  station  at  St.  Louis 
the  first  Pullman  vestibuled  train,  it  being 
under  his  personal  inspection.  He  subse- 
quently resigned  this  position  to  accept  an 
offer  from  the  Huttig  Sash  &  Door  Com- 
pany, of  St.  Louis,  and  in  1900  he  was  trav- 
eling representative  of  this  firm  in  southern 
Illinois.  He  remained  with  this  firm  for 
eighteen  years,  during  which  time  he  ren- 
dered them  services  of  the  most  efficient  type 
and  was  the  cause  of  their  business  rapidly 
increasing.  And  during  his  long  services 
with  the  above  mentioned  companies  he  was 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  his  employers 
who  placed  in  him  implicit  confidence  and 
had  unqualified  faith  in  his  ability  and  in- 
tegrity. 

Mr.  Bledsoe  came  to  Salem,  this  county, 
in  1904  and  organized  lumber  companies 
here  and  at  Sparta,  Illinois,  known  as  the 
Bledsoe  Company,  retail  yards,  wholesale; 
the  Bledsoe-McCreery  Lumber  Company, 
being  interested  in  all  of  them,  and  by  reason 
of  his  knowledge  of  this  line  of  business  and 
his  reputation  for  square  dealing,  coupled 
with  his  courteous  manners,  he  has  built  up  a 
very  extensive  business  throughout  this  local- 
ity which  is  constantly  growing.  In  his  fra- 
ternal relations  our  subject  is  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  also  belongs  to 
a  lumber  dealers'  association,  the  Con- 
catentated  Order  of  Hoo-Hoo,  and  both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bledsoe  are  members  of  the 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


279 


Christian  church,  and  they  are  among  the 
popular  and  highly  respected  residents  of 
Salem. 


SILAS  CLOUD. 

Among  the  venerable  and  highly  re- 
spected citizens  of  Denver  township.  Rich- 
land  county,  Illinois,  who  deserve  special 
mention  in  a  work  of  this  character,  is  Silas 
Cloud,  for  his  life  has  been  one  of  consecu- 
tive and  honest  endeavor,  resulting  in  good 
both  to  himself  and  family  and  those  of  his 
community,  which  he  has  seen  develop 
through  all  its  stages. 

Silas  Cloud  was  born  in  Clinton  county, 
Ohio,  January  7,  1833,  the  son  of  Henry 
and  Anna  (Laymon)  Cloud,  the  former  a 
native  of  Ohio  and  the  latter  of  North  Car- 
olina. They  were  married  in  Ohio,  settling 
on  a  farm  in  Clinton  county  soon  after- 
ward, where  they  remained  until  the  death 
of  the  subject's  father,  which  occurred  in 
1835,  when  Silas  was  two  years  old.  Henry 
Cloud  was  not  fifty  years  old  when  he  died. 
He  is  buried  in  the  old  Masonic  cemetery 
at  Lynchburg,  Ohio.  His  widow  remained 
on  the  farm  in  Clinton  county  until  about 
1850.  The  subject  was  then  seventeen 
years  of  age.  Mrs.  Henry  Cloud  was  re- 
married, her  second  husband  being  Chris- 
tian M.  Foster,  who  was  also  a  native  of 
North  Carolina.  They  both  remained  in 
Clinton  county  the  remainder  of  their  lives, 
the  subject's  mother  dying  first  in  1880, 
when  nearly  seventy  years  of  age.  She  is 


buried  in  the  same  cemetery  with  her  first 
husband.  Her  second  husband  survived 
her  about  three  years.  No  children  were 
born  to  them.  The  subject's  father  and 
mother  were  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
all  boys  but  one,  all  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity, Silas  being  the  sixth  child  in  order  of 
birth. 

Silas  Cloud's  early  education  was  ob- 
tained in  the  common  schools  of  Clinton 
county,  Ohio,  having  first  attended  a  select 
school  and  later  a  free  school  in  the  days 
when  pupils  sat  on  rude  benches,  which 
were  usually  too  high  for  the  feet  to  touch 
the  floor.  He  did  not  get  much  education 
until  after  he  became  of  age,  then  he  fitted 
himself  for  a  teacher  which  profession  he 
followed  with  much  success  for  a  period  of 
twenty-eight  years.  The  subject  remained 
at  home  with  his  mother  until  his  marriage 
on  October  26,  1860,  to  Mary  E.  Montgom- 
ery in  Clinton  county,  Ohio,  in  which  place 
she  was  born,  November  u,  1839,  the 
daughter  of  William  and  Mary  Ann  (Ex- 
tel)  Montgomery,  both  natives  of  New  Jer- 
sey, the  father  of  Irish  descent.  Mrs. 
Cloud's  parents  were  married  in  New  Jer- 
and  moved  to  Ohio,  buying  a  farm  in  Clin- 
ton county,  upon  which  they  lived  the  re- 
mainder of  their  lives,  Mr.  Montgomery 
dying  -in  1867,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years, 
and  Mrs.  Montgomery  survived  until  1884, 
dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years.  Both 
are  buried  in  the  Masonic  cemetery  at 
Lynchburg,  Ohio.  They  were  the  parents 
of  twelve  children,  ten  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity,  two  having  died  in  infancy,  the 


280 


lUnCkAI'HICAI.     AM)     KK.M  I  \  ISC'IC  \T     IIISTOKV    OK 


subject's  wife  was  the  eighth  child  in  order 
of  birth.  Mrs.  Cloud  attended  the  common 
schools  in  Ohio.  When  she  and  the  subject 
were  married  they  rented  a  farm  in  Clinton 
county,  Ohio,  where  they  lived  a  few  years, 
the  subject  farming  during  the  summer 
months  and  teaching  school  in  the  winter. 
In  September,  1863,  they  moved  to  Illinois, 
settling  in  Richland  county,  where  they 
bought  a  sixty  acre  farm  of  unimproved 
land  in  Denver  township,  forty  acres  being 
on  the  prairie  and  twenty  acres  in  timber. 
He  at  once  erected  a  log  house  and  other 
similar  buildings,  making  rapid  and  exten- 
sive improvements  and  later  buying  an  ad- 
joining farm  of  forty  acres.  They  finally 
owned  a  substantial  frame  dwelling.  Mr. 
Cloud  taught  school  during  the  winter 
months  in  Richland  county.  In  1873  they 
sold  their  principal  farm  and  moved  to  the 
eighty  acres  upon  which  they  have  since  re- 
sided. It  is  now  well  improved  and  nearly 
all  under  cultivation.  Mr.  Cloud  at  one 
time  owned  one  hundred  acres  of  good  land 
in  Denver  township,  but  he  has  since  sold 
twenty  acres  of  timber  land,  now  owning 
eighty  acres  of  improved  land.  He  has 
never  lived  out  of  Denver  township  since 
coming  to  Richland  county  in  1863.  Al- 
though both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cloud  have  seen 
may  years  of  hardship  and  privation  during 
their  lives,  their  old  age  is  comfortable  and 
happy.  They  have  always  worked  hard 
and  have  been  successful.  Mr.  Cloud's 
record  as  a  farmer  is  worthy  of  praise,  but 
that  of  school  teacher  is  especially  worthy 
of  commendation,  for  it  covers  a  long 


stretch  of  time,  twenty-eight  years  in  Ohio 
and  Illinois,  and  twenty-six  years  without 
missing  a  year.  After  he  had  taught  two 
years  he  attended  college  in  Lebanon,  Ohio, 
for  two  years.  He  intended  teaching  for 
thirty  years,  but  thought  it  advisable  to  give 
it  up  on  account  of  trouble  with  his  eyes. 
He  won  a  wide  reputation  as  an  able  edu- 
cator and  his  services  were  in  great  demand. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cloud  six  children  have 
been  born,  three  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
only  two  of  them  now  living.  They  are: 
Ida,  deceased;  John  L.,  living;  William 
Henry,  deceased ;  Thomas  W.,  deceased ; 
Albert,  deceased ;  Wylie  L.,  living.  John  is 
single  and  is  living  at  home  with  his  par- 
ents. Wylie,  who  is  also  single,  is  engaged 
in  the  laundry  business  in  Chicago  where  he 
has  lived  for  eight  years. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Cloud  be- 
longs to  the  Lynchburg  lodge,  No.  151,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  at  Lynch- 
burg, Ohio,  where  he  joined  in  1855,  in 
which  order  he  has  passed  through  all  the 
chairs  in  the  subordinate  lodge.  He  has 
also  been  a  member  of  various  other  secret 
orders,  such  as  the  Illinois  Grange,  and  the 
Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  once  ran  for 
the  office  of  County  Treasurer  on  the  Farm- 
ers' Mutual  Benefit  Association  ticket  in  his 
county.  He  has  been  treasurer  of  the  Com- 
mission of  Highways  for  sixteen  years  in 
Denver  township,  which  position  he  has 
very  faithfully  filled.  He  now  holds  the 
office  of  School  Trustee,  and  he  has  been 
president  of  the  School  Board  for  nearly 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


28l 


thirty  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cloud  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  church  at  Marion 
chapel  in  Denver  township.  Mr.  Cloud  has 
been  active  in  church  work  and  in  the  duties 
of  the  same  for  many  years,  having  been  a 
member  of  the  church  for  thirty  years.  He 
has  been  steward  and  recording  steward  for 
twenty-five  years,  having  never  missed  but 
one  meeting  during  that  time.  He  has  been 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  for  the 
past  fifteen  years.  He  is  now  one  of  the 
trustees  of  Marion  chapel,  also  trustee  of 
the  parsonage  of  the  circuit.  Mr.  Cloud  has 
now  reached  the  age  of  seventy-six  years, 
ad  he  has  always  been  blessed  with  good 
health,  now  being  hale  and  hearty  for  one 
of  his  age.  His  good  life  companion  is  now 
sixty-nine  years  old  and  she  has  not  enjoyed 
her  usual  splendid  health  for  the  past  few 
years.  They  are  a  fine  old  couple  and  ad- 
mired by  all  Denver  township  and  sur- 
rounding country  for  their  lives  of  whole- 
some influence  and  their  kindness  of  heart, 
and  for  the  great  good  they  have  accom- 
plished in  material,  educational  and  re- 
ligious work. 


JOHN  W.  LARIMER. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  forms  the 
caption  of  this  biographical  review  is  now 
recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  organizers, 
promoters  and  all  around  business  men  and 
representative  citizens  of  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  where  he  was  born  in  what  is  now 


Stevenson  township,  May  14,  1852.  John 
W.  Larimer's  father  was  Smith  Larimer, 
a  native  of  Ohio  who  came  to  Marion 
county,  this  state,  about  1846.  He  devoted 
his  life  very  largely  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  was  elected  Treasurer  and  As- 
sessor of  Marion  county,  serving  twelve 
years  with  great  satisfaction  to  his  constitu- 
ents. He  moved  to  Salem  in  1858.  He  was 
a  loyal  Democrat  and  was  elected  to  office 
on  this  ticket.  The  offices  of  Treasurer  and 
Assessor  were  conducted  as  one  at  that 
time.  Smith  Larimer  died  in  Salem  in  1887, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  after  a  use- 
ful and  very  active  life.  Robert  Larimer, 
grandfather  of  the  subject,  was  a  native  of 
Ireland  who  emigrated  to  America  when  a 
boy,  devoting  his  life  to  the  farm.  He  lived 
to  be  an  old  man. 

The  mother  of  the  subject  was  known  in 
maidenhood  as  Sarah  Brown,  a  native  of 
Ohio,  who  traced  her  lineage  to  Scotland. 
She  was  a  woman  of  fine  traits  of  char- 
acter and  she  passed  to  her  rest  in  1861, 
when  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  nine 
years  old.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  Larimer 
were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  six  of 
whom  are  living,  namely:  Andrew  Jack- 
son, who  was  first  lieutenant  of  Company  H, 
One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illinois  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  which  was  mustered  largely 
in  Marion  county,  and  this  brave  young 
officer  met  his  death  in  the  great  battle  of 
Atlanta,  July  22,  1864;  Wilson  S.  was  a 
member  of  the  same  company,  having  gone 
through  the  war,  dying  in  the  spring  of 
1888:  Mrs.  Sarah  M.  Kite,  of  St.  Louis; 


282 


lUOC.RAIMIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Mrs.  Xancy  J.  Moore,  of  Salem,  Illinois; 
W.  F.,  of  Denver,  Colorado;  John  W.,  our 
subject;  Ann  E.  Irvin,  also  living  in  Den- 
ver ;  and  Mrs.  Kagy,  wife  of  L.  M.  Kagy, 
president  of  the  Salem  State  Bank. 

John  W.  Larimer,  our  subject,  was  born 
on  the  farm,  and  when  six  years  old  moved 
with  his  parents  to  Salem  where  he  attended 
school  and  when  fourteen  years  old  went 
into  the  court  house  with  J.  O.  Chance,  who 
was  engaged  in  the  abstract  business  and 
who  afterward  became  Clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Illinois.  Our  subject  began  learn- 
ing the  abstract  business  at  this  early  age, 
and  in  1870  he  was  appointed  Deputy 
County  Clerk  for  one  year  under  J.  O. 
Chance,  who  was  then  Clerk.  Shortly  af- 
terward Mr.  Chance  and  Mr.  Larimer 
formed  a  partnership  in  the  abstract  and 
real  estate  business,  which  partnership  con- 
tinued for  about  four  years,  when  Mr. 
Chance  was  elected  Clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  then  Mr.  Larimer  continued  the  busi- 
ness himself  up  to  the  present  time,  becom- 
ing known  as  one  of  the  ablest,  most  ac- 
curate and  reliable  abstracters  in  this  part 
of  the  state  and  his  office  is  always  a  busy 
place. 

Our  subject  was  married  May  6,  1871,  to 
Rosa  Andrews,  daughter  of  Seth  S.  An- 
drews, now  deceased,  formerly  a  representa- 
tive citizen  of  Salem.  Three  bright  and  in- 
teresting children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife  as  follows:  Dwight  W.,  who 
is  associated  with  his  father  in  the  abstract 
business ;  Sarah  Louise  and  Kathryn. 

Mr.  Larimer  has  ever  taken  an  active  part 


in  politics  and  as  a  result  of  his  innate 
ability  and  his  loyalty  to  his  party's  prin- 
ciples he  has  been  chosen  to  positions  of 
public  trust  by  his  fellow  voters,  having 
been  elected  Town  Clerk  in  1877.  He  has 
also  been  City  Clerk,  and  he  represented 
the  old  third  ward  as  Alderman,  also  was 
honored  by  one  term  as  Mayor.  He  served 
as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  for 
four  years,  and  in  1896  he  was  a  member  of 
the  State  Board  of  Equalization,  serving 
four  years.  This  was  an  elective  office  and 
Mr.  Larimer  carried  Marion  county  by  over 
one  thousand  votes,  which  speaks  for  his 
popularity  in  his  home  county.  He  received 
ten  more  votes  than  William  J.  Bryan.  He 
was  Secretary  and  a  member  of  the  Board- of 
Directors  of  the  Salem  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  having  organized  this  associa- 
tion of  which  he  has  been  secretary  for 
twenty-five  years  in  1908,  or  ever  since  its 
organization.  Our  subject  is  also  president 
of  the  Business  Men's  Association,  and 
president  of  the  Marion  County  Agricul- 
tural Board.  Thus  we  see  that  our  subject 
has  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  the  pub- 
lic who  have  entrusted  him  with  these  vari- 
ous positions  of  honor  and  trust,  and  that 
he  has  conscientiously  and  ably  discharged 
his  duties  at  all  times  goes  without  saying, 
in  fact,  no  man  in  the  county  is  more  popu- 
lar than  Mr.  Larimer,  who  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  county's  most  valuable  men  and 
one  of  its  foremost  citizens. 

His  business  interests  have  been  varied; 
he  is  one  of  the  stockholders  in  the  Salem 
State  Bank.  He  is  a  prominent  Mason,  hav- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


283 


ing  been  through  all  the  offices  in  both  the 
lodge  and  the  chapter,  being  a  Thirty-second 
degree  member.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Knights  Templar.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Larimer  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  They  reside  at  Walnut  and  Church 
streets  in  a  beautiful  modern  home  which 
they  own. 


EDWARD  RICHARDSON. 

Individual  enterprise  which  is  so  justly 
the  boast  of  the  American  people  is  strikingly 
exhibited  in  the  career  of  the  gentleman 
whose  name  forms  the  caption  of  this  sketch. 
While  transmitting  to  posterity  the  record  of 
such  a  life,  it  is  with  the  hope  of  instilling 
into  the  minds  of  those  who  come  after  the 
important  lesson  that  honor  and  station  are 
sure  rewards  of  individual  exertion.  That 
the  career  of  such  a  person  besides  being 
treasured  in  the  hearts  of  relatives  and 
friends,  should  have  its  public  record  also,  is 
peculiarly  proper  because  a  knowledge  of 
men  whose  substantial  fame  rests  upon  their 
attainments  and  character  must  exert  a 
wholesome  influence  upon  the  rising  gener- 
ation. The  life  of  Mr.  Richardson  has  in- 
deed been  a  busy  and  successful  one  and  the 
record  is  eminently  worthy  of  perusal  by  the 
student  who  would  learn  the  intrinsic  essence 
of  individuality  and  its  influence  in  mould- 
ing public  opinion  and  giving  character  and 
stablity  to  a  community. 

Edward  Richardson,  the  well  known  edi- 
tor of  the  Olney  Democrat,  of  which  he  is 
owner,  also  publisher  of  the  Olney  Review, 


both  now  popular,  and  one  of  the  influential 
men  of  Richland  county,  Illinois,  was  born 
in  Lawrence  county,  this  state,  October  7, 
1867,  the  son  of  Thomas  H.  and  Eliza  J. 
Richardson,  the  former  a  native  of  Kentucky 
and  the  latter  of  North  Carolina,  both  repre- 
sentatives of  old  families  of  sterling  char- 
acter. 

The  early  education  of  our  subject  was  ob- 
tained in  the  public  schools  of  Olney,  where 
he  carefully  applied  himself,  evincing  an  ear- 
ly liking  for  literary  studies  and  deciding 
when  a  mere  boy  to  devote  his  life  to  news- 
paper work  in  some  form. 

The  business  career  proper  of  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson began  October  22,  1891,  when  he 
commenced  the  publication  of  the  Olney 
Democrat  with  C.  L.  V.  Tinker,  who  sold 
his  interest  to  become  city  editor  of  the  Vin- 
cennes  Sun.  Since  that  time,  twelve  years 
ago,  Mr.  Richardson  has  owned  and  edited 
the  Democrat  alone,  building  up  the  paper 
until  it  now  has  a  wide  circulation  and  its 
mechanical  appearance  shows  that  he  has  a 
modern  plant,  the  office  being  one  of  the 
best  equipped  in  this  section  of  the  state. 
The  Olney  Review  was  established  by  our 
subject  early  in  1908  and  it  has  been  a  suc- 
cessful venture,  supplying  a  long  felt  want  in 
the  field  it  seeks  to  serve.  These  papers  have 
been  especially  noted  for  their  strong  sup- 
port of  all  moral  questions  and  they  have  en- 
joyed the  support  of  the  best  citizens.  Aside 
from  the  political  phase  of  these  papers  they 
are  designed  to  vibrate  with  the  public  pulse 
and  in  addition  to  the  news  of  the  day,  their 
columns  teem  with  much  of  the  best  current 
literature  and  they  are  clean,  dignified  family 


I1IUCUAPHICAL    AND    RKM  I  MSCKNT    HISTORY    OF 


papers  as  well  as  popular  and  influential  po- 
litical organs  and  their  steady  growth  in 
public  favor  bespeak  for  them  futures  of 
still  greater  promise  and  usefulness  under 
the  able  management  of  Mr.  Richardson, 
who  is  not  only  an  editorial  moulder  of  pub- 
lic opinion,  but  he  also  makes  his  influence 
felt  in  directing  the  affairs  of  the  county,  be- 
ing an  enterprising,  public-spirited  citizen 
with  the  affairs  of  his  county  at  heart. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Hulda  Strathmann,  on  February  9,  1898. 
The  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adolph 
Strathmann,  who  became  Mrs.  Richardson, 
was  born  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  January  17, 
1877.  Her  father  is  now  deceased  and  her 
mother  is  now  Mrs.  Emma  L.  Busefink.  The 
subject  and  wife  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  namely:  Paul,  nine  years  old  in 
1909;  Martha  and  Mary,  twins,  who  are 
five  years  old. 

Mr.  Richardson  is  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  and  in  his  political 
relations  he  supports  the  Democratic  party. 
He  is  a  forceful  factor  in  directing  thought 
along  those  lines  which  make  for  the  en- 
lightenment of  the  public  and  the  highest 
good  of  his  fellow  men. 


JOHN  H.  VAWTER. 

Improvement  and  progress  may  well  be 
said  to  form  the  keynote  of  the  character  of 
our  subject,  and  he  has  not  only  been  inter- 
ested in  the  work  of  advancement  in  indi- 


vidual affairs  but  his  influence  is  felt  in  up- 
building the  community,  where  he  has  al- 
ways resided.  Mr.  Vawter  has  been  a  very 
industrious  man  all  his  life,  striving  to  keep 
abreast  of  the  times  in  every  respect,  and 
as  a  result  every  mile  post  of  the  years  he' 
has  passed  has  found  him  farther  advanced, 
more  prosperous,  more  sedate  and  with  a 
larger  number  of  friends  than  the  preceding. 
John  H.  Vawter  was  born  in  Salem,  Illi- 
nois, in  1860.  His  father  was  Reuben  T. 
Vawter,  a  native  of  Tennessee  who  came  to 
Marion  county  about  1850,  when  he  was  yet 
a  young  man,  settling  in  Salem,  where  he 
established  a  tailor  shop,  having  always  been 
a  tailor  by  trade  and  a  first  class  workman 
in  this  line.  He  lived  here  and  met  with 
worthy  success  until  his  death  which  oc- 
curred in  1862.  The  mother  of  the  subject 
was  known  in  her  maidenhood  as  Eleanor 
M.  Kimball,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  who  was 
a  woman  of  many  beautiful  traits,  who 
was  called  to  her  rest  in  1903.  Besides  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reuben 
T.  Vawter  were  the  parents  of  another  child, 
A.  K.  Vawter,  now  living  in  Oklahoma, 
where  he  is  known  as  a  man  of  good  char- 
acter and  much  business  ability.  The  sub- 
ject's mother's  second  marriage  occurred 
about  1867,  to  William  Metcalf.  John 
H.  Vawter  made  a  splendid  record  while 
attending  the  common  schools  in  Sa- 
lem. After  reaching  maturity  he  went 
into  the  coal  and  teaming  business, 
later  entered  the  produce  business,  prosper- 
ing at  each  of  these,  but  he  decided  that  the 
hardware  business  was  more  to  his  liking 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


and  consequently  he  entered  this  field  in  his 
home  town  in  the  spring-  of  1901.  His  suc- 
cess was  assured  from  the  first,  and  his  busi- 
ness has  rapidly  grown,  making  it  necessary 
for  him  to  gradually  increase  his  stock, 
which  he  has  done  until  at  present  he  has  one 
of  the  most  complete  and  carefully  selected 
hardware  stocks  in  Marion  county.  He  has 
been  in  his  present  location  ever  since  he  en- 
tered the  business  and  he  numbers  his  cus- 
tomers from  all  parts  of  the  county,  and 
owing  to  his  courteous  treatment  and  the 
excellent  quality  of  goods  he  handles,  to- 
gether with  the  fact  that  they  are  always 
sold  at  reasonable  figures,  his  reputation  has 
been  firmly  established  and  gained  for  him 
not  only  hundreds  of  loyal  customers,  but  at 
the  same  time  hosts  of  friends. 

Mr.  Vawter  was  married  in  1883,  to 
Maggie  T.  Garner,  the  refined  daughter  of 
Albert  C.  Garner,  a  well  known  and  highly 
respected  family  of  Salem,  and  to  this  union 
four  interesting  children  have  been  born,  as 
follows :  Lillian  G.,  whose  date  of  birth  oc- 
curred in  1886;  Hattie  N.,  who  was  born  in 
1889;  Marietta's  birth  occurred  in  1891; 
and  Irene  first  saw  the  light  of  day  in  1901. 

Mr.  Vawter  has  always  taken  a  conspicu- 
ous part  in  public  affairs  and  as  a  result  of 
his  humanitarian  impulses  his  fellow  citi- 
zens have  honored  him  by  electing  him 
Mayor  of  the  City  of  Salem,  which  respon- 
sible office  he  at  present  (1908)  holds,  the 
duties  of  which  he  ably  performs  to  the  en- 
tire satisfaction  of  this  vicinity,  and 
during  his  administration  he  has  done  much 
for  the  betterment  and  material  progress  of 


the  city,  with  the  result  that  Salem  is  one 
of  the  cleanest,  most  inviting  and  well  gov- 
erned cities  in  this  part  of  the  state.  He 
also  served  faithfully  for  four  years  as  Al- 
derman. 

Mr.  Vawter  is  a  staunch  Democrat  and 
well  fortified  in  his  political  beliefs,  being 
at  all  times  ready  to  lend  his  support  to  the 
party's  good,  and  his  counsel  is  often  sought 
and  always  heeded  in  local  conventions  and 
elections,  for  the  public  knows  that  Mr. 
Vawter  always  stands  for  the  best  man  pos- 
sible in  local  offices,  and  whoever  he  places 
the  stamp  of  approval  on  is  sure  to  be  ac- 
ceptable to  the  public  at  large.  In  his  fra- 
ternal relations,  he  is  a  member  of  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Woodmen.  Sa- 
lem is  glad  to  number  him  as  one  of  her 
leading  merchants  and  among  its  representa- 
tive citizens.  The  record  of  his  busines  ca- 
reer might  be  summed  up  in  the  terse  ex- 
pression that  he  is  "above  want  and  below 
envy." 


L.  B.  KEITH. 

It  is  not  every  man  who  succeeds  in  giv- 
ing his  name  to  a  town,  but  this  distinction 
fell  to  Peter  Keith,  who  emigrated  from 
Pennsylvania  during  the  first  half  of  the 
last  century  and  found  his  way  to  Noble 
county,  Ohio.  He  there  entered  a  section 
of  land  from  the  government  and  by  hard 
work  eventually  whipped  it  into  the  condi- 
tion of  a  fairly  productive  farm.  Gradual 


286 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


increase  of  population  in  the  neighborhood 
led  to  the  demand  for  a  town,  which  was 
eventually  established  on  Peter  Keith's  land 
and  named  in  his  honor.  He  continued  to 
reside  there  until  his  death  in  1865.  He 
left  a  son,  P.  C.  Keith,  who  was  born  on 
the  Noble  county  homestead,  became  a  mer- 
chant later  in  life  and  still  resides  in'  the 
town  which  bears  his  family  name.  He 
married  Susan  Coffey,  whose  parents  emi- 
grated from  Scotland  to  America  in  1826 
and  settled  near  Caldwell,  Ohio,  where  they 
spent  the  remainder  of  their  days,  the  father 
dying  in  1872,  and  his  wife  in  1876.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  P.  C.  Keith  had  ten  children, 
whose  births  are  thus  recorded :  Clara 
Frances,  deceased;  L.  W.,  deceased;  L.  B. 
subject  of  this  sketch;  Mary  Eliza  Groves, 
of  Caldwell,  Ohio;  Charles,  of  Keith.  Ohio; 
Asa,  of  Waterford,  Ohio ;  Edward,  of  Gree- 
ley,  Iowa;  O.  W.,  a  merchant  at  Water- 
ford,  Ohio;  W.  O.,  of  Detroit,  Michigan; 
Raymond  C.,  of  Phcenix,  Arizona. 

L.  B.  Keith,  who  is  number  three  in  the 
above  list,  was  born  in  Noble  county,  Ohio, 
October  12,  1862.  He  attended  school  at 
Keith,  and  in  1888  he  removed  to  Illinois, 
locating  at  Reinard  in  the  county  of  Wayne. 
He  engaged  at  once  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness, which  he  prosecuted  diligently  until 
his  removal  to  Flora  in  1900.  At  this  point 
he  resumed  in  the  same  line  and  so  con- 
tinued for  two  years.  Being  appointed 
City  Marshal,  he  devoted  two  years  of  his 
time  to  the  duties  of  this  office  and  then 
accepted  the  position  of  lieutenant  of  police 
in  the  service  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 


Railroad.  This  he  held  for  one  year  and  in 
1904  engaged  in  the  seed  and  implement 
business  under  the  firm  name  of  Borders  & 
Keith.  In  politics  he  is  a  red  hot  Democrat 
and  always  at  the  front  when  a  campaign 
is  in  progress.  His  fraternal  relations  are 
with  the  Odd  Fellows,  Rebekahs,  Red  Men, 
Modern  Woodmen  and  Maccabees. 

In  1892  Mr.  Keith  married  Miss  Julia 
A.  Neff,  a  native  of  Reinard,  and  they  have 
three  children;  Harry,  born  in  1893,  Marie 
born  in  1896,  and  Eddie  Fay,  born  in  1898. 
Mrs.  Keith  departed  this  life  January  9, 
1907,  and  was  mourned  as  a  good  wife  and 
mother. 


JOSEPH  A  PRATHER. 

This  venerable  citizen  of  Raccoon  town- 
ship, Marion  county,  has  been  a  very  active 
man  in  the  development  of  this  part  of  the 
Union,  having  spent  his  long  life  in  this  and 
her  sister  state  on  the  east.  He  has  seen  the 
wonderful  growth  of  the  country  from  its 
wild  prairies,  dense  forests,  inhabited  by 
red  men  and  wild  beasts  to  one  of  the  rich- 
est and  best  countries  in  the  world. 

Joseph  A.  Prather  was  born  in  Clark 
county,  Indiana,  January  31,  1824,  the  son 
of  Sihon  and  Elizabeth  (Williams)  Prather, 
the  former  a  native  of  North  Carolina  and 
the  latter  of  Virginia.  The  subject's  father 
grew  up  in  the  Tar  Heel  state  and  moved  to 
Clark  county,  Indiana,  where  he  lived  on  a 
farm  and  where  he  and  his  wife  both  died. 
He  was  a  Democrat  and  held  the  office  of 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


28; 


Justice  of  the  Peace  several  years.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  well 
known  and  influential.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  the  following  children :  Louisa,  de- 
ceased; Samantha,  deceased;  Thomas,  de- 
ceased; John,  deceased;  Joseph  A.,  our  sub- 
ject; William,  deceased;  Margaret  lives  in 
Clark  county,  Indiana.  Several  children 
died  young. 

Joseph  A.  Prather,  our  subject,  had  few 
opportunities  to  become  educated,  however 
he  attended  subscription  schools  for  a  time 
and  lived  at  home  until  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Floyd  county. 
Indiana,  and  in  1844  married  Sarah  Ann 
Patrick,  a  native  of  Clark  county,  that  state, 
where  she  was  born  December  3,  1827,  the 
daughter  of  William  and  Nancy  (Harris) 
Patrick,  the  former  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  the  latter  of  Virginia.  They  lived 
and  died  in  Clark  county,  Indiana,  on  a 
farm.  There  were  twelve  children  in  their 
family  as  follows :  Jeremiah,  Rebecca,  John, 
Elizabeth,  Mary,  William,  Solomon.  James, 
Nancy,  Lewis,  Sarah  Ann,  and  Eliza.  They 
are  all  deceased  except  the  wife  of  our  sub- 
ject. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Prather  became  the  par- 
ents of  nine  children,  three  deceased,  name- 
ly :  Nancy,  who  married  Roland  Warren, 
lives  in  Centralia,  Illinois,  and  is  the  mother 
of  eight  children  :  Margaret,  who  is  now  de- 
ceased, having  died  January  24,  1908,  mar- 
ried Lewis  Patton,  having  become  the  moth- 
er of  ten  children,  one  of  whom  is  deceased ; 
John,  who  married  Belle  Oldfield.  is  a 
fanner  and  teamster  at  Centralia,  and  has 
for  children:  Eliza  J..  who  married  Thomas 


Shaw,  of  Centralia  township,  is  the  mother 
of  eight  children;  Emmons  R.,  a  farmer  in 
Raccoon  township,  first  married  Mollie  Gas- 
ton  and  later  Lillie  Blair,  of  Raccoon  town- 
ship, having  had  four  children  by  his  first 
wife  and  two  by  the  second ;  Etha  is  the  wife 
of  Charles  Bundy,  of  Raccoon  township,  a 
full  sketch  of  whom  appears  in  this  work ; 
Orville,  who  is  living  on  part  of  the  old 
home  place  in  Raccoon  township,  married, 
first  Laura  May,  and  his  second  wife  was 
Annie  Howard,  had  three  children  by  each 
wife;  William  died  at  the  age  of  seven 
years :  George  died  when  two  years  old. 

The  subject  has  fifty-three  grandchildren 
and  thirty-four  great-grandchildren.  After 
his  marriage  our  subject  lived  in  Floyd 
county,  Indiana,  having  come  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1854.  where  he  pur- 
chased two  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
land  in  sections  29  and  32.  He  made  all 
the  improvements  on  the  place,  there  having 
been  but  very  little  when  he  took  charge, 
but  being  a  good  manager  and  a  hard 
worker  he  soon  developed  a  most  excellent 
farm  and  established  a  comfortable  home. 
He  carries  on  general  farming,  raising  all 
kinds  of  grain,  fruit  and  stock  and  making  a 
success  of  all  that  he  undertakes.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics  and  has  held  some  of 
the  offices  in  Raccoon  township,  always 
taking  much  interest  in  the  affairs  of  his 
township.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church  at  Walnut  Hill.  He 
has  always  been  a  hard  working  man  and 
is  still  very  well  preserved  for  a  man  of  his 
years,  having  a  good  business  mind  and  able 


IIIOC.KAIMIK-AL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


to  manage  the  many  details  of  his  fine  farm 
with  profit  from  year  to  year.  He  is  a  very 
well  read  man,  keeping  well  posted  on  all 
current  topics.  As  a  result  of  his  life  of  in- 
dustry, honesty  and  kindness  he  has  scores 
of  warm  friends  and  if  a  single  enemy  he 
does  not  know  it.  Everybody  in  this  part 
of  Marion  county  knows  "Uncle  Joe"  Pra- 
ther,  as  he  is  familiarly  called  and  every- 
body respects  him  very  highly. 


J.  W.  SKIPWORTH. 

This  venerable  and  highly  hnored  citi- 
zen of  Centralia  is  eminently  entitled  to  con- 
spicuous mention  in  this  history,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  he  might  properly  be  called  a 
pioneer  of  this  section,  having  seen  and  par- 
ticipated in  the  development  of  the  same 
from  the  early  days  and  the  life  he  has  led 
is  one  of  commendation  and  worthy  of  emu- 
lation by  younger  generations,  for  it  has 
been  led  along  lines  of  usefulness  and  integ- 
rity. 

J.  W.  Skipworth  was  born  in  Maury 
county,  Tennessee,  September  25,  1823, 
therefore  he  is  at  this  writing  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year,  hale  and  hearty  as  a  boy,  active 
and  in  possession  of  all  his  faculties  as  if  he 
were  many  years  younger.  His  parents, 
Hosea  and  Cassander  (Ward)  Skipworth, 
were  both  natives  of  North  Carolina,  the 
former  having  been  born  in  1776.  The  pa- 
ternal grandfather  of  the  subject,  Nathan 
Skipworth,  was  in  the  American  army  at 
the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  war  for  a  pe- 


riod of  six  years.  Our  subject  was  present 
at  his  death.  Eight  children  were  born  to 
the  parents  of  the  subject,  four  boys  and 
an  equal  number  of  girls.  J.  W.,  the 
youngest  of  the  number,  is  the  only  one  liv- 
ing in  1908. 

Captain  Ward,  the  father  of  our  subject's 
mother,  owned  and  operated  a  merchant 
sailing  vessel  on  the  Atlantic  ocean  from 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  to  Liverpool  , Eng- 
land. This  was  before  the  days  of  the  Revo- 
lution. 

Hosea  Skipworth,  the  subject's  father  left 
Tennessee  and  came  to  Illinois  because  he 
was  opposed  to  slavery  and  the  seceding  of 
the  Southern  states  from  the  Union. 

Our  subject  was  five  years  old  when  his 
parents  moved  to  Lebanon,  Illinois,  settling 
on  a  farm.  Hosea  Skipworth  died  at  Leb- 
anon in  1832,  his  widow  having  survived 
until  1846,  having  died  two  miles  south  of 
Centralia,  Marion  county.  Our  subject's 
education  was  obtained  at  Centralia.  He 
lived  in  that  vicinity  until  he  was  sixty  years 
old,  when  he  moved  to  Centralia  in  1873. 
He  followed  farming,  trading  and  stock 
shipping.  Our  subject  saw  Centralia  grow 
from  a  wilderness  which  abounded  in 
wolves,  deer,  wild  cats  and  some  bear,  when 
there  were  no  houses  except  cabins  in  the 
woods,  from  one-half  to  three  miles  apart. 
The  country  round  about  was  open  prairie. 
Most  of  the  residents  of  this  community 
lived  on  wild  meats  during  the  winter,  such 
as  deer,  prairie  chicken,  quail,  wild  turkey 
and  squirrels.  Often  as  many  as  one  thou- 
sand prairie  chickens  were  seen  in  one  flock. 
Deer  was  more  plentiful  than  cattle  is  now. 


J.  W.  SKIPWORTH. 


Of  THE 

UNIVERSITY  Of  1LLINOI. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


The  wolves  killed  the  sheep  and  pigs.  The 
bridges  were  all  built  by  the  nieghbors,  being 
constructed  of  heavy  logs. 

The  subject  recalls  the  campaign  of  James 
K.  Polk  for  President,  when  the  wagons 
throughout  the  country  were  decorated  with 
polk-berry  stain  and  those  taking  part  in 
the  parades  and  rallies  used  polk-stalks  for 
canes.  The  market  post  for  all  trade  was 
sixty-five  miles  away,  St.  Louis.  The  hogs 
were  fattened  for  the  most  part  on  wild 
nuts  or  mast.  It  was  then  the  custom  for 
several  neighbors  to  place  their  hogs  in  one 
drove  and  drive  them  to  St.  Louis  for  mar- 
ket. Mr.  Skipworth  says  that  the  amuse- 
ments in  those  days  consisted  principally  in 
shooting-matches,  dances  or  "hoedowns," 
also  horse  races.  The  first  choice  of  a  beef 
was  its  hide,  tallow  and  horns;  meat  was 
the  second  choice.  July  4th  always  called 
for  a  big  barbecue  of  beeves,  mutton  or 
pork,  cooked  in  large  trenches.  The  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  was  always  read, 
the  drum  and  fife  were  very  popular  and 
the  orator  of  the  day  was  in  evidence.  Dur- ' 
ing  election  times  the  candidates  furnished 
kegs  of  whisky,  which  was  poured  into 
buckets,  by  which  sat  a  tin  cup,  and  each 
one  helped  himself.  The  bucket  always 
bore  the  name  of  the  candidate.  Where  the 
railroad  yard  is  now  located  in  Centralia 
our  subject  says,  he  once  saw  a  thousand 
wild  geese  and  as  many  ducks  in  the  water. 
The  swampy  place  was  filled  with  cinders 
and  made  solid. 

It  was  1835  when  our  subject  came  to 
Marion  county,  through  which  no  railroad 
19 


was  built  until  1854.  Coal  mines  were  then 
unknown  and  government  land  and  "squat- 
ter sovereignty"  were  the  conditions  prevail- 
ing here.  Not  one  man  in  twenty  owned  his 
land.  It  was  the  cheaper  not  to  own  land, 
for  then  there  were  no  taxes  to  pay. 
The  first  land  sold  for  one  dollar  and  twen- 
ty-five cents  per  acre,  then  two  dollars  and 
fifty  cents  per  acre.  When  the  Vandalia 
Railroad  came  through  in  1852  the  farmers 
bid  in  all  their  land;  then  came  the  specu- 
lators. This  land  now  sells  for  one  hun- 
dred dollars  per  acre. 

Mr.  Skipworth  was  married  to  Martha 
Crabtree,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary 
Crabtree,  who  lived  in  Jefferson  county,  lat- 
er moved  to  Southwest  Missouri.  They  were 
the  parents  of  four  children,  the  subject's 
wife  being  next  to  the  youngest  in  order  of 
birth.  The  date  of  the  subject's  wedding 
was  January  3,  1841.  The  subject's  wife 
had  three  brothers  in  the  Mexican  war.  Four 
children  were  born  to  our  subject  and  his 
first  wife,  namely:  Julian,  deceased;  John 
H.,  deceased;  Ellen,  living;  Virenda,  de- 
ceased. The  first  wife  of  the  subject  passed 
away  April  4,  1854,  and  on  May  29,  1855, 
Mr.  Skipworth  was  married  to  Nellie  Hos- 
kins.  Eight  children  have  been  born  to  this 
union,  namely :  Louisa,  who  married  Phillip 
Straus,  living  in  Chicago ;  Charles,  who  died 
in  1875;  Rhoda  married  Edward  Root,  liv- 
ing in  Chicago,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
one  son,  Charles.  The  other  five  children 
of  the  subject  and  his  last  wife  have  all 
passed  away. 

Mr.   Skipworth  ably  served  his  commu- 


292 


1MOGKAIMIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


township,  the  former  on  August  9,  1838,  the 
son  of  John,  known  as  Jack,  Bundy.  The 
subject's  father  grew  up  and  married  in 
Raccoon  township  and  lived  there  all  his 
life.  He  was  one  of  the  prominent  farmers 
and  stockmen.  He  was  a  Republican,  was 
Justice  of  the  Peace  and  served  in  many 
minor  township  offices.  He  and  his  wife 
were  members  of  the  Christian  church.  He 
died  July  i,  1904,  and  she  died  January  30, 
1900.  He  was  not  only  popular  but  high- 
ly esteemed.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
their  only  child. 

George  Bundy  was  one  of  the  patriotic 
citizens  of  the  Prairie  state  who  responded 
to  the  call  for  volunteers  to  save  the  na- 
tion's integrity  during  the  sixties,  having 
enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  August  12, 
1862,  and  served  faithfully  in  Company  H, 
Eightieth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
he  was  mustered  out  June  19,  1865.  He 
was  a  flag  bearer.  He  met  with  an  acci- 
dent while  on  duty  in  the  service.  While  car- 
rying the  flag,  he  caught  his  foot  on  a  grape 
vine,  fell  and  was  very  badly  injured.  After 
the  war  our  subject  returned  to  Raccoon 
township  and  being  a  hard  worker  he  se- 
cured two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  acres  in 
this  township.  He  had  only  a  common 
school  education  in  the  home  schools.  He 
has  always  lived  on  a  part  of  the  old  home- 
stead. 

Our  subject,  Charles  E.  Bundy,  was  united 
in  marriage  October  29,  1885,  to  Effie  Jane 
Prather,  who  was  born  in  Raccoon  town- 
ship, the  daughter  of  Joseph  Prather,  a  na- 
tive of  Indiana.  He  was  one  of  the  old  and 


favorably  known  residents  of  Raccoon  town- 
ship. Eleven  children  have  been  born  to- 
our  subject  and  wife  as  follows:  Sarah 
Gladys,  Earl,  Iva  May,  George  Ashton, 
Carroll  Ashton,  Thomas  Oren,  John  Guy; 
Lola  Elizabeth;  Ula  Violet;  Paul  Sherman, 
and  Charles  Deward. 

Our  subject  has  always  been  a  man  of 
industry  and  has  made  many  valuable  and 
lasting  improvements  on  his  place.  He  re- 
modeled his  fine  home  in  1908,  making  it  a 
very  attractive,  substantial  and  comfortable 
one.  He  has  a  most  excellent  and  valuable 
orchard  of  forty  acres.  He  carries  on  gen- 
eral farming  and  stock  raising  with  that 
rare  foresight  that  insures  success. 

While  Mr.  Bundy  is  a  loyal  Republican, 
and  anxious  to  see  his  county  develop  along 
all  lines,  he  has  never  aspired  for  public 
office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Fanners' 
Union.  He  is  known  to  be  a  man  of  thor- 
oughly honest  principles,  public-spirited  and 
agreeable  to  all  his  neighbors  and  many- 
friends. 


M.  W.  MICHAELS. 

Mr.  Michaels,  of  this  review,  is  one  of 
those  strong,  sturdy  characters  who  has  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  material  welfare  of 
the  community  and  township  in  which  he  re- 
sides, being  a  modern  agriculturist  and  a 
business  man  of  more  than  ordinary  sagac- 
ity and  foresight,  and  as  a  citizen  public- 
spirited  and  progressive  in  all  that  the  terms 
imply.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has  been 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


293 


an  important  factor  in  promoting  the  prog- 
ress of  Marion  county. 

M.  W.  Michaels  was  born  near  Sumner, 
Lawrence  county,  Illinois,  May  19,  1861, 
the  son  of  Samuel  Michaels,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  was  born  in  1815,  and 
came  to  Illinois  when  a  young  boy,  before 
Chicago  was  known.  He  was  a  sturdy  pio- 
neer and  braved  the  dangers,  inconveniences 
and  obstacles  of  the  early  days,  securing  a 
wild  piece  of  land  which  he  transformed 
into  a  valuable  and  highly  productive  farm, 
devoting  his  entire  life  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  came  to  Marion  county  in  1880 
and  was  called  from  his  earthly  labors  in 
Romine  township,  Illinois,  in  1897.  The 
mother  of  the  subject  was  also  a  woman  of 
the  strongest  mould  and  possessed  the  ster- 
ling qualities  of  the  typical  pioneer  woman. 
Samuel  Michaels  was  three  times  married 
and  had  a  family  of  twenty  children,  eight- 
een of  whom  are  living  in  1908,  a  somewhat 
remarkable  record.  His  first  wife  was  a  Ea- 
kas,  who  became  the  mother  of  six  children, 
all  now  living,  as  follows:  Mary  A.,  wife  of 
W.  J.  Jones,  of  luka,  Illinois;  Anna,  the 
wife  of  Joseph  Clevy.  of  Pomona,  Kansas; 
Adline,  the  wife  of  Isaac  Williams,  of 
Browns,  Illinois;  Mrs.  Lafe  Jones,  of  Cal- 
houn,  Illinois;  Mrs.  Martha  Jones,  of  Sum- 
ner, Illinois;  William'  B.  lives  at  Kremlin, 
Oklahoma.  The  second  wife  of  Samuel 
Michaels  was  Mary  A.  Collins,  daughter  of 
William  Collins,  who  was  murdered  near 
Lawrenceville,  Illinois,  in  the  seventies.  The 
following  children  were  born  to  this  union : 
M.  W.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Samuel, 
of  Gettysburg,  Washington;  L.  G.,  of 


Franklin,  Alaska;  C.  J.,  of  luka,  Illinois; 
R.  B.,  of  Centralia,  Illinois;  W.  N.,  of  luka, 
Illinois ;  Rose,  widow  of  John  Meadows,  liv- 
ing in  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  Charlie,  who  is 
living  in  one  of  the  Western  states.  The 
mother  of  these  children  passed  to  the  other 
shore  December  13,  1879.  The  third  wife 
of  the  subject's  father  was  Caroline  Turner, 
a  native  of  Illinois,  who  became  the  mother 
of  the  following  children :  Cora,  wife  of 
Charles  Bryan,  of  luka,  Illinois;  Elizabeth, 
who  was  the  wife  of  Charles  Williams,  is 
now  deceased;  Alvin,  Ida  and  Minnie  all 
live  in  Romine  township ;  Albert  died  in  in- 
fancy. L.  J.  Michaels,  brother  of  'the  sub- 
ject, has  been  in  Alaska  since  about  1897, 
and  has  made  a  great  success  at  placer  min- 
ing, refusing  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  his 
claims. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  lived  with  his 
father,  assisting  with  the  farm  work  and 
attending  the  neighboring  schools  in  the 
winter,  until  he  became  a  young  man,  when 
he  went  west,  where  he  spent  several  years 
in  the  railroad  business,  gaining  a  fund  of 
valuable  experience  and  information.  He 
finally  returned  home  and  married,  Novem- 
ber 6,  1883,  Maggie  Taylor,  daughter  of 
P.  A.  Taylor.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were 
natives  of  Kentucky.  Mr.  Michaels  went 
west  again  in  1887  with  his  family  and 
worked  from  Colorado  to  New  Mexico,  but 
was  in  California  most  of  the  time.  He  re- 
turned to  Illinois  in  1897,  and  began  farm- 
ing in  Romine  township.  He  made  a  signal 
success  of  farming,  having  improved  a  good 
tract  of  land  and  skillfully  managed  the 
same  until  he  soon  had  not  only  a  comfort- 


294 


1UOGKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


able  living,  but  quite  a  competency  laid  by. 
Mr.  Michaels  is  a  stockholder  in  the  First 
National  Bank  at  Salem,  however,  he  de- 
votes his  attention  to  farming  interests 
principally  and  is  known  as  one  of  the  best 
and  most  painstaking  agriculturists  in  the 
township  and  his  farm  shows  unmistakably 
that  a  man  of  thrift  and  industry  manages  it. 

Mr.  Michaels  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  also  the  Woodmen,  and 
both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Christian  church.  The  subject  and  wife 
are  the  parents  of  two  children,  namely: 
Clarence,  who  was  born  July  18,  1885.  He 
is  a  bright  young  man  who  gives  prom- 
ise of  a  brilliant  and  successful  future.  The 
second  child,  Everett,  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Michaels  has  always  taken  consider- 
able interest  in  political  matters  and  of  re- 
cent years  has  been  influential  in  local  elec- 
tions, being  well  grounded  and  well  read  in 
his  political  opinions  and  on  political  sub- 
jects. Having  a  laudable  ambition  for  offi- 
cial preferment,  and  being  a  popular  man 
in  his  party,  his  Republican  friends  selected 
him  for  Sheriff,  having  been  elected  to  this 
important  office  in  1906,  by  a  big  majority 
in  a  county  nominally  Democratic,  which 
shows  that  he  is  regarded  as  a  strong  man 
in  his  community.  He  also  served  as  a 
member  of  the  County  Board  for  two  terms, 
representing  his  township.  He  has  shown 
himself  eminently  capable  in  all  the  offices 
or  positions  of  public  or  private  trust  that 
have  been  proffered,  giving  entire  satisfac- 
tion to  all  his  constituents  and,  in  fact,  every- 
one concerned. 


JOSEPH  S.  PEAK. 

The  state  of  Maryland  contributed  her 
proportion  of  emigrants  to  form  the  army  of 
pioneers  who  crossed  the  Alleghanies  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  grap- 
ple with  the  western  wilderness.  Among 
the  number  was  Joseph  Peak,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred about  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  who,  after  marrying  Lucy  Leach, 
started  on  the  perilous  trip  to  the  "Dark  and 
Bloody  Ground,"  south  of  the  Ohio  river. 
He  does  not  seem  to  have  been  pleased  with 
the  opportunities  offered  by  Kentucky,  as  we 
find  him  soon  crossing  over  to  the  more  con- 
genial soil  of  the  Buckeye  state.  He  settled 
in  Butler  county,  then  as  now,  one  of  the 
best  sections  of  Ohio  and  made  his  living  by 
farming  until  his  death  in  1835.  He  had 
eight  children  and  among  them  William  B. 
Peak,  whose  birth  occurred  on  the  Butler 
county  homestead,  September  25,  1812.  He 
also  followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  but 
concluding  late  in  life  that  the  Illinois  prai- 
ries offered  better  inducements,  he  removed 
to  that  state  in  August,  1864,  and  settled  in 
Flora,  where  he  engaged  in  business  until  his 
death,  January  7,  1896.  Aside  from  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  he  became  a  preacher  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  did  much 
religious  work  during  the  active  period  of 
his  life.  He  married  Cynthia  Planner,  a 
native  of  Butler  county,  Ohio,  who  made 
him  a  faithful  companion  until  her  death 
in  1874.  This  worthy  couple  had  eleven 
children,  all  but  one  of  whom  lived  to  ma- 
turity and  eight  are  still  living.  Of 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


295 


these.  Mrs.  Angelina  Chidester  is  a  resident 
of  Flora,  Mrs.  Mary  Floyd  is  a  resident  of 
Dublin,  Indiana.  Rev.  T.  De  Witt  Peak  is 
a  citizen  of  Litchfield,  Illinois.  Mrs.  Caro- 
line Major  makes  her  home  in  Flora.  Rev. 
R.  F.  Peak  holds  forth  at  Oakland,  Califor- 
nia. Mrs.  S.  C.  Manker  is  the  sixth  in  order 
of  birth.  Mrs.  C.  E.  Beckett  resides  at  Cen- 
tralia,  Illinois.  Joseph  S.  Peak,  the  second  in 
order  of  birth  of  the  surviving  children,  was 
born  in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  March  16,  1837. 
He  accompanied  his  parents  to  Clay  county 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  Civil  war,  after 
obtaining  a  fair  common  school  education, 
partly  in  his  native  county  and  partly  n  Shel- 
by county,  Indiana,  where  the  family  so- 
journed for  a  while.  For  many  years  after 
reaching  Illinois,  he  combined  farming  and 
school  teaching  as  a  means  of  livelihood.  In 
August,  1 86 1,  he  enlisted  in  Company  D, 
Thirty-third  Regiment  Indiana  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, with  which  he  served  nine  months, 
being  discharged  on  account  of  sickness.  He 
farmed  and  taught  school  in  Indiana  before 
he  came  to  Illinois,  where  he  spent  his  time 
on  a  farm  until  the  winter  of  1893,  when  he 
removed  to  Flora,  Illinois.  In  1884  he  was 
elected  Surveyor  of  Clay  county  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket,  in  which  office  he  served  ac- 
ceptably for  four  years.  In  1888  he  obtained 
the  nomination  for  the  same  office,  but  was 
defeated,  at  the  polls.  He  tried  again 
in  1894,  and  was  triumphantly  elected, 
but  after  serving  his  term,  aban- 
doned politics  for  the  real  estate  and  gen- 
eral notary  business.  In  1896  he  was  elected 
Justice  of  the  Peace  and  has  continued  to 


exercise  the  duties  of  that  office  by  repeated 
re-elections.  He  had  served  in  this  capacity 
also  while  a  resident  of  the  country,  previous 
to  his  removal  to  Flora.  Mr.  Peak  is  a  hale 
and  vigorous  man  for  his  age  and  possessed 
of  a  cheerfufl  disposition,  fortified  by  many 
of  the  sterling  virtues.  He  has  resided  in  or 
near  Flora  for  forty-five  years  and  is  known 
to  every  one  in  the  county.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  for 
five  years  was  secretary  of  the  International 
Sunday  School  Association.  He  is  com- 
mander of  the  local  post  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic.  On  October  7,  1857,  Mr. 
Peak  Married  Susan  E.  Lick,  who  was  born 
and  reared  near  the  town  of  Hope  in  Barthol- 
omew county,  Indiana.  Their  marriage  re- 
lations have  continued  harmonious  for  over 
fifty-one  years.  Of  their  seven  children, 
those  living  are  Mrs.  Addie  Lewis,  of  Oma- 
ha, Nebraska ;  Charles  A.  Peak,  of  the  same 
city ;  Mrs.  Mary  Chapman,  also  of  Omaha ; 
W.  B.  Peak,  Omaha ;  E.  E.  Peak,  of  Detroit, 
Michigan;  Miss  Stella  Peak,  of  Flora. 


FRANK  LOOMIS. 

Among  those  men  of  Marion  county, 
who  by  the  mere  force  of  their  personality, 
have  forged  their  way  to  the  front  ranks 
of  that  class  of  citizens  who  may  justly  be 
termed  progressive,  is  the  gentleman  whose 
name  heads  this  sketch,  who  has  a  fine  farm 
in  Tonti  township,  which  he  has  taken  a 
great  interest  in  and  which  he  has  improved 


296 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


in  a  most  systematic  way  until  it  is  the  equal 
of  any  in  the  vicinity  where  it  is  so  admir- 
ably located. 

Frank  Loomis  was  born  in  this  township, 
March  20,  1865,  the  son  of  S.  E.  and  Mar- 
garet (McMurray)  Loomis,  a  highly  re- 
spected family  and  for  several  generations 
well  known  in  Marion  county.  S.  E. 
Loomis  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  where  he  was 
bom  October  12,  1841,  and  came  with  his 
parents  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1846, 
and  after  a  life  of  hard  work  in  practically 
a  new  country,  he  passed  to  his  rest  in  1885. 
Almon  Loomis,  the  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject, also  came  to  this  county  from  Ohio, 
settling  on  the  farm  where  Frank  Loomis 
now  lives.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  in 
this  part  of  the  county  and  reclaimed  the 
farm  in  question  from  the  wilderness.  He 
is  remembered  as  a  hard  worker  and  a  good 
man  in  every  respect.  He  passed  to  his  rest 
in  this  township  July  26,  1893. 

S.  E.  Loomis  was  married  in  Marion 
county,  his  wife  having  come  to  this  country 
from  Scotland,  where  she  was  born.  Four 
children  were  born  to  this  marriage.  Three 
sons  are  now  living,  namely :  Frank,  our 
subject;  Byron  C,  and  Louis  L.  Frank 
Loomis  was  reared  upon  his  father's  farm 
in  Tonti  township  and  worked  during  the 
summer  months  on  the  farm,  attending  the 
district  schools  during  the  winter  months 
until  he  had  a  fairly  good  common  school 
education.  He  remained  at  home  until  he 
was  twenty-one  years  old,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Ida  M.  Martin,  the  affable  and  congenial 


daughter  of  Caleb  and  Martha  J.  (Mc- 
Heney)  Martin.  Her  father  was  born  in 
North  Carolina,  and  he  moved  to  Tennessee, 
later  coming  to  Marion  county,  Illinois. 
The  mother  of  Mrs.  Loomis  was  born  in 
Tonti  township,  this  county.  Ida  M.  was 
the  sixth  child  in  order  of  birth  in  this  fam- 
ily. She  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools,  where  she  applied  her- 
self in  such  a  manner  as  to  become 
well  educated.  Two  children  were  born 
to  the  subject  and  wife,  namely:  Glen 
M.,  born  September  12,  1890,  and  Omer  F., 
who  was  born  April  23,  1895.  They  are 
both  bright  boys,  and  will,  no  doubt,  make 
their  mark  in  the  world.  Mr.  Loomis  is 
the  owner  of  a  farm  consisting  of  one  hun^ 
dred  and  twenty  acres  on  which  he  carries 
on  general  fanning  which  yields  him  a  com- 
fortable living  from  year  to  year  and  at  the 
same  time  permits  him  to  lay  up  a  compe- 
tency for  old  age  and  to  give  his  children 
every  necessary  advantage  in  launching 
them  successfully  in  the  battle  of  life.  His 
fields  are  well  tilled,  the  crops  of  heavy 
grain  being  rotated  with  clover  so  as  to  re- 
tain the  strength  of  the  soil.  He  has  a 
comfortable  and  substantial  residence  which 
is  well  furnished  and  nicely  kept.  Many 
and  convenient  out  buildings  also  stand  on 
the  place,  and  much  good  stock  of  various 
kinds  is  to  be  found  in  his  fields  and  barns. 
In  politics  Mr.  Loomis  is  a  staunch  Re- 
publican, but  he  does  not  take  a  very  active 
part  in  party  affairs,  being  contented  to 
spend  his  time  on  his  farm.  Fraternally  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Ben  Hur  lodge,  Odin, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


297 


No.  226.  Mrs.  Loomis  is  also  a  member 
of  this  organization.  He  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  substantial  and  best  citizens  of  Tonti 
township. 


ROY  H.  MCKNIGHT,  M.  D. 

The  grandfather  of  this  popular  physi- 
cian was  James  A.  McKnight,  a  native  of 
Indiana,  who  became  an  early  settler  of  Il- 
linois. He  located  at  Ingraham,  in  the 
county  of  Clay,  and  prosecuted  his  trade  as 
a  miller,  a  business  of  much  importance  in 
a  pioneer  community.  His  death  occurred 
in  1895,  when  he  was  quite  advanced  in 
years.  He  had  been  accompanied  to  Il- 
linois by  his  son,  Frank,  who  was  born  in 
Indiana,  learned  his  father's  trade  of  mill- 
ing, and  continued  in  this  calling  during  the 
working  period  of  his  life,  which  ended  at 
Ingraham,  in  1894,  at  the  comparatively 
early  age  of  forty-seven  years.  Frank  Mc- 
Knight was  married  in  early  manhood  to 
Lou  Shriner,  a  native  of  Ohio,  who  is 
still  residing  in  Chicago.  The  chil- 
dren of  this  union,  three  in  number,  were: 
Roy  H..  Rolla,  now  at  Minnie,  Arkansas, 
and  Hazel,  a  resident  of  Chicago. 

Roy  H.  McKnight  was  born  March  14, 
1 88 1,  at  Ingraham,  Clay  county,  Illinois.  Af- 
ter the  usual  elementary  course  in  the  district 
schools  at  home,  he  was  graduated  in  1899 
from  the  Jefferson  high  school  in  Chicago. 
In  1900.  he  matriculated  in  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  Illinois  University  and  spent 
three  years  in  diligent  prosecution  of  his 


studies.  After  leaving  this  institution,  three 
additional  years  were  spent  at  the  Dearborn 
Medical  College  in  Chicago,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1906.  After 
practicing  a  year  in  Chicago,  Dr.  McKnight 
opened  an  office  in  Clay  City  in  the  fall  of 
1907  and  since  then  has  continued  in  busi- 
ness at  that  place.  He  had  a  lucrative  prac- 
tice in  the  hospital  at  Englewood,  but  was 
forced  to  give  this  up  and  seek  the  country 
on  account  of  ill  health.  The  doctor's  early 
career  was  at  once  a  test  of  his  ambitious 
determination  and  a  guarantee  of  his  success 
in  life,  as  he  early  learned  the  valuable  les- 
son of  self-denial  and  saving.  When  his  fa- 
ther died,  he  was  thrown  on  his  own  re- 
sources at  the  tender  age  of  thirteen.  He 
bought  a  pair  of  overalls  and  a  cap,  took 
a  freight  train  to  Chicago  and  found  employ- 
ment at  four  dollars  per  week.  All  but  fifty 
cents  of  this  went  for  board,  but  on  this  scant 
surplus  he  saved  money.  When  by  hard  work 
and  faithful  service  he  was  promoted  to  a 
stipend  of  four  dollars  and  fifty  cents  a  week, 
he  was  correspondingly  happy.  His  first 
work  was  for  the  Thompson  (bicycle)  Man- 
ufacturing Company  and  his  next  job  was 
with  the  Western  Electric  Company.  His 
hard  labor  extended  through  seven  years,  at 
the  end  of  which  time  he  found  himself  in 
possession  of  the,  to  him,  munificent  remuner- 
ation of  twenty-five  dollars  per  week.  In  the 
seven  years  he  saved  four  thousand  dollars, 
every  cent  of  which  was  spent  in  procuring 
his  education  as  a  physician.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  add  that  the  doctor  is  a  pro- 
gressive young  man,  of  boundless  ambition 


298 


HIOC.KAPHICAL    AND    KK  M  I  X  ISC  K  NT    HISTORY    OF 


and  possessing  especial  aptitude  and  ability. 
Dr.  McKnight  is  a  member  of  the  American, 
Clay  County  and  Cook  (Chicago)  County 
Medical  societies.  He  is  a  Mason  and  holds 
membership  in  Union  Park  Lodge,  No.  610, 
of  that  order  in  Chicago. 

In  1903,  Dr.  McKnight  was  married  to 
Bertha  May  Hill,  of  Wheeling,  West  Vir- 
ginia,  and  they  have  one  child,  Mildred, 
born  July  i,  1904.  The  parents  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  church  at  Clay  City. 


GEORGE  J.  HEAVER. 

The  gentleman  to  whom  the  biographer 
now  calls  the  reader's  attention  was  not  fa- 
vored by  inherited  wealth  or  the  assistance 
of  influential  friends,  but  in  spite  of  this, 
by  perseverance,  industry  and  a  wise 
economy,  he  has  attained  a  comfortable  sta- 
tion in  life,  and  is  well  and  favorably  known 
throughout  Tonti  and  surrounding  town- 
ships, Marion  county,  as  a  result  of  the  in- 
dustrious life  he  has  lived  there  for  over 
a  half  century. 

George  J.  Heaver  was  born  in  Crawford 
county,  Ohio,  December  8,  1838,  the  son 
of  George  Jacob  and  Christena  (Fritz) 
Heaver,  both  natives  of  Wertenburg,  Ger- 
many. They  married  in  the  Fatherland 
where  two  children  were  born  to  them. 
Deciding  that  greater  opportunties  were  to 
be  found  in  the  United  States  they  landed 
at  Sandusky,  Ohio,  July  3,  1838,  and  be- 
fore becoming  hardly  established  in  the  new 


country  the  father  died  December  I,  1838. 
His  widow  re-married  in  1841,  her  second 
husband  being  Levi  Kline,  of  Crawford 
county,  Ohio,  and  in  1849  they  emigrated  to- 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  locating  west  of 
Salem,  where  they  lived  until  1854,  when 
Mr.  Kline  died,  and  his  widow  was  again 
married,  her  third  husband  being  George 
Kline;  both  are  now  deceased. 

The  first  marriage  of  Christena  Fritz  re- 
sulted in  the  birth  of  four  children,  two 
boys  and  two  girls,  all  deceased  but  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  George  J.  Heaver  re- 
mained at  home  under  the  parental  roof-tree 
until  he  reached  maturity.  His  educational 
advantages  were  very  limited  but  he  early 
acquired  enough  schooling  to  read  and  write, 
but  being  by  nature  an  intelligent  man,  he 
has  succeeded  admirably  well  without  tech- 
nical training.  Our  subject  was  one  of 
those  loyal  sons  of  the  North,  who,  when  the 
fierce  fires  of  rebellion  were  raging  in  the 
Southland,  felt  it  his  duty  to  forsake  home 
ties  and  offer  his  services  in  behalf  of  the 
stars  and  stripes,  consequently  he  enlisted  in 
Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Il- 
linois Volunteer  Infantry,  on  August  12, 
1862,  under  Capt.  Amos  Clark,  of  Salem,  Il- 
linois, and  was  in  camp  at  that  place.  He 
was  called  to  Camp  Marshall  where  he  re- 
mained until  October  31,  1862,  when  his 
company  was  sent  to  Columbus,  Kentucky, 
and  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland, later  taking  part  in  the  battle  at  Re- 
saca,  Georgia,  and  the  strenuous  Atlanta 
campaign,  also  in  Sherman's  famous  march 
to  the  sea.  Our  subject  also  came  back  with 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


299 


Sherman's  army  through  the  Carolinas  to 
Washington  City.  He  was  mustered  out 
here  after  rendering  conspicuous  and  valu- 
able service,  and  returned  to  Springfield, 
Illinois,  on  June  6,  1865.  He  was  wounded 
on  May  13,  1864,  which  resulted  in  his  be- 
ing absent  from  duty  for  some  time.  He 
rejoined  his  regiment  at  Rome,  Georgia,  af- 
ter he  had  recovered.  After  his  career  in  the 
army  our  subject  returned  to  Salem,  this 
state,  and  engaged  in  farming. 

Mr.  Heaver  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1866  to  Maggie  Williams,  of  Salem,  who 
was  born  in  Ohio,  February  13,  1838.  She 
was  a  woman  of  many  fine  characteristics, 
and  after  a  harmonious  wedded  life  of 
twenty-six  years  she  was  called  to  her  rest 
in  the  fall  of  1902.  Four  children  were 
born  to  our  subject  and  wife  as  follows: 
George  W.  was  born  February  19,  1870; 
Louie  C.  was  born  September  29,  1874; 
William  W.  was  born  October  i,  1869,  died 
aged  seven  years;  Charles  W.  was  born  in 
1879. 

Mr.  Heaver  was  in  Texas  for  a  period  of 
eight  years  where  he  made  a  financial  suc- 
cess of  his  labors,  but  he  returned  to  this 
county  in  1885.  He  is  now  the  owner  of 
sixty-five  acres  of  land  in  Tonti  township 
which  he  farmed  with  the  greatest  results  at- 
tending his  efforts,  for  he  understands  well 
all  the  details  of  managing  a  farm  success- 
fully. His  fields  are  well  fenced  and  cleanly 
kept.  Most  of  the  corn  the  place  produces 
is  fed  on  the  farm  to  various  kinds  of  stock. 
He  has  a  nice  and  comfortable  dwelling  and 
plenty  of  good  out  buildings.  His  son, 


George  W.,   and  daughter,  Louie  C.,   live 
with  him. 

In  his  social  relations  our  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Salem  Post,  No.  202,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  in  which  he  takes 
a  great  interest,  as  might  be  expected.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  a 
regular  attendant  at  the  local  gatherings  of 
this  denomination  in  which  he  has  long 
taken  a  delight.  In  his  political  affiliations 
he  is  a  loyal  Democrat,  and  faithfully  served 
the  public  as  Commissioner  of  Highways 
and  Road  Supervisor.  He  is  regarded  by 
every  one  who  knows  him  as  a  man  of  sound 
business  principles,  honest  and  kind. 


JOSEPH  K.  MCLAUGHLIN. 

Our  subject  is  the  present  Supervisor  of 
Raccoon  township  where  no  man  is  better 
known  or  is  held  in  higher  respect  than  he, 
for  his  life  has  been  led  along  honorable 
lines  and  he  has  always  had  the  interest  of 
his  county  at  heart. 

Joseph  K.  McLaughlin  was  born  in  Wal- 
nut Hill,  Marion  county,  September  26. 
1850,  the  son  of  James  and  Ann  E.  (Lyons) 
McLaughlin,  both  natives  of  Ireland,  where 
they  married.  They  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1845  and  settled  in  Randolph 
county,  Illinois,  later  came  to  Marion  county 
and  in  1848  settled  near  Walnut  Hill,  about 
1855  locating  in  Raccoon  township.  They 
were  members  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
church.  The  subject's  father  was  a  Repub- 


3oo 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


lican.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of 
the  following  children:  Ann  Eliza,  Eliza- 
beth, Nancy,  Thomas  J.,  Joseph  K.,  our  sub- 
ject; Annie  E.,  Jane,  James  A.  and  Ann- 
ette E.  The  subject's  father  devoted  his 
life  to  farming.  He  died  February  7,  1878, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years,  and  his  wife 
died  February  14,  1908. 

The  early  education  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  obtained  in  the  home  schools.  In 
1 882  he  bought  his  present  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  in  Raccoon  township. 
He  carries  on  general  farming  and  stock 
raising  in  a  most  successful  manner,  being  a 
man  of  sound  judgment  and  a  hard  worker. 
His  farm  is  highly  improved  and  very  pro- 
ductive. He  raises  much  good  stock  and  his 
dwelling  and  other  buildings  are  substantial 
and  comfortable. 

Mr.  McLaughlin  was  united  in  marriage 
in  1870  with  Tirzah  E.  Morton,  who  was 
born  in  Raccoon  township,  the  daughter  of 
James  and  Mary  Morton,  a  well  known 
family  in  their  neighborhood.  Nine  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  the  subject  and  wife : 
Charles,  who  married  Dorothea  Huff,  has 
three  children,  Merlyn,  Paul,  Dorothea; 
James  C.  married  Mora  Bennett  and  they 
have  two  children,  Bennett  and  Collin  C. ; 
Harry  married  Kate  White;  Stella  married 
Willis  R.  Burgess  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren, Buford  and  Nellie ;  Hugh  Archie  mar- 
ried Lulu  Kell;  Joseph  is  a  law  student  at 
Champaign,  Illinois;  John  is  a  member  of 
the  family  circle  and  is  a  teacher;  Walter 
is  also  teaching  and  living  at  home ;  Elma 
lives  with  her  parents.  These  children  are 
bright  and  have  received  good  educations. 


Mrs.  McLaughlin  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  and  a  faithful  attend- 
ant upon  the  same.  Mr.  McLaughlin  is  a 
Democrat  and  is  serving  his  second  term  as 
Supervisor,  giving  his  constituents  entire 
satisfaction  in  this  capacity. 


DAVID  HERSHBERGER. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  to 
the  sturdy  discipline  of  the  homestead  farm 
and  during  all  the  succeeding  years  of  his 
life  he  has  not  wavered  in  his  allegiance  to 
the  great  basic  art  of  agriculture.  To  the 
public  schools  he  is  indebted  for  the  early 
educational  privileges  that  were  afforded 
him,  and  he  duly  availed  himself  of  the 
same,  while  he  has  effectually  broadened  his 
knowledge  through  active  association  with 
men  and  affairs  in  practical  business  life. 
He  has  become  the  owner  of  a  fine  stock 
farm  and  devotes  his  attention  to  diversified 
agriculture  with  the  discrimination,  energy 
and  constant  watchfulness  which  inevitably 
make  for  definite  success  and  prosperity. 
He  has  spent  practically  all  of  his  life  in 
Marion  county. 

David  Hershberger,  living  two  miles  west 
of  Salem.  Illinois,  was  born  October  20, 
1865.  in  Crawford  county,  Ohio,  the  son  of 
Henry  and  Catherine  (Snavely)  Hershber- 
ger, the  former  being  a  native  of  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  born 
February  14,  1824,  and  the  latter  of  Leb- 
anon county,  Pennsylvania,  both  having 
been  reared  in  the  Keystone  state.  They 
moved  to  Crawford  county,  Ohio,  where 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


301 


they  farmed  for  several  years  and  then  in 
1 866  moved  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  set- 
tling in  Salem  township  where  Henry 
bought  a  large  tract  of  land,  becoming  the 
owner  of  about  two  thousand  acres  in  Ma- 
rion county.  He  improved  this  land  and  -it 
became  very  valuable.  He  died  August  29, 
1898.  He  is  remembered  as  a  thrifty 
farmer  and  a  highly  respected  citizen.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Ger- 
man Baptist  church,  or  Dunkards.  Jacob 
Hershberger,  grandfather  of  the  subject, 
was  also  a  native  of  Lancaster  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  great-grandfather  of  the 
subject,  Henry  Hershberger,  was  also  a 
native  of  that  place.  Henry,  the  father  of 
the  subject,  and  Catharine  Snavely  were 
married  February  10,  1848.  They  were 
very  active  in  the  church  and  Henry  was  a 
preacher  for  many  years,  having  done  a 
great  amount  of  good  in  his  work.  He  was 
a  Republican  in  politics.  He  and  his  wife 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  named  in 
order  of  birth,  as  follows :  Jacob,  a  promi- 
nent farmer  in  Marion  county ;  Samuel,  de- 
ceased; Mary,  widow  of  John  Schanafelt; 
Elizabeth  is  the  wife  of  W.  J.  Martin,  a 
prominent  farmer  in  Marion  county;  Anna 
is  the  wife  of  S.  A.  Schanafelt;  Sarah  is 
the  wife  of  C.  W.  Courson.  who  lives  in 
Marion  county;  John  lives  in  Salem  town- 
ship on  a  farm;  Henry  lives  in  Centralia, 
Illinois;  David,  our  subject,  is  the  youngest 
child.  The  mother  of  the  subject  passed 
to  her  rest  April  14,  1906. 

The  subject  remained    at    home    on    his 
father's  farm  until  he  married.     He  was  one 


year  old  when  he  came  to  Marion  county, 
he  was  married  December  31,  1888, 
to  Lida  Dickens,  the  daughter  of  Eli- 
jah and  Elizabeth  (Tate)  Dickens,  both 
natives  of  Tennessee,  but  pioneer  settlers  of 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  both  now  deceased. 
The  subject's  wife  was  born  in  this  county. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hershberger  six  children 
have  been  born  as  follows:  Leland,  de- 
ceased; Walter  E.,  Lottie  M.,  Loren  D., 
Henry  R.,  and  Wayne  D. 

The  subject  and  family  are  members  of 
the  German  Baptist  church  in  Salem  town- 
ship, and  the  subject  is  a  deacon  in  the 
church.  He  is  a  loyal  Republican,  having 
served  his  township  as  Highway  Commis- 
sioner in  a  most  acceptable  manner.  He 
lives  on  the  old  home  farm,  this  together 
with  his  own  farm  constitutes  two  hundred 
and  eighty  acres.  He  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  leading  farmers  of  Marion  county, 
and  always  keeps  excellent  stock.  He  has 
a  beautiful  home  which  is  elegantly  fur- 
nished, and  everything  about  the  place  is 
kept  in  first  class  order. 


MRS.  JUDITH  SINGER. 

Words  of  praise  or  periods  of  encomium 
could  not  clearly  convey  the  personal  char- 
acteristics of  the  noble  woman  of  whom  the 
biographer  now  essays  to  write  in  this  con- 
nection, for  only  those  who  have  had  the 
good  fortune  to  know  her  personally  can 
see  the  true  beauty  of  her  character  and  in- 


302 


ISIOCKAPHICAL    AND    RE MIXISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


dividual  traits,  which  have  been  the  resul- 
tant, very  largely,  of  a  long-  life  of  devo- 
tion to  duty,  a  life  filled  with  good  deeds 
to  others  and  led  along  worthy  planes.  Mrs. 
Singer  lives  in  Tonti  township,  Marion 
county,  where  she  successfully  manages  a 
fine  landed  estate,  exercising  rare  sagacity 
of  foresight  and  business  acumen,  which 
always  result  in  definite  success,  and  as  a 
result  of  her  commendable  characteristics 
she  enjoys  the  friendship  of  a  large  circle 
of  acquaintances  in  this  community. 

Mrs.  Judith  Singer  was  bom  in  Berks 
county,  Pennsylvania,  June  24,  1838,  the 
daughter  of  Peter  and  Lyda  (Mildenber- 
ger)  Beisel.  The  Beisel  family  came  to 
America  from  Germany  in  an  early  day  and 
settled  in  Pennsylvania,  where  they  devel- 
oped farms  and  made  comfortable  homes. 
The  parents  of  our  subject  always  lived  on 
a  farm,  and  when  her  father  died,  Grand- 
father Beisel  moved  to  Illinois,  and  the 
mother  of  the  subject  was  married  and  came 
to  Illinois  in  1867,  settling  in  Marion  coun- 
ty. She  was  a  good  woman  and  her  home 
life  was  calculated  to  foster  right  principles 
in  her  children.  The  father  of  the  subject 
was  a  man  of  many  sterling  traits  of  charac- 
ter, always  bearing  a  good  name. 

Judith  Beisel  was  given  every  advantage 
possible  by  her  parents,  and  while  her  early 
educational  training  was  not  extensive,  she 
applied  herself  in  a  diligent  manner  and  has 
since  been  an  avid  reader  of  the  best  gen- 
eral literature  with  the  result  that  she  is  an 
entertaining  and  instructive  talker,  especial- 
ly when  she  elucidates  on  the  pioneer  clays 


and  the  aftermath  of  commercial  develop- 
ment of  this  section  of  the  country. 

Our  subject  was  married  to  Oscar  Singer 
January  2,  1858,  the  ceremony  having  been 
performed  in  Northumberland  county,  Pen- 
sylvania.  Mr.  Singer  was  born  in  Germany 
on  June  18,  1834.  He  was  educated  in  the 
Fatherland,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
with  his  parents  when  eighteen  years  old, 
where  he  learned  to  be  a  mechanic  of  no 
mean  ability.  He  worked  at  his  trade  in 
Centralia,  Marion  county,  Illinois,  being  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  best  men  in  the  insti- 
tution where  he  was  employed.  He  later 
moved  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  went  into 
business  on  his  own  account,  and  in  which 
city  he  was  living  when  he  was  called  from 
his  earthly  labors  on  November  20,  1882. 
His  remains  were  interred  in  the  cemetery 
at  Salem,  Illinois.  He  was  a  good  business 
man,  honest  and  industrious  and  made 
friends  wherever  he  went.  He  was  a  public 
spirited  man,  being  a  loyal  Republican  in 
politics. 

Mrs.  Singer  purchased  an  eighty  acre 
farm  in  Tonti  township,  Marion  county,  in 
1883,  and  moved  thereto  soon  afterward, 
having  resided  there  ever  since.  It  is  a  splen- 
did place,  well  managed  and  highly  im- 
proved in  every  respect,  producing  excellent 
crops  from  year  to  year  and  yielding  a  com- 
fortable income  for  the  family.  Mrs. 
Singer's  home  is  one  of  the  most  attractive 
in  the  community.  Good  stock  of  various 
kinds  and  a  fine  variety  of  poultry  are  to  be 
seen  about  the  place. 

Eight  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


303 


Singer.  Two  boys  and  three  girls  are  living 
at  this  writing,  namely :  Ida  is  the  wife  of 
Will  W.  Langridge,  who  lives  in  Terre 
Haute,  Indiana;  Lillie  is  the  wife  of  Lewis 
Parks,  who  lives  on  a  farm;  Ollie  travels 
for  an  Indianapolis  firm;  Oscar  married 
Maude  Kline  and  lives  on  a  farm;  Rose  L. 
is  a  bookkeeper  at  Salem,  Illinois.  All  these 
children  had  careful  training  and  all  re- 
ceived a  good  common  school  education. 


JOHN  H.  GRAY. 

He  to  whom  this  sketch  is  dedicated  is  a 
member  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  hon- 
ored pioneer  families  of  Marion  county,  Il- 
linois, and  he  has  personally  lived  up  to  the 
full  tension  of  the  primitive  days  when  was 
here  initiated  the  march  of  civilization,  so 
that  there  is  particular  interest  attached  to 
his  career,  while  he  stands  today  as  one  of 
the  representative  citizens  of  Tonti  town- 
ship, for  his  life  has  been  one  of  hard  work 
which  has  resulted  in  the  development  of  a 
good  farm  which  he  owns  and  which  yields 
him  a  comfortable  living. 

John  H.  Gray  was  born  in  this  county 
January  14,  1839,  anc^  believing  that  he 
could  succeed  as  well  here  as  anywhere  de- 
cided to  stay  in  his  native  community  where 
he  would  have  the  added  advantage  of  home 
associations.  He  is  the  son  of  James  and 
Mariah  E.  (Nichols)  Gray.  Both  the  Gray 
and  Nichols  families  were  born  in  Tennes- 
see, being  of  that  hardy  pioneer  stock  that 


invades  new  and  unbroken  countries  and 
clears  the  wilderness,  developing  farms  from 
the  virgin  land.  It  was  for  such  purpose 
that  they  came  to  Illinois.  The  parents  of 
the  subject  came  to  Marion  county  in  their 
youth  and  were  married  here,  having  first 
settled  in  this  locality  during  the  Black 
Hawk  war.  James  D.  Gray,  our  subject's 
father,  moved  to  Tonti  township  in  1851.  He 
was  a  man  of  many  sterling  qualities,  a  good 
neighbor  and  citizen,  and,  as  already  inti- 
mated, was  industrious  and  a  hard  worker. 
He  was  also  a  minister  of  the  Methodist 
church  for  many  years.  His  family  con- 
sisted of  nine  children,  three  boys  and  one 
girl  living  at  this  writing,  1908,  all  fairly 
well  situated  in  reference  to  this 'world's  af- 
fairs. 

John  H.  Gray,  our  subject,  received  a  lim- 
ited schooling  in  his  native  community. 
However,  he  applied  himself  well  and  did  the 
best  he  could  under  the  circumstances.  He 
remained  at  home,  working  on  his  father's 
place  until  he  reached  maturity.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  in  1860  to  Susan  Bal- 
lance,  a  member  of  a  well  known  family. 
After  a  brief  married  life  she  passed  to  her 
rest  in  1864.  This  union  resulted  in  the 
birth  of  one  child,  which  died  in  infancy.  In 
1866  the  subject  was  again  married,  his  sec- 
ond wife  being  Rebecca  A.  Boring,  who  is 
still  living,  having  proven  to  be  a  most  faith- 
ful and  worthy  helpmeet  and  a  woman  of 
gentle  disposition.  She  was  born  in  1848 
and  attended  the  district  schools  in  her 
maidenhood. 

Four  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 


304 


IlIUGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ject  and  wife,  three  girls  and  one  boy, 
whose  names  follow :  Susan  E.,  Mattie  E., 
Etta  and  William  A.  They  have  received 
what  schooling  that  is  available  in  their 
community  and  are  all  interesting  children 
with  every  prospect  for  future  success. 

Mr.  Gray  in  his  political  affiliations  is  a 
loyal  Democrat  and  has  taken  considerable 
interest  in  local  political  affairs,  his  support 
always  being  on  the  right  side  of  all  ques- 
tions affecting  the  public  good.  He  has 
ably  served  as  Highway  Commissioner, 
giving  entire  satisfaction  in  this  work,  and 
he  is  known  to  all  as  a  man  of  industry, 
honesty  and  integrity,  thereby  winning  and 
retaining  a  large  circle  of  friends. 


ALLEN  COPE. 

For  nearly  half  a  century  the  subject  of 
this  review  was  a  well  known  resident  of 
Marion  county.  He  was  a  man  of  many 
talents,  having  been  a  successful  lawyer  for 
several  years  prior  to  1861,  at  which  time 
he  located  upon  a  farm  in  Tonti  township 
and  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. He  also  became  an  enthusiastic  stu- 
dent of  horticulture  and  for  many  years  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  authorities 
upon  this  subject  in  Southern  Illinois,  as  well 
as  a  practical  demonstrator  of  the  same.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  citizens  of  Marion 
county  to  engage  in  the  fruit  business  upon 
an  extensive  and  systematic  scale,  develop- 
ing one  of  the  largest  and  most  successful 


fruit  industries  in  the  pioneer  history  of  hor- 
ticultural pursuits  in  the  county. 

Allen  Cope  was  born  near  New  Water- 
ford,  Columbiana  county,  Ohio,  August  4, 
1827,  where  he  resided  until  1845.  For  nine 
years  he  resided  at  Salem,  Ohio,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  a  mercantile  business.  In 
1854  he  came  to  Fairfield,  Illinois,  where 
he  studied  and  practiced  law  with  Judge 
Charles  Beecher. 

Owing  to  ill  health  he  retired  from  the 
law  in  1860  and  the  following  year  located 
upon  a  farm  in  Tonti  township,  Marion 
county,  where  he  developed  one  of  the  finest 
fruit  farms  in  the  county.  It  was  here  that 
he  passed  to  his  reward,  October  24,  1907, 
at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

Mr.  Cope's  career  as  a  horticulturist  be- 
gan with  his  removal  to  Marion  county.  He 
planted  forty  acres  of  apples  in  the  springs 
of  1861  and  1863,  a  very  large  area  indeed 
for  that  period.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  too, 
in  this  connection  that  he  was  one  of  the 
first  to  plant  largely  of  the  Ben  Davis  vari- 
ety. This  venture  proved  successful  and  as 
this  orchard  began  to  fail  he  planted  again 
from  time  to  time,  and  indeed  his  labors 
ceased  only  with  the  coming  of  his  long 
rest.  Mr.  Cope  was  an  active  member  of 
the  State  Horticultural  Society  and  of  its 
subordinate  society,  the  Southern  Illinois 
Horticultural  Society. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows,  and  was  born  and 
reared  a  Quaker. 

Originally  a  Whig  in  politics  and  a  strong 
abolitionist,  it  was  but  natural  that  he  should 


ALLEX  COPE. 


SARAH  A.  COPE. 


.HOIS. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


305 


become  a  Republican  upon  the  birth  of  that 
party,  and  for  many  years  he  was  an  ardent 
supporter  of  its  principles  and  an  active 
worker  in  the  ranks.  In  late  years,  how- 
ever, he  espoused  the  cause  of  Democracy, 
believing-  that  the  latter  party  adhered  more 
closely  to  the  principles  of  Lincoln  Repub- 
licanism. Having  been  a  lawyer  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability  and  always  a  student 
and  an  observer^,  Mr.  Cope  wielded  no  small 
amount  of  influence  in  his  community  and 
his  opinions  upon  the  leading  questions  of 
the  day  were  always  treated  with  great  re- 
spect. He  was  a  man  of  many  sterling 
qualities,  successful  in  business  and  influen- 
tial in  his  community,  and  was  also  known 
as  a  public  spirited  man  of  the  most  scrupu- 
lously honest  type. 

Mr.  Cope  was  united  in  marriage  at  Sa- 
lem April  16,  1856,  with  Miss  Sarah  A. 
Ray,  who  was  born  near  London,  Madison 
county,  Ohio,  June  30,  1834,  Mrs.  Cope  be- 
ing a  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Helen  (Warner) 
Ray.  The  Ray  family  was  of  English  de- 
scent, the  grandparents  on  the  Ray  side  be- 
ing natives  of  Virginia,  who  later  settled  in 
Madison  county,  Ohio.  The  Warners  were 
of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  the  great-grandfa- 
ther of  Mrs.  Cope  having  been  born  in  Dub- 
lin. 

Jesse  Ray,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Cope,  wa3 
one  of  the  well  known  and  highly  honored 
pioneers  of  Marion  county,  having  secured 
land  from  the  government  near  Salem  and 
locating  thereon  in  1839.  He  entered  seven 
hundred  acres  of  land  in  Tonti  township,  the 
present  Cope  home  being  a  portion  of  the 
20 


original  grant.  Mr.  Ray  developed  and  im- 
proved a  good  farm  and  became  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  successful  farmers  and 
stock  growers  in  the  county.  He  moved 
from  the  farm  to  Salem  in  order  to  give  his 
children  an  education,  where  he  operated  a 
hotel  and  also  engaged  in  merchandising,  in 
the  meantime  carrying  on  farming  opera- 
tions. He  finally  returned  to  the  farm,  where 
he  died  August  27,  1859.  Mr.  Ray  was  one 
of  those  patriotic  sons  who  participated  in 
the  Mexicon  war,  having  enlisted  in  1847. 
He  was  with  his  regiment  until  the  close  of 
hostilities  and  experienced  many  hardships 
and  privations  in  the  long  and  tedious  march 
across  the  desert  to  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico, 
and  back  again,  every  mile  of  which  was 
covered  on  foot.  He  was  a  man  of  much 
sterling  worth  and  influence  in  his  commu- 
nity and  accomplished  much  for  the  improve- 
ment and  development  of  his  section  of  the 
county. 

Mrs.  Cope  was  five  years  old  when  she 
came  with  her  parents  to  Marion  county. 
She  attended  the  country  schools  and  later 
went  to  Salem  with  the  family,  where  she 
received  a  liberal  education,  having  applied 
herself  in  a  most  assiduous  manner  to  her 
studies.  After  her  marriage  with  Mr.  Cope, 
as  above  indicated,  she  resided  in  Fairfield, 
this  state,  for  a  few  years,  where  her  hus- 
band was  engaged  in  the  successful  practice 
of  his  profession.  Since  locating  on  the 
farm  in  Tonti  township  in  1861,  Mrs.  Cope 
has  continued  to  make  this  place  her  home, 
where  her  children  have  also  been  reared. 
Their  names  are  as  follows:  Laura Isbell and 


3o6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Lenora  are  both  deceased;  Walter  Lincoln 
and  William  Abraham  were  twins,  the  lat- 
ter dying  in  infancy. 

Walter  L.  Cope,  the  only  surviving  child, 
was  born  May  27,  1864.  He  received  a 
common  school  education  and  also  attended 
the  University  of  Illinois  at  Champaign  for 
three  years.  June  6,  1888,  he  was  married 
to  Miss  Anna  Vaughan,  of  Odin  township, 
Marion  county,  and  seven  children  have  been 
born  to  them,  as  follows :  Allen,  Bessie,  Lo- 
rin,  Leila,  Howard  and  Margaret,  all  of 
whom  are  living.  One  child,  Raymond, 
died  in  infancy.  Walter  Cope  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  Order  at  Salem  and  his  wife 
affiliates  with  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star 
at  that  place. 

The  Cope  home  is  one  of  the  finest  coun- 
try houses  in  Marion  county,  being  commo- 
dious, comfortable  and  having  modern  im- 
provements and  conveniences.  The  house  is 
heated  with  hot  air.  A  system  of  water 
works  has  been  installed,  together  with 
baths,  etc.  The  furnishings  are  up-to-date 
and  tastefully  arranged,  and  this  beautiful 
home  is  presided  over  with  rare  grace  and 
dignity  by  the  Mesdames  Cope,  who  often 
show  their  unstinted  hospitality  in  enter- 
taining their  numerous  friends. 


HENRY  C.  BOTHWELL. 

This  family  name  was  familiar  among 
the  early  settlers  of  three  states  and  its 
members  figured  both  in  Ohio  and  Illinois 


during  the  pioneer  period.  James  Both- 
well,  the  founder,  was  a  Pennsylvanian. 
who  migrated  into  Ohio  at  an  early  day, 
settled  on  a  farm  purchased  from  the  gov- 
ernment, reared  a  family  and  ended  his 
earthly  career  about  1863.  His  son,  James 
K.  Bo'thwell,  was  torn  in  Vinton  county, 
Ohio,  near  McArthur,  during  the  first  quar- 
ter of  the  nineteenth  century  and  removed 
to  Illinois  in  1840,  settling  at  old  Maysville, 
then  the  county  seat  of  Clay.  He  was  a 
cabinet  maker  by  trade,  but  afterward  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  business.  In  1863, 
he  removed  his  store  to  Clay  City  and  con- 
tinued in  business  until  1887,  when  he  re- 
tired to  his  farm  of  seventy  acres,  within 
the  corporate  limits  of  the  town.  At  this 
homestead  he  passed  peacefully  away.  May 
24.  1899,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age. 
He  married  Mary  A.  Brissenden,  who  was 
born  near  Albion,  in  Edwards  county,  Il- 
linois, her  parents  being  of  English  stock. 
She  died  July  16,  1898,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-seven years.  This  pioneer  couple  had 
seven  children,  of  whom  four  are  living,  the 
complete  list  being  as  follows:  Henry  C., 
subject  of  this  sketch;  J.  Homer,  an  attor- 
ney at  Sedalia,  Missouri ;  Florence ;  Camil- 
la, deceased,  and  William,  who  died  when 
ten  years  old;  James  K.,  in  the  loan  and  in 
surance  business  at  Seattle,  Washington 
and  Frank,  deceased. 

Henry  C.  Bothwell,  the  oldest  child,  wa? 
born  in  old  Maysville.  April  n.  1847.  Ht 
was  reared  in  Clay  City,  where  he  attended 
the  local  schools.  During  the  years  1863- 
64,  he  was  a  student  at  McKendree  College 


RICHLAXD,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


307 


in  Lebanon,  Illinois,  afterwards  attended 
Nelson's  Commercial  College  at  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  and  then  accepted  a  clerkship  in  his 
father's  store,  folding  this  position  and 
later  as  a  partner,  he  spent  the  years  from 
1865  to  1886  iii  this  line  of  business.  In 
the  year  last  mentioned  he  became  a  can- 
didate on  the  Republican  ticket  for  Treas- 
urer of  the  county,  and  was  elected.  In 
1894  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office, 
and  served  during  the  four  following  years. 
After  retiring  he  devoted  some  time  .to  the 
abstract  business,  continuing  in  this  line 
until  1899,  when  he  was  made  Chief  Clerk 
of  the  Joliet  Penitentiary,  which  position  he 
held  two  and  a  half  years.  Returning  to 
Clay  City  he  formed  a  partnership  undei 
the  firm  name  of  Bothwell  &  Gill,  and  this 
business  engaged  his  attention  until  1907, 
when  he  received  the  appointment  of  post 
master  at  Clay  City.  This  was  no  new  ex- 
perience, as  he  had  previously  served  as 
postmaster  for  sixteen  consecutive  years, 
while  in  the  mercantile  business.  Besides 
this,  he  had  served  as  Tax  Collector  of  Clay 
City  township  a  number  of  times  and  was 
county  collector  for  eight  years.  He  was 
always  popular  and  successful  both  in  his 
business  pursuits  and  official  holdings,  be- 
ing regarded  as  one  of  the  prominent  and 
influential  men  of  the  county.  His  fra- 
teral  relations  are  extensive  and  conspicu- 
ous, especially  in  the  Masonic  Order.  He 
is  a  member  of  Blue  Lodge  No.  488.  at 
Clay  City,  Chapter  at  Flora,  Commandery 
at  Olney  and  the  Shrine  at  Medina  Temple 


in  Chicago.    He  is  also  an  Odd  Fellow  and 
a  Woodman. 

In  1869  Mr.  Bothwell  married  Mary  C. 
Myers,  who  was  born  near  Wilmington, 
Ohio.  They  lost  four  children  in  infancy, 
but  have  three  living,  to-wit:  Lucy,  E.  L., 
who  is  practicing  law  at  St.  Joseph,  Mis- 
souri, and  Ada,  a  teacher  in  the  Hillsboro 
(Illinois)  high  school. 


JAMES  R.  RICHARDSON. 

One  of  the  sterling  citizens  of  Marion 
county  is  he  whose  name  initiates  this  para- 
graph, being  engaged  in  farming  in  Tonti 
township.  As  a  result  of  his  industry,  in- 
tegrity and  genuine  worth  he  is  held  in  high 
esteem  by  the  people  of  this  vicinity,  mainly 
as  a  result  of  his  principal  life  work — the 
noble  profession  of  teaching. 

James  R.  Richardson,  the  son  of  John  and 
Sarah  A.  (Chandler)  Richardson,  was  born 
in  Williamson  county,  Illinois,  at  Bolton, 
December  19,  1841.  The  Richardson  fam- 
ily are  of  Irish  descent.  John  Richardson 
was  born  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  and  he 
was  eight  years  old  when  his  parents  died. 
He  was  reared  by  a  family  named  Decker, 
a  farmer  at  Groveport,  Ohio.  He  received 
his  educational  training  in  the  public  schools 
in  the  Buckeye  state,  which  was  somewhat 
limited,  owing  to  the  primitive  condition  of 
the  public  schools  of  that  early  day.  He 
was  a  man  of  no  extraordinary  ability  but 
he  was  a  hard  worker  and  succeeded  in 


3o8 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


making  a  comfortable  living.  He  came  to 
Illinois  about  1838,  settling  near  Peoria, 
where  he  remained  a  few  years.  He  moved 
to  St.  Clair  county,  Illinois,  and  thence  to 
Williamson  county  and  later  he  came  to 
Marion  county  in  1853,  buying  a  farm  in 
Tonti  township,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death  in  March,  1856. 

The  Chandler  family  came  from  Penn- 
sylvania. The  father  of  Sarah  A.,  our  sub- 
ject's mother,  came  to  Ohio  and  engaged 
in  farming,  but  not  on  an  extensive  scale. 
The  mother  of  the  subject  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  Franklin  county.  She 
was  a  woman  of  many  estimable  qualities. 
Eleven  children  were  born  to  this  couple, 
ten  girls  and  one  boy.  Sarah  A.  was  mar- 
ried to  John  Richardson  about  1838,  and 
she  passed  to  her  rest  in  1870.  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson was  a  large  land  owner  in  Marion 
county,  this  state,  and  he  was  regarded  as 
a  man  of  many  sterling  qualities. 

James  R.  Richardson,  our  subject,  was 
the  second  child  in  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren. He  remained  under  the  parental  roof 
tree  until  he  was  seventeen  years  old.  He 
refleiy^d  his  education  in  the  district  schools 
and  later  at  Salem.  He  was  an  ambitious 
lad  from  the  start  and  outstripped  most  of 
his  contemporaries.  After  finishing  the 
public  school  course,  he  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  amount  of  text-book  training  he 
had  received  and  consequently  entered  the 
State  Normal  School  at  Bloomington,  Il- 
linois, where  he  made  a  splendid  record  for 
scholarship,  and  where  he  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1871,  with  high  honors. 


After  leaving  school  Mr.  Richardson  at 
once  began  to  teach,  first  in  the  county 
schools,  having  soon  become  principal,  and 
he  was  principal  in  several  places.  Becoming 
known  as  an  able  instructor,  his  services 
were  in  great  demand.  He  was  principal 
of  the  schools  at  Woodson,  Franklin,  Stan- 
ford, Morton  and  Marseilles,  all  in  Illinois, 
and  he  also  taught  a  year  in  Kansas.  He 
gave  the  greatest  possible  satisfaction  as  an 
instructor,  being  well  grounded  in  the  texts 
then  included  in  the  public  school  curricu- 
lums,  and  he  was  very  popular  with  his  pu- 
pils, owing  to  his  friendliness  and  kindness. 
His  teaching  extended  over  a  period  of 
twenty-six  years  during  which  time  his 
reputation  extended  not:  only  to  adjoining 
counties  but  he  attracted -the  attention  of 
the  ablest  educators  of  the  state,  receiving 
much  laudable  comment  on  his  work  in  the 
school  room. 

Mr.  Richardson  could  not  restrain  the 
wave  of  patriotism  that  pervaded  his  whole 
being  when,  in  the  dark  days  of  the  sixties, 
our  national  integrity  was  threatened,  and, 
believing  that  it  was  his  duty  to  sever  home 
ties,  leave  the  school  room  and  offer  his  ser- 
vices in  defense  of  the  flag,  he  accordingly 
enlisted  in  Company  G,  Twenty-first  Il- 
linois Volunteer  Infantry,  and  was  in  the 
regiment  assigned  to  Grant's  army  during 
the  first  part  of  the  war.  He  was  in  the 
great  battle  of  Stone  River  and  the  still 
bloodier  conflict  of  Chickamauga,  and  many 
other  smaller  engagements.  He  was  taken 
prisoner  at  Chickamauga,  and  was  in -prison 
at  Richmond  and  Danville  for  six  months. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


309 


He  effected  his  escape,  but  was  recaptured, 
and  later  exchanged.  After  performing 
gallant  service  for  a  period  of  three  years, 
he  returned  home  and  entered  the  Univer- 
sity of  Illinois  in  1864,  where  he  completed 
his  education. 

Our  subject's  domestic  life  dates  from 
December  25,  1876,  when  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Sarah  Martin  Williams,  a 
highly  educated  woman,  a  native  of  Cass 
county,  Illinois,  where  she  was  born  March 
10,  1856.  She  lived  in  Morgan  county,  this 
state  until  seventeen  years  old,  when  she  en- 
tered the  State  University  at  Bloomington, 
and  was  a  student  there  for  several  years, 
where  she  made  a  brilliant  record  for  schol- 
arship. No  children  have  been  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Richardson.  Mrs.  Richardson  is 
a  faithful  member  of  the  Christian  church 
in  Salem.  Our  subject  is  a  Prohibitionist 
in  his  political  affiliations. 


JOHN  I.  McCAWLEY. 

Few  men  on  the  threshold  of  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  eightieth  year  of  their  age  pos- 
sess the  remarkable  energy  and  activity  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  John  I.  McCaw- 
ley,  who  is  ^nd  has  been  for  years,  the  lead- 
ing spirit  in  every  big  enterprise  that  has 
been  launched  in  Clay  county,  Illinois.  He 
is  not  only  the  wealthiest  man  in  that 
county,  but  has  the  distinction  of  being  the 
oldest  native  born  citizen  thereof.  He  is 


the  son  of  parents  who  penetrated  the  un- 
broken wilderness  of  Illinois,  when  hidden 
dangers  menaced  their  every  step.  In  those 
early  days  the  great  forests  of  that  state 
were  filled  with  hostile  Indians  and  fero- 
cious beasts.  The  subject  experienced  all  of 
the  hardships  and  privations  that  fell  to  the 
lot  of  the  youth  of  those  days,  but  he  had 
inherited  many  of  the  rugged  qualities  of 
his  courageous  ancestors,  and  the  great 
wealth  that  he  possesses  today  is  the  reward 
of  perseverance  and  industry. 

Mr.  McCawley  was  born  on  the  Little 
Wabash  river,  about  two  miles  and  a  half 
from  Clay  City,  Illinois,  August  20,  1829, 
and  has  spent  his  entire  life  in  Clay  county. 
He  is  a  son  of  John  McCawley,  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  who  came  to  Illinois  in  1810. 
Soon  after  this  pioneer  had  located  in  Clay 
county  the  Black  Hawk  war  broke  out,  and 
he  was  warned  by  friendly  Indians  to  leave 
the  country,  add  realizing  that  to  remain 
meant  sure  death  he  heeded  the  admonition. 
He  started  back  to  Kentucky  with  an  escort 
of  Indians  who  accompanied  him  as  far  as 
Vincennes,  Indiana.  In  1816,  when  peace 
had  been  restored  he  returned  to  Clay  coun- 
ty, and  remained  there  until  his  death,  in 
1854.  He  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in 
this  section  of  Illinois,  having  been  born 
in  Jefferson  county,  Kentucky,  December 
24,  1782.  The  grandfather  of  the  subject 
was  James  McCawley,  a  native  of  Scotland, 
who  afterwards  moved  to  the  north  of  Ire- 
land, where  he  married,  and  came  to 
America,  settling  in  Jefferson  county. 


3io 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


The  mother  of  the  subject  was  Martha 
Lacey,  who  was  born  in  Jefferson  county, 
Kentucky,  February  4,  1791.  She  died  Oc- 
tober 14,  1844.  Her  parents  were  of  Irish 
extraction. 

Mr.  McCawley  remained  upon  his  fa- 
ther's farm  until  he  was  twenty  years  of 
age,  and  then  traveled  about  the  country, 
spending  three  or  four  years  in  St.  Louis, 
where  he  traded  in  stock.  He  finally  en- 
gaged in  the  grocery  business  at  Maysville, 
then  the  county  seat  of  Clay  county.  He 
was  thus  engaged  for  fifteen  years,  having 
added  dry  goods  to  his  stock,  after  starting. 
When  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Southwestern, 
then  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad,  was 
finished,  in  1856,  he  moved  to  Clay 
City,  where  he  re-embarked  in  the  mercan- 
tile business,  and  until  1898,  he  had  one  of 
the  largest  establishments  in  the  city.  It 
was  at  the  close  of  that  year  that  he  retired 
from  active  business  affairs,  although  his 
local  interests  are  large  and  varied,  and  he 
gives  them  personal  attention. 

On  May  17,  1856,  the  subject  was  mar- 
ried to  Maria  L;  Moore,  who  was  born  in 
Johnson  county,  Tennessee,  February  9, 
1840.  Seven  children  were  the  fruits  of 
this  union:  Arthur  H.,  born  May  14,  1857, 
resides  in  Clay  City;  Sarah  L.,  wife  of 
John  T.  Baird,  of  Olney,  Illinois,  born  De- 
cember 7,  1858;  Martha  Maria,  wife  of  Dr. 
T.  L.  Leeds,  of  Michigan  City,  Indiana; 
Mina  Julia,  wife  of  Oscar  W.  Gill,  of  Chi- 
cago, born  June  25,  1865;  John  G.,  born 
March  5,  1871,  lives  in  St.  Louis,  in  the 


commission  business;  Mary  Eliza,  wife  of 
Richard  S.  Rowland,  lawyer  of  Olney,  Il- 
linois, born  September  9,  1873;  Lewis  W., 
born  February  24,  1871,  died  August  17, 
1905. 

Mr.  McCawley  is  a  director  in  the  Olney 
Bank,  of  Olney,  Illinois.  He  has  much 
money  invested  in  real  estate,  and  owns  sev- 
eral large  and  substantial  business  blocks  in 
Clay  City.  At  one  time  he  was  the  owner 
of  three  thousand  acres  of  land,  but  .he  has 
disposed  of  the  greater  portion  of  this  as  it 
required  too  much  of  the  time  that  he  de- 
sired to  devote  to  his  other  interests.  His 
wealth  is  the  result  of  his  own  thrift  and 
enterprise.  He  was  compelled  to  enter  the 
battle  of  life  at  a  very  early  age,  receiving 
a  limited  education.  The  subject's  father 
was  blind  for  twenty  years  previous  to  his 
death,  and  dutiful  son  that  he  was,  Mr.  Mc- 
Cawley gave  him  the  most  tender  attention. 
The  subject  belongs  to  both  the  Masons 
and  Odd  Fellows'  lodges,  and  in  politics  is 
a  Democrat.  He  was  the  candidate  of  his 
party  for  State  Senator  ten  years  ago,  but  the 
district  being  strongly  Republican,  was  de- 
feated with  the  rest  of  the  ticket.  Mr.  Mc- 
Cawley was  the  first  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
ticket  agent  at  Clay  City. 

The  subject  is  a  man  of  commanding 
presence,  intellectual  features,  with  a  kindly 
and  genial  disposition,  and  is  held  in  high 
esteem  by  the  people  of  Clay  City,  regard- 
less of  class  or  condition.  Few  men  have 
done  as  much  toward  the  material  progress 
of  this  community. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


JOSEPH  WILLARD  WALTON.    M.    D. 

Indiana  was  decidedly  a  wild  and  wooly 
territory  when  Joseph  Willard  Walton  in- 
vaded her  borders  in  search  of  work  and  a 
career.  Born  in  North  Carolina  in  1801,  he 
left  his  native  state  in  early  manhood  to  cast 
his  fortune  with  struggling  pioneers  cf  the 
West,  lie  was  lucky  in  his  location,  as  the 
county  he  chose  was  Washington  and  the 
land  he  settled  was  a  part  of  the  alluvial  bot- 
toms which  in  later  years  gave  fame  to  the 
White  river  valley.  Land  was  cheap  when 
this  newcomer  arrived  from  the  South,  and 
he  was  able  to  secure  a  full  section,  which  at 
the  present  time  is  worth  at  least  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  an  acre.  It  is  the  region  of 
great  corn  crops,  unsurpased  in  the  produc- 
tion of  fine  melons,  as  well  as  all  the  cereals 
and  varieties  of  fruit.  The  old  pioneer  pros- 
pered as  a  fanner  for  those  days,  but  wealth 
was  then  out  of  the  question  for  a  tiller  of  the 
soil,  owing  to  lack  of  market  and  transporta- 
tion facilities,  which  the  prices  of  products 
as  well  as  the  land  placed  at  a  low  level.  This 
patriot  survived  until  1901,  and  had  rounded 
out  a  full  century  of  existence  before  the  final 
summons.  He  left  a  son  named  Daniel  R., 
who  caught  the  roving  fever  in  early  man- 
hood and  decided  to  move  farther  west.  He 
formed  a  satisfactory  location  in  Clay  coun- 
ty, Illinois,  where  he  farmed  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  Harter  township,  north 
of  Xenia,  in  1862.  After  reaching  Illinois 
he  met  and  married  Ellen  Golden,  who 
though  a  native  of  the  state,  was  of  Indiana 
parentage.  She  survived  her  husband  fifteen 


years  and  passed  away  in  1877.  Their 'five 
children,  all  living,  are  Samuel,  who  resides 
on  grandfather  Golden's  place,  northwest  ot 
Flora;  Mrs.  Maria  Abel,  of  Santa  Rosa, 
California ;  Joseph  W.,  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Marlow  Walton,  of  North  Dakota;  Thomas 
J.  Walton,  of  Eagle  Grove,  Iowa. 

Joseph  Willard  Walton,  third  in  order  of 
birth  in  the  above  list  of  children,  was  born 
in  Clay  county,  Illinois,  July  5,  1869.  As 
he  was  only  seven  years  old  when  he  lost  his 
father,  the  struggle  of  this  boy  towards  suc- 
cess was  rendered  unusually  difficult.  He 
was,  however,  a  bright  and  courageous  boy, 
obedient  to  his  uncle,  with  whom  he  lived 
near  Flora,  and  doing  cheerfully  the  chores 
that  fell  to  him,  while  also  proving  a  diligent 
student  in  -the  district  schools.  After  the 
usual  elementary  course,  he  entered  as  a  pupil 
in  Orchard  City  College  at  Flora,  and  later 
took  a  course  in  Austin  College  at  Effing- 
ham.  For  ten  years  subsequent  to  leaving  col- 
lege,, he  taught  school  in  his  native  county. 
He  had,  however,  always  been  ambitious  to 
become  a  physician,  and  in  1902  entered  the 
Medical  Department  of  St.  Louis  Univer- 
sity, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  May,  1906.  On  July,  of  the  same 
year  he  hung  out  his  shingle  in  Clay  City  and 
has  since  diligently  prosecuted  his  profession. 
Dr.  Walton  belongs  to  the  American,  State 
and  Clay  County  Medical  societies  and  is 
the  official  examiner  for  the  New  York  Life, 
Prudential,  Springfield,  Woodmen,  Royal 
Neighbors  and  other  insurance  orders.  His 
fraternal  connections  are  with  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows, Woodmen  and  Ben  Hur  societies.  He 


I;KK;RAPIIICAL  AND  REMINISCENT  HISTORY  OF 


has  a  commodious  office  well  equipped  with 
all  the  modern  appliances  suitable  for  his 
business.  The  doctor  has  made  his  own  way 
from  orphanage  and  poverty  to  a  command- 
ing and  prosperous  condition  in  life. 

In  1893,  Dr.  Walton  married  Miss  Josie 
Nash,  a  native  of  Clay  county,  and  they  have 
had  three  children,  Violet  Evelyn,  Daph- 
ney  Ruth,  and  Charles  Willard,  deceased. 
The  parents  are  members  of  the  Christian 
church. 


ISHAM  E.  HODGES. 

Among  the  sterling  Tennesseans  who 
have  settled  in  Marion  county  since  the  pio- 
neer days,  none  have  shown  more  worthy 
traits  of  character  or  been  more  active  in 
the  development  of  the  county  than  the  gen- 
tleman whose  biography  we  herewith  pre- 
sent. Mr.  Hodges  is  the  owner  of  a  fine 
farm  in  Raccoon  township  which  has  been 
brought  from  a  wild  state  to  one  of  the 
best  in  the  locality  through  his  skillful 
management. 

Isham  E.  Hodges  was  born  in  Sumner 
county,  Tennessee,  July  30,  1840,  the  son 
of  Marcus  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Marcum) 
Hodges,  the  former  a  native  of  Sumner 
county,  Tennessee,  where  he  grew  up,  made 
a  farmer  and  where  he  died,  and  the  latter  a 
native  of  Abbyville  Court  House,  Virginia, 
who  died  in  Montgomery  county,  Tennessee. 
They  were  members  of  the  Christian  church. 
Our  subject  was  their  only  child.  His 
father  married  a  second  time,  his  last  wife 


being  Susan  Hodges,  of  Sumner  county, 
Tennessee.  She  is  still  living  there  on  the 
old  place.  Nine  children  were  born  to  the 
subject's  father  by  his  second  union.  He 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Indian  war  in  Florida  in 
1836,  being  a  prisoner  of  that  struggle. 
Our  subject's  great-grandfathers  on  both 
sides  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  being 
in  General  Starke's  and  General  Green's 
command. 

Isham  E.  Hodges  had  little  opportunity  to 
attend  school.  However,  he  obtained  some 
education  in  subscription  schools  of  the  early 
days.  He  left  home  when  seventeen  years 
of  age  and  came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
where  he  worked  out  and  carried  the  mail 
from  Fairfield  to  Salem.  He  also  farmed 
in  Salem  and  Raccoon  townships.  On  Oc- 
tober 31,  1865,  choosing  as  a  life  partner 
Frances  Hays,  of  Raccoon  township,  the 
daughter  of  Elijah  M.  Hays,  whose  sketch 
appears  in  full  on  another  page  of  this  work. 
Eleven  children  have  been  born,  eight  of 
whom  are  living:  Effie,  deceased,  married 
Harvey  England,  who  lives  in  St.  Louis, 
Missouri.  She  was  born  August  23,  1866, 
and  died  August  8,  1883.  Iva  E.,  the  sec- 
ond child,  was  born  October  28,  1867,  mar- 
ried Harvey  Mercer;  they  live  in  Sadora, 
Arkansas,  and  are  the  parents  of  five  chil- 
dren, Clinton,  Sylvia,  Stewart,  Howard  and 
Opal.  Clara  B.,  the  third  child,  was  born 
March  n,  1869,  died  February  8,  1892, 
married  Charles  Anderson,  of  Chicago,  Illi- 
nois; John  D.,  who  was  born  March  21, 
1873,  first  married  Lucy  White  and  second 
Lydia  Kell,  having  had  two  children  by  his 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


313 


first  wife,  Clayton  and  Robert,  and  one  child 
by  his  second  wife,  named  Donald.  He  has 
been  postal  clerk  for  several  years  on  the  Chi- 
cago &  Eastern  Illinois  Railroad.  He  was 
first  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Southwestern 
Railroad,  his  first  run  being  between  Mc- 
Leansboro  and  Shawneetown,  Illinois.  He 
runs  between  Marion  and  Villa  Grove.  Ralph 
Waldo,  the  fifth  child,  was  born  June  6, 
1874,  and  died  October  25,  1875;  Mark 
Ainsly  was  born  January  2,  1877,  married 
Indiana  Stonecipher,  and  they  have  four 
children,  Delta,  Isham,  Charles  and  Mary; 
Grace  was  born  September  13,  1878,  mar- 
ried Levi  Bigham,  a  farmer  in  Raccoon 
township;  Mabel  J.  was  born  August  28, 
1880,  married  Henry  F.  March,  station 
agent  at  Cartter,  Illinois,  on  the  Chicago  & 
Eastern  Illinois  Railroad,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  three  children,  Everett,  Franklin 
and  Marie ;  Minnie  Blanche,  born  September 
26,  1882,  married  Elisha  Harmon,  a  car- 
penter of  Raccoon  township;  Elaine  E.,  born 
November  8,  1884,  who  married  Clara 
Pitts,  is  a  farmer  in  Raccoon  township; 
Dwight  E.,  born  October  28,  1886,  is  an 
operator  on  the  Chicago,  Burlington  & 
Quincy  Railroad  at  Herrin,  Illinois,  married 
Xellie  Dukes,  and  they  have  one  child,  Clara. 

The  subject's  children  have  been  educated 
in  the  home  schools,  John  D.  and  Iva  went 
to  Carbondale,  and  Elaine  attended  the  agri- 
cultural department  of  the  University  of 
Missouri  at  Columbia. 

In  1865,  after  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  married,  he  rented  land  in  Raccoon 
township.  After  farming  here  for  a  while 


he  went  to  Idaho,  also  the  state  of  Wash- 
ington, also  the  Shoshone  agency  and  the 
Red  Cloud  agency  in  Wyoming.  He  was 
in  the  West  from  1869  to  1871.  He  was  a 
clerk  and  did  office  work  most  of  the  time. 
After  1871  he  worked  in  the  United  States 
Pension  Agency  at  Salem,  Illinois,  under 
Gen.  J.  S.  Martin,  from  March  4,  1872,  to 
March  4,  1873,  having  given  entire  satisfac- 
tion in  this  capacity,  after  which  he  entered 
the  railway  mail  service  on  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  Southwestern  Railroad  and  run  be- 
tween Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis  for  three 
years,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  Illinois 
Central  Railroad,  his  run  being  between 
Cairo  and  Centralia  for  three  years,  and  on 
the  northern  division  from  Centralia  to  Chi- 
cago until  April  20,  1889.  During  this  time 
he  lived  in  Centralia,  from  1878  to  1880. 
In  1869  he  bought  the  farm  he  now  lives 
on  in  Raccoon  township.  In  1880  he  built 
his  fine  brick  house  and  made  all  the  other 
improvements  on  the  place  which  is  one 
of  the  choice  farms  of  this  locality.  It  con- 
sists of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  sec- 
tions 24  and  25,  Raccoon  township.  One 
hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  are  under 
a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He  has  a  very 
valuable  orchard  of  one  thousand  apple 
trees,  three  hundred  peach  trees  as  well  as 
pears,  cherries  and  small  fruits.  He  also 
raises  much  good  stock,  horses,  mules  and 
cattle  and  fine  Chester  White  hogs.  His 
farm  is  also  well  stocked  with  fine  chickens, 
White  Wyandotte  and  Rhode  Island  Red 
chickens. 

Mr.  Hodges  was  one  of  the  patriotic  sons 


IMOCKAl'lllCAL    AND    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


of  the  North  who  fought  to  preserve  the 
Union  during  the  dark  days  of  the  sixties, 
having  enlisted  July  4,  1861,  in  Company 
G,  Twenty-second  Illinois  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, under  Capt.  J.  S.  Jackson  and  Col. 
Henry  Dougherty,  having  been  mustered  in 
at  Casseyville,  Illinois.  He  and  his  com- 
pany were  sent  to  Birds  Point,  Missouri, 
and  was  in  the  engagement  November  7, 
1861,  at  Belmont,  Missouri.  They  joined 
General  Pope  and  was  at  the  surrender  of 
Tiptonville,  Tennessee,  where  they  cap- 
tured about  seven  thousand  prisoners.  They 
then  went  down  the  Mississippi  river  to  Ft. 
Pillow  and  after  the  battle  of  Ft.  Donelson 
and  Pittsburg  Landing,  they  went  up 
the  Tennessee  river  and  were  at  the  siege  of 
Corinth,  and,  after  several  skirmishes, 
marched  to  Nashville,  Tennessee;  and  oc- 
cupied that  city  until  December  26,  1862. 
Our  subject  was  in  General  Sheridan's  di- 
vision, McCook's  corps,  General  Rosecrans 
commanding.  They  were  in  the  marches  and 
battles  from  Nashville  to  Murphysboro, 
Tullahoma,  Bridgeport,  Alabama,  and 
Chickamauga,  Georgia,  being  wounded  in 
the  latter  battle  September  20,  1863,  where 
he  was  shot  in  the  thigh  and  sent  to  the  field 
hospital  at  Crawfish  Springs,  where  all  the 
wounded  men  captured  were  paroled  next 
day  and  sent  to  Nashville  and  Louisville, 
later  to  Quincy,  Illinois,  and  then  to  Benton 
Barracks.  Then  the  subject  was  on  detail 
duty  and  in  the  commander's  office  until 
July  i,  1864,  and  he  was  sent  to  Springfield, 
Illinois,  and  mustered  out  July  7,  1864. 
Mr.  Hodges  is  a  loyal  Populist.  He  has 


been  Supervisor  of  his  township  for  two- 
years,  has  also  been  School  Director  and 
held  minor  offices. 


ISRAEL  MILLS. 

The  streams  of  emigration,  pouring  from 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  in  the  pioneer 
period  usually  united  in  Ohio,  the  first  of  the 
western  states  to  be  reached.  Marriages  often 
resulted  between  the  descendants  of  the 
northern  and  southern  branches  and  the  in- 
fusion of  blood  often  produced  fine  types  for 
future  citizenship.  We  find  this  working  out 
well  in  the  Mills  family  which,  on  the  fa- 
ther's side,  came  from  the  state  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  on  the  mother's  side  boasted  of 
origin  in  the  Old  Dominion  state.  It  was  far 
back  in  the  nineteenth  century  that  Thomas 
Mills,  with  his  wife,  Hannah,  crossed  the 
Alleghanies  from  one  of  the  counties  of 
Pennsylvania.  To  the  same  locality  in  Ohio 
where  he  settled  came  Hugh  and  Mary 
Downing  from  the  western  part  of  Virginia. 
Jonathan  Mills,  a  son  of  the  first  mentioned 
couple,  eventually  found  a  wife  in  the 
person  of  Sarah  Downing,  both  the  con- 
tracting parties  being  natives  of  Ohio. 
The  former,  who  was  a  farmer,  passed 
away  in  the  early  seventies,  but  his 
wife  survived  until  1894,  being  eigh- 
ty-two years  old  at  the  time  of  her  death. 
This  couple  became  the  parents  of  twelve 
children,  the  six  still  living  being  as  follows : 
Hugh,  a  resident  of  Clay  City  township: 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


315 


Thomas,  a  resident  of  Oklahoma ;  Israel,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  James  D.,  of  Carroll 
county,  Ohio ;  Josephine  Fry,  of  Tuscarawas 
county,  Ohio;  and  William,  of  Tobacco 
Plains,  Washington. 

Israel  Mills,  who  was  the  sixth  in  this 
iarge  family,  was  born  in  Tuscarawas  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  April  18,  1843.  He  assisted  his 
father  on  the  farm  until  June,  1862,  when  he 
enlisted  in  Company  K,  Eighty-seventh 
Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
served  until  taken  prisoner  at  Harper's  Fer- 
ry in  September  of  that  year.  Being  speed- 
ily paroled  and  discharged  on  October  3rd, 
he  took  a  rest  until  June  29,  1863,  when  he 
re-enlisted  in  Company  B,  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-ninth  Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  with  which  he  served  until  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term,  March  5,  1864.  For 
the  third  time,  he  took  up  his  musket  as  a 
private  in  Company  H,  One  Hundred  and 
Seventy-Eighth  Regiment,  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  with  which  he  served  until  the  close 
of  the  war  and  was  honorably  discharged 
June  29,  1865.  .  In  October  of  that  year,  he 
came  to  Clay  City,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided for  forty-three  consecutive  years.  He 
settled  at  first  one  mile  south  of  town  and 
engaged  in  farming,  paying  particular  at- 
tention to  the  breeding  of  stock,  in  which  line 
he  acquired  a  high  reputation.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  seven  years  spent  in  merchandis- 
ing, Mr.  Mills  has  devoted  practically  all  his 
time  to  breeding,  handling  and  dealing  in 
stock,  with  a  preference  for  the  fine  grades 
in  all  varieties.  Though  he  has  other  and 
varied  interests,  his  heart  has  been  set  upon 


and  his  attention  always  turned  to  the  noble 
animals  that  have  brought  wealth  and  fame 
to  Illinois.  He  is  an  extensive  land  owner, 
his  possessions  in  this  line  lying  in  Clay  City 
and  Standford  townships.  At  present  he 
owns  five  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres, 
though  at  one  time  he  was  proprietor  of 
twice  that  amount.  He  is  a  thorough-going, 
practical  and  scientific  farmer,  well  informed 
in  everything  relating  to  advanced  agricul- 
ture, and  an  enthusiast  in  all  movements  to 
educate  and  improve  conditions  in  the  farm- 
ing industry.  Appreciation  of  his  qualifica- 
tions was  shown  by  Governors  Tanner, 
Yates  and  Deneen,  when  they  appointed  him 
delegate  during  six  years  to  the  B'armers' 
National  Congress.  He  has  held  the  position 
of  director  from  his  Congressional  district 
for  the  State  Farmers'  Institute.  He  is  an 
able  and  forceful  speaker  in  the  debates  at 
county,  state  and  national  farmers'  institutes. 
It  may  be  said  in  short,  that  there  is  not  i 
man  in  Clay  county  whose  business  judg- 
ment is  more  highly  valued  than  that  of 
Israel  Mills.  A  man  of  the  loftiest  integrity 
and  most  benevolent  impulses,  he  has  been  an 
honor  and  a  treasure  to  his  adopted  county. 
Mr.  Mills  is  president  of  the  Clay  City 
Banking  Company,  and  for  twenty  years  has 
held  the  same  position  with  the  Clay  City 
Loan  and  Homestead  Association.  He  is 
also  president  of  the  Opera  House  Company 
and  president  of  the  Clay  County  Farmers' 
Institute.  He  has  been  frequently  honored 
with  positions  of  trust  in  his  township,  serv- 
ing as  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors, 
school  trustees  and  as  collector.  He  has 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


never  desired  office  and  never  had  a  lawsuit 
during  all  the  years  of  his  active  business 
life.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Farmers'  and 
Merchants'  'Bank  at  Louisville,  Illinois.  As 
president  of  the  Clay  City  bank,  he  insisted 
during  the  panic  of  1907,  that  all  depositors 
should  be  paid  on  presentation  of  their 
checks.  '•  He  is  a  Mason,  and  Eastern  Star 
and  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public. 

September  10,  1867,  Mr.  Mills  married 
Elizabeth  L.,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Din- 
iah  E.  (Whitman)  Bogwell,  very  early  set- 
tlers of  Clay  county.  The  children  from 
this  union  were:  Edna  M.,  born  July  2, 
1870,  died  April  2,  1905.  Edna  married 
Jabez  Edwin  Coggan,  April  29,  1891.  Ont 
son  survives  her,  Kenneth  M.,  born  June 
23,  1896;  James  B.,  born  October  22,  1881, 
married  to  Annettie  Crackles  December  28, 
1904.  One  child,  a  daughter,  Ethel,  was 
born  to  them  December  5,  1906.  Mrs.  Mills 
is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church  and  the 
entire  family  enjoy  the  highest  social  consid- 
eration and  popularity. 


GEORGE  W.  HILTIBIDAL. 

The  subject  of  this  biographical  review 
has  well  earned  the  title  to  be  addressed  as 
one  of  the  progressive,  self-made  men  of 
Marion  county,  being  the  owner  of  a  very 
valuable  landed  estate  in  Raccoon  township, 
where  his  labors  have  benefited  alike  him- 
self and  those  with  whom  he  has  come  in 
contact. 


George  \V.  Hiltibidal  was  born  in  Grand 
Prairie  township,  Jefferson  county,  Illinois, 
March  15,  1867,  the  son  of  George  and 
Elizabeth  Bradford,  both  natives  of  Indiana. 
They  moved  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  and 
finally  located  in  Raccoon  township.  After 
building  a  dwelling  house  and  making  ex- 
tensive improvements  on  his  farm  here  he 
moved  to  Grand  Prairie,  Jefferson  county, 
where  he  died  in  1869,  on  a  farm  which  he 
had  improved,  and  where  his  wife  also  died 
in  1876.  He  was  a  strong  Republican  and 
he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  They  were  the  parents  of  five 
children,  namely:  Mary  is  living  in  Wash- 
ington county,  this  state,  having  married 
Neil  Kingsley ;  Ella,  who  married  Robert 
Birge,  lives  at  Walnut  Hill,  this  county ; 
John  died  young;  Sarah,  who  married 
James  Sprouse,  lives  in  Jefferson  county, 
Illinois;  George  William,  our  subject,  was 
the  youngest  child. 

The  subject's  mother  died  when  he  was 
nine  years  old.  He  had  not  been  to  school 
up  to  that  time.  He  then  went  to  live  with 
his  uncle,  George  Bundy,  in  Raccoon  town- 
ship, with  whom  he  remained  for  eleven 
years.  He  then  located  on  his  present  farm 
in  Raccoon  township,  section  28,  having 
secured  forty-five  acres  known  as  the  May 
place.  It  had  an  old  log  house  and  stable 
on  it.  The  subject  has  been  a  hard  worker 
and  a  good  manager  and  he  built  his  present 
fine  substantial  and  modern  home  in  1907, 
and  his  excellent  barn  in  1906,  and  he  has 
made  all  the  extensive  improvements  on  the 
place. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


317 


Mr:  Hiltibidal  was  united  in  marriage 
April  5,  1888,  to  Josie  Heyduck,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  and  Phillimina  Heyduck,  na- 
tives of  Germany,  having  lived  in  the  River 
Rhine  country.  They  came  to  America  and 
secured  wild  land  in  Raccoon  township, 
which  they  developed  and  on  which  they 
made  a  good  home  where  they  lived  until 
1903,  when  Mr.  Heyduck  retired  and  moved 
to  Centralia.  The  subject's  wife  was  born 
in  Raccoon  township,  this  county.  Mrs. 
Heyduck  died  in  1890.  Ten  children  were 
born  to  them  as  follows:  Lizzie,  who  lives 
in  Decatur,  Illinois ;  Ricca  is  deceased ;  Lucy 
is  deceased;  Kate  lives  at  Odin,  Illinois; 
Josie,  wife  of  our  subject ;  John  is  deceased, 
Emma  lives  on  the  old  place  in  Raccoon 
township ;  Henry  lives  at  Centralia ;  Ben- 
nie  lives  in  Centralia ;  Laura  also  lives  in 
Centralia. 

Five  children  have  been  bom  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife  as  follows:  George,  Gracie, 
Esther,  Bertha,  Julius.  The  subject  carries 
on  a  general  farming  business  with  great 
success.  He  is  considered  an  excellent  judge 
of  live  stock  and  raises  some  good  horses. 
He  has  always  been  a  farmer,  but  for  many 
years  has  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade. 
He  has  put  up  all  his  own  buildings  and 
done  all  his  own  work.  He  is  regarded  as 
an  excellent  carpenter  and  his  services  are 
frequently  sought  by  those  desiring  to  build. 

Our  subject  has  faithfully  served  as  a 
member  of  the  local  school  board  for  six 
years.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political 
affiliations.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Farm- 
ers' Educational  Co-Operative  union  at  Bun- 


dyville,  Illinois.  He  has  gained  his  success 
not  through  the  assistance  of  relatives  or 
friends,  but  by  his  own  efforts. 


JOHN  PETER  XANDER. 

Scientific  methods  of  farming  dissem- 
inated through  the  medium  of  the  agricul- 
tural schools  throughout  the  country  have 
come- as  a  great  blessing  to  those  pursuing 
agricultural  callings.  Yet  the  farmers  in 
our  younger  days  had  no  such  advantages. 
They  had  tc  depend  upon  their  own  judg- 
ment, their  own  foresightedness,  their  own 
intuition,  as  it  were,  to  overcome  many  a 
perplexing  agricultural  problem;  Their 
success  was  more  often  than  not  almost  phe- 
nomenal ;  and  we  can  pardon  them  if  they 
look  askance  upon  our  newer  methods.  The 
subject  of  the  present  sketch  began  his 
farming  career  (on  his  own  land)  about  the 
Civil  war  period,  and  his  well  cultivated 
land  today  shows  that  his  efforts  did  not 
go  unrewarded. 

John  P.  Xander,  of  Richland  county, 
Claremont  township,  was  born  May  26, 
1833,  in  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Dorney) 
Xander,  natives  of  that  state,  who  in  the 
year  1834,  took  a  boat  on  the  Ohio  river 
from  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  to  Evans- 
ville,  Indiana,  enroute  to  Illinois.  They 
brought  with  them  on  the  boat  their  horses, 
wagons  and  all  belongings.  During  the 
voyage  one  of  the  deck  hands  happened  to 


I'.IOCUAPIIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


throw  one  of  their  wagon  wheels  overboard 
and  the  voyage  had  to  be  interrupted  to 
fish  it  but.  They  landed  in  Evansville,  In- 
diana, April  28,  1834,  when  they  crossed 
the  Wabash  river  on  the  ferry  boat  and  set 
forth  on  a  journey  by  land  settled  in  Wabash 
county,  Illinois.  Mrs.  Xander's  parents 
also  came  along  at  the  same  time  and  set- 
tled in  Illinois.  Grandfather  Dorney  took 
a  farm  there  at  that  time  and  Joseph  Xan- 
der  and  his  wife  went  to  live  with  them  for 
several  years.  Later  they  took  up  eighty 
acres  of  government  land,  paying  one  dol- 
lar and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre  for  it  in 
Wabash  county,  and  on  this  place  they  con- 
tinued to  live  until  their  death.  John  P. 
Xander's  mother  died  about  five  years  be- 
fore his  father.  He  remained  with  his  par- 
ents assisting  them  on  their  farm  until  his 
twenty-sixth  year  when  he  started  on  his 
own  account.  At  the  age  of  thirty  years  he 
married  Mary  Betebenner  on  August  23, 
1863.  He  then  rented  a  farm  in  Wabash 
county,  where  he  remained  about  seven 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  period  he  bought 
a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in 
Claremont  township,  Richland  county,  and 
moved  onto  same  where  he  remained  for 
thirty  years,  again  removing  to  the  home 
he  now  occupies.  His  farm  life  was  all  the 
time  marked  with  industriousness  and  his 
improvements  did  much  to  enhance  the 
value  of  the  land  he  settled  on.  He  built 
every  portion  of  the  substantial  house  he 
now  lives  in. 

John  P.  Xander's  wife  was  born  Novem- 
ber  1 8,    1839,   in  Frederick  county,   Mary- 


land. She  was  the  daughter  of  Geor 
and  Lydia  Betebenner,  her  mother's  ov 
name  being  Everheart,  who  were  natives 
Pennsylvania.  She  was  the  fourth  of  ni: 
children.  Her  parents  came  to  Illinois 
the  year  1856,  coming  by  train  over  t 
early  railroad,  where  they  settled  in  W 
bash  county,  Mrs.  Xander  then  being  seve 
teen  years  of  age.  She  remained  with  h 
parents  on  their  farm  until  the  time  of  h 
marriage.  Her  mother  died  at  the  age 
sixty  and  her  father  survived  about  fi 
years,  dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-five.  Bo 
died  on  the  farm  they  occupied  and  we 
buried  in  the  Lutheran  cemetery  in  W 
bash  county,  where  the  parents  of  Jol 
Xander  are  also  interred. 

John  P.  Xander's  married  life  has  bei 
blessed  with  seven  children,  one  of  who 
died  in  infancy.  In  the  order  of  birth  h 
children  are:  Ida  A.,  who  is  the  wife  < 
Peter  Crum,  and  resides  on  her  husbanc 
farm  in  German  township;  Furman,  wl 
has  married,  and  lives  at  home  with  his  pa 
ents;  William  H.  is  married  and  resid 
near  Altus,  Oklahoma,  on  a  farm.  Ev 
the  wife  of  George  Bragunier.  who  residi 
in  Emporia,  Kansas.  James  E.  is  marri< 
and  lives  in  Lincoln,  Illinois.  John  H. 
single  and  resides  in  Ogden,  Utah,  whei 
he  is  employed  by  a  large  meat  packin 
concern. 

At  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  John  1 
Xander  was  drafted  for  service  in  186 
having  responded  to  the  call  to  arms,  bl 
upon  arriving  in  Cairo,  Illinois,  he  was  r 
turned  home  on  account  of  a  sufficier 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


319 


number  of  soldiers  having  already  been  ob- 
tained. 

In  his  yonth  and  early  life,  John  P.  Xan- 
•der  attended  the  subscription  schools  in 
Wabash  county,  where  he  imbibed  all  the 
knowledge  that  institution  could  give  him. 
His  school  days  were  at  the  period  of  the 
elementary  spellers,  first,  second  and  third; 
and  McGuffey's  readers.  Arithmetics  were 
also  in  use  in  the  log1  school-house.  The 
old  hewn  planks,  pin  supported,  were  the 
seats,  and  the  desks  along  the  wall  were  of 
the  same  quality. 

In  politics  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is 
and  has  been  a  Democrat  and  a  loyal  sup- 
porter of  W.  J.  Bryan.  The  first  Presiden- 
tial candidate  for  whom  he  exercised  his 
right  as  a  voter  was  James  Polk.  In  for- 
mer days  he  took  a  man's  part  in  the  poli- 
tics of  the  township  and  county.  He  was 
for  three  terms  Township  Assessor  in 
Claremont  township. 

John  P.  Xander,  his  wife  and  the  mem- 
bers of  his  family,  belong  to  the  English 
Lutheran  church.  He  has  been  very  active 
himself  in  church  circles,  holding  both  the 
office  of  deacon  and  elder,  and  is  a  man 
looked  up  to  by  all  of  his  co-religionists. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  now  living 
quietly  upon  his  farm  of  eighty  acres  which 
through  his  industry  and  zeal  has  been 
brought  to  its  present  state  of  cultivation. 
His  health,  which  has  always  been  of  a 
rugged  character,  has  failed  somewhat 
within  the  past  year  and  he  is  consequently 
a  sufferer  to  some  extent.  He  has  always 
"been  unsparing  in  his  hardworking  efforts 


to  irnprove  his  land,  and  as  a  result  his 
labors  have  marked  his  frame.  Aside  from 
his  ill  health,  his  home  life  is  extremely 
happy. 


THOMAS  B.  NEAL. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  re- 
view is  one  of  the  leading  farmers  in  his 
community  in  Marion  county,  and  this 
volume  would  be  incomplete  were  there  fail- 
ure to  make  mention  of  him  and  the  enter- 
prise with  which  he  is  identified.  Tireless 
energy  and  honesty  of  purpose  are  the  chief 
characteristics  of  the  man. 

Thomas  B.  Neal,  a  native  of  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  was  born  October  31,  1830. 
the  son  of  Thomas  and  Rossanna  (Walters) 
Neal.  The  former  came  to  this  county  from 
Kentucky  about  1828  and  located  near 
Owens  Hill  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  life,  having  made  a  comfortable  living 
from  his  farming  pursuits,  being  a  hard 
worker  and  a  man  of  highest  integrity.  The 
Walters  people  were  born  in  Georgia  and 
came  from  that  state  to  this  county.  The 
father  and  mother  of  our  subject  were  mar- 
ried in  Kentucky. 

Thomas  B.  Neal,  our  subject,  was  reared 
on  a  farm  which  he  helped  develop  from 
the  wild  country  into  which  the  father  had 
moved,  but  this  was  an  industrious  family 
and  soon  a  good  and  productive  farm  was 
developed.  His  early  schooling  was  some- 
what limited  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  work  on  the  farm  and 


320 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    KKM  I  X  ISC  H.\T     HISTORY    OF 


schools  were  of  the  most  primitive  type  in 
those  days,  taught  only  a  few  months  out 
of  each  year.  Our  subject  showed  his 
loyalty  to  the  "old  flag  that  has  never 
touched  the  ground"  during  the  forties 
when  this  country  was  in  war  with  Mexico. 
Being  unable  to  restrain  his  patriotism  when 
he  heard  the  call  for  troops  to  fight  the 
descendants  of  the  Montezumas,  and  he  is 
today  one  of  the  few  highly  honored  sur- 
vivors of  that  famous  conflict  in  this  coun- 
try, and  it  is  indeed  a  privilege  to  meet  and 
to  show  proper  courtesy  to  such  heroes. 
Mr.  Neal  enlisted  in  Company  C,  First  Illi- 
nois Volunteer  Regiment,  and  served  with 
marked  distinction  in  the  same  throughout 
the  war.  He  is  now  remembered  by  his 
government  with  a  pension  of  twenty  dol- 
lars per  month,  as  the  result  of  his  valor  in 
this  war.  The  only  other  living  Mexican 
war  veteran  in  Marion  county  besides  our 
subject  is  William  Bundy. 

After  his  experience  in  the  army,  Mr. 
Neal  returned  home  and  was  married  in 
1851  to  Julia  H.  Chandler,  whpse  people 
were  from  Wilson  county,  Tennessee.  To 
this  union  eight  children  were  born,  all  de- 
ceased but  four.  Mr.  Neal's  first  wife  passed 
away  May  2,  1898,  and  he  was  married 
again  April  10,  1900,  to  Manda  S.  Cozad. 
No  children  have  been  born  to  this  union. 
The  names  of  the  subject's  children  by  his 
first  wife  follow:  Alexander,  deceased; 
John  A.,  deceased;  Etta,  Delia,  Rose  A.,  de- 
ceased ;  Cora,  Charley  and  Ben,  deceased. 

Our  subject  has  six  grandchildren  and  six 
great-grandchildren,  of  whom  he  is  justly 


proud.  Mr.  Neal  owns  a  fine  farm  of  forty 
acres  in  Tonti  township,  which  he  has  de- 
veloped to  a  high  state  and  which  has  yield- 
ed him  a  comfortable  living  from  year 
to  year  and  enabled  him  to  lay  up  a  compe- 
tency for  his  old  age.  This  place  shows  that 
a  man  of  good  judgment  has  had  its  man- 
agement in  hand,  and  while  he  is  now  in  the 
evening  of  life  he  is  able  to  still  successfully 
manage  his  affairs.  He  lives  in  section  9 
of  Tonti  township  in  a  substantial  farm 
house  which  is  surrounded  by  convenient 
outbuildings,  and  his  farm  is  properly 
stocked  with  various  kinds  of  live  stock  and 
poultry.  He  delights  to  see  the  advance- 
ment of  his  community  and  county,  and  he 
formerly  took  an  active  part  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Democratic  party. 


LANDON  M.  BOSTWICK. 

It  is  always  pleasant  and  profitable  to 
contemplate  the  career  of  a  man  who  has 
made  a  success  of  life  and  won  the  honor 
and  respect  of  his  fellow  citizens.  Such  is 
the  record,  briefly  stated,  of  the  well  known 
and  progressive  gentleman  whose  name 
forms  the  caption  of  this  article,  than  whom 
a  more  whole-souled  or  popular  man  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  in  the  business  cir- 
cles within  the  limits  of  Marion  county, 
where  he  has  long  maintained  his  home  and 
whose  interests  he  has  ever  had  at  heart,  for 
in  all  the  relations  of  life  he  has  proven  true 
to  every  trust  reposed  in  him  and  few  cit- 
iens  of  the  county  are  worthier  of  the  high 


RESIDENCE  OF  L.  M.  BOSTWICK. 

Centralia,  Illinois. 


L.  M.  BOSTWICK. 


Of  THE 

0'   'LLINOIS. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


32I 


:steem  which  they  enjoy  than  Mr.  Bost- 
vick,  who  is  known  as  one  of  the  leading 
umbermen  of  this  part  of  the  state. 

The  subject  of  this  review  is  descended 
rom  a  long  line  of  sturdy  ancestors,  the 
:arliest  generations  being  easily  traced  to 
he  settlement  of  the  Bostwick  family  at 
stratford,  Connecticut,  prior  to  1650.  John 
3ostwick,  the  subject's  great-great-great- 
>reat-grandfather,  was  born  at  Stratford, 
Connecticut,  May  4,  1667,  and  he  became 
deputy  to  the  General  Court  of  Connecticut, 
erving  during  twenty-one  sessions,  from 
September,  1725,  to  October,  1740,  and  he 
icrved  in  the  army  as  lieutenant  and  major, 
fhe  great-great-great-grandfather  of  the 
ubject,  Ebenezer  Bostwick,  was  born  in 
693,  and  he  was  captain  of  the  First  Com- 
iany  or  train  band,  of  Danbury,  Connecti- 
ut,  in  October,  1743.  Edmond  Bostwick, 
he  great-great-grandfather  of  our  subject, 
vas  born  September  15,  1732,  and  died  Feb- 
uary  2,  1826.  The  subject's  great-grand- 
ather,  Ebenezer  Bostwick,  was  born  June 
!2,  1753,  and  died  March  16,  1840.  He 
lad  an  excellent  war  record,  like  his  an- 
estors,  having  been  an  orderly  sergeant  in 
he  Revolutionary  army  and  he  was  a  pen- 
ioner  until  his  death.  This  family  remained 
ti  the  state  of  Connecticut  through  many 
generations  and  the  subject's  grandfather, 
Andrew  Bostwick,  was  born  at  New  Mil- 
ord, that  state,  November  3,  1778,  but  he 
nigrated  to  the  West  and  died  at  Berrien 
springs,  Michigan,  October  21,  1838.  The 
ather  of  our  subject  was  a  merchant  at 
>Iiles,  Michigan,  his  store  having  been  the 
21 


first  brick  building  in  that  town.  At  Pres- 
ident Lincoln's  call  for  volunteers  he  en- 
listed as  a  private  in  Company  E,  Twelfth 
Michigan  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  he  was 
made  a  prisoner  of  war  at  the  battle  of 
Shiloh  and  served  nine  months  in  Ander- 
sonville  and  Libby  prisons.  After  his  re- 
lease he  received  several  promotions  and 
finally  was  made  captain  of  the  company, 
serving  as  such  in  a  very  creditable  manner 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  died  at  Niles, 
Michigan,  in  the  year  1876,  when  fifty-six 
years  old,  and  was  given  a  military  and 
Masonic  funeral,  which  was  very  largely 
attended. 

.  Among  the  subject's  ancestors  on  the  ma- 
ternal side  of  the  family  was  Rev.  Peter 
Pruden,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  colony 
at  Milford,  Connecticut,  and  in  1639  the 
founder  of  the  First  Church  of  Christ. 
When  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  Milford  was  celebrated,  a  memo- 
rial window  was  placed  in  the  church  in 
honor  of  his  memory.  There  is  also  in  the 
memorial  bridge  a  stone  in  his  memory, 
bearing  the  text  of  his  first  sermon,  "The 
voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness."  Of 
him  the  noted  Cotton  Mather  says,  "His 
death  was  felt  by  the  colony  as  the  fall  of 
a  pillar  which  made  the  whole  fabric  to 
shake."  Another  distinguished  ancestor  of 
the  subject's  mother  was  Capt.  Thomas 
Willets,  the  first  Mayor  of  the  city  of  New- 
York. 

Landon  M.  Bostwick,  one  of  the  fore- 
most business  men  of  Centralia,  Illinois, 
was  born  December  i,  1862.  He  received 


322 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AM)    KI.M  I  X  ISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and 
afterward  was  instructed  in  the  higher 
branches  by  a  private  tutor,  the  course  of 
study  including  some  travel.  The  death  of 
the  subject's  father  made  it  necessary  for 
him  to  give  up  study  and  seek  means  of 
self-support,  which  he  found  in  the  locomo- 
tive department  of  the  Michigan  Central 
Railroad,  becoming  an  engineer  at  the  early 
age  of  nineteen  years.  While  serving  in  the 
capacity  of  fireman  and  engineer,  he  took 
a  course  in  mechanical  mathematics  and 
draughting,  and  otherwise  fitted  himself  for 
work  other  than  locomotive  engineering. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  designed  and 
built  the  machinery  plant  at  the  Michigan 
State  prison  at  Jackson,  Michigan,  which, 
at  this  writing,  twenty-two  years  after  com- 
pletion, is  still  in  active  service  with  prac- 
tically no  alteration  or  change. 

After  acting  as  manager  of  this  plant  for 
one  year,  Mr.  Bostwick  was  offered,  and 
accepted,  a  position  as  engineer  on  the 
Panama  Canal,  when  it  was  owned  by  the 
French  government,  and  was  being  con- 
structed by  the  famous  French  engineer  De 
Lesseps;,but  by  a  curious  turn  of  fortune's 
wheel,  Mr.  Bostwick  gave  up  the  Panama 
Canal  project,  while  enroute  and  also  the 
mechanical  line  of  business  in  which  he  had 
so  successfully  launched.  At  this  time  the 
South  was  just  beginning  to  be  called  upon 
to  take  the  place  of  the  North  in  supplying 
lumber,  and  Mr.  Bostwick  grasped  an  op- 
portunity to  become  a  lumberman,  making 
his  initial  beginning  in  the  backwoods  of 
Howell  county,  Missouri.  The  pay  was 
poor  and  the  work  was  hard,  but  opportu- 


nity had  knocked  at  the  door  and  the  sum- 
mons were  willingly  and  gladly  answered. 

After  working  up  through  every  depart- 
ment to  the  position  of  manager  and  finally 
stockholder  in  some  of  the  best  mills  of  the 
South,  he  has  no  regrets  over  the  humble 
beginning  in  the  backwoods  of  Missouri. 

The  Bostwick  Lumber  Company  of  Cen- 
teralia,  Illinois,  is  a  corporation  of  which  our 
subject  is  president  and  the  heaviest  stock- 
holder. He  knows  the  lumber  business  thor- 
oughly and  always  gives  his  customers  a 
fair  deal,  consequently  his  trade,  which  has 
steadily  grown,  is  now  very  extensive. 

Landon  M.  Bostwick  was  happily  married 
February  3,  1892,  to  Frances  Pease,  a  na- 
tive of  Wilson,  New  York,  the  daughter  of 
A.  Douglas  and  Abigail  Pease.  One  of  her 
ancestors  received  a  grant  of  land  from 
King  George,  this  family  having  been 
originally  from  England.  The  subject  and 
wife  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  name- 
ly: Willard  D.,  born  January  26,  1893,  ar>d 
who  is  at  this  writing  attending  the  public 
schools;  Dorothy  was  born  November  17, 
1900;  the  date  of  Allen  L.'s  birth  is  Oc- 
tober 1 8,  1903.  They  are  interesting  chil- 
dren and  add  much  sunshine  to  the  modern 
and  pleasant  home  of  the  Bostwicks. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Bostwick 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  lodge  at  Cen- 
tralia, No.  201,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  Centralia  Chapter  No.  93;  also 
Centralia  Council  No.  28,  and  Cyrene  Com- 
mandery  No.  23 ;  he  also  belongs  to  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
No.  493,  and  the  United  Commercial  Trav- 
elers; the  Modern  Woodmen  and  the  Hoo- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


323 


Hoo,  the  latter  an  organization  of  lumber- 
men, purely  social,  now  consisting  of  nearly 
thirty  thousand  members.  The  mystic  num- 
ber of  this  association  is  nine,  every  mem- 
ber having  a  number,  and  is  fortunate  if 
there  is  a  nine  in  it.  President  Roosevelt's 
number  is  9999.  The  Bostwick  family  for 
nlany  generations  have  been  members  of 
the  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Bostwick  is  now 
and  for  many  years  has  been  senior  ward- 
en of  St.  John's  Episcopal  church  at  Cen- 
tralia. 

Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church  as  is  also  his  estimable  wife.  In  pol- 
itics Mr.  Bostwick  is  a  Republican,  and 
while  he  has  not  been  prominent  in  the  af- 
fairs of  his  party,  he  has  ever  assisted  in 
whatever  way  he  could  the  furthering  of 
good  city  government  and  the  welfare  of 
his  community.  He  is  now  president  of  the 
Board  of  Education. 

Whatever  of  success  has  attended  our 
subject's  efforts  has  been  entirely  owing  to 
his  own  endeavors,  his  energy,  industry  and 
natural  ability.  From  small  beginnings  he 
has  gradually  attained  a  prominence  in  his 
county  which  entitles  him  to  be  regarded  as 
one  of  its  leading  citizens. 


DANIEL  BECK. 

The  name  Daniel  Beck,  of  Claremont 
township,  needs  very  little  introduction  to 
the  people  of  Richland  county  for  it  is  a  name 
that  has  ever  been  associated  with  the  mate- 


rial and  spiritual  progress  of  the  community 
for  an  extended  period.  No  aspersions  can 
be  made  on  any  action  of  his  during  a  pil- 
grimage of  upwards  of  sixty-three  years.  He 
has  been  one  of  the  original  promoters  of 
the  establishment  of  St.  James  Lutheran 
church,  and  he  has  lent  himself  at  all  times 
to  all  movements  for  the  betterment  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  people  of  the  locality  in 
which  he  resides. 

Daniel  Beck  was  born  in  Olney  township 
on  the  i  gth  of  October,  1845,  on  what  was 
known  as  the  "Hooverler''  farm.  He  was 
the  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Phillips) 
Beck,  both  natives  of  York  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  which  county  they  were  married. 
His  parents  at  the  time  of  their  marriage 
soon  moved  to  Ohio,  where  they  lived  for  a 
few  years  in  Stark  county.  In  the  year  1842 
they  migrated  overland  in  a  one-horse  wagon 
to  Illinois,  where  they  settled  in  Richland 
county  and  moved  onto  the  "Hooverler" 
farm  in  Olney  township,  which  they  rented, 
living  there  for  three  years.  In  their  family 
they  reared  Bessie  Hooverler  for  six  years, 
for  which  they  received  sixty  dollars.  With 
this  money  they  entered  forty  acres  of  tim- 
ber land  in  German  township,  although  they 
had  intended  to  enter  the  land  where  the  St. 
James  Lutheran  parsonage  now  stands  in 
Claremont  township.  There  was  not  a  sin- 
gle effort  at  improvement  made  in  the  land 
they  entered.  They  set  to  work  and  cleared 
enough  space  to  build  a  log  house,  after 
which  they  started  to  clear  the  rest  for  farm- 
ing purposes,  and  bring  it  to  perfection. 
Here,  Daniel  Beck's  parents  remained  until 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


the  time  of  their  deaths.  His  mother  died 
in  April,  1872,  having  passed  her  sixtieth 
milestone.  His  father  survived  her  several 
years,  dying  in  April,  1882,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four.  Both  are  laid  to  rest  in  Goss 
cemetery,  German  township,  which  is  about 
two  miles  from  the  spot  in  which  they  lived 
for  so  many  years.  They  were  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  seven  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity, three  dying  in  infancy.  Daniel,  the 
subject  of  our  present  sketch,  was  the  ninth 
in  order  of  birth.  He  remained  with  his 
parents  on  the  home  farm  until  his  marriage 
to  Susan  Ditch,  which  took  place  December 
24,  1867.  His  wife,  who  was  born  Decem- 
ber 25,  1851,  in  Stark  county,  Ohio,  was  the 
daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  ( Boatman  ) 
Ditch,  her  father  being  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  her  mother  of  Ohio,  their  mar- 
riage taking  place  in  Ohio.  Her  parents 
came  to  Illinois  in  the  spring  of  1852,  com- 
ing along  down  via  the  Ohio  river  to  Evans- 
ville,  Indiana,  thence  overland  to  Illinois, 
where  they  settled  on  a  farm  in  Claremont 
township,  Richland  county,  where  her  father 
bought  forty  acres,  for  which  he  paid  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  which  con- 
sisted of  unimproved  land.  He  started  in 
and  built  a  log  house  for  his  family,  and  put 
the  land  into  the  shape  of  a  farm.  Here  they 
lived  until  the  death  of  her  mother  which 
occurred  December  23,  1880,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-four  years.  Her  father  survived  five 
years  longer,  dying  January  16,  1885,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-six.  Both  were  buried  in  Goss 
cemetery,  German  township.  They  were  the 
parents  of  fourteen  children,  of  whom  half 


the  number  arrived  at  maturity ;  seven  dying 
in  childhood.  Mrs.  Daniel  Beck  was  the 
seventh  in  order  of  birth. 

For  a  year  after  their  marriage  Daniel 
Beck  and  his  wife  lived  with  his  parents  on 
the  German  township  homestead.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  Daniel  took  a  lease  on  ten  acres 
in  German  township.  This  was  all  timber. 
He  built  a  log  house,  a  rather  small  one,  and 
cleared  the  land,  remaining  there  for  four 
years.  He  then  moved  upon  the  farm  he 
now  occupies  in  section  28,  Claremont  town- 
ship. During  his  early  days  in  Richland 
county,  as  is  well  known,  deer  and  wild  tur- 
keys were  very  numerous,  and  the  many 
wolves  which  inhabited  the  timber  made  life 
precarious  for  the  sheep. 

In  his  early  days  Daniel  Beck  met  with 
some  hardships  and  ill-luck  which  might 
have  daunted  a  weaker  man.  Application  and 
industriousness  brought  prosperity,  however, 
and  he  has  now  a  well  kept  farmstead.  In 
order  to  build  his  house  there  he  cut  the  tim- 
ber on  his  land,  hauled  it  to  the  saw  mill,  and 
had  it  sawed  into  lumber,  and  hauled  it  back 
again,  unaided.  He  employed  his  brother- 
in-law,  John  Ditch,  to  build  the  house. 

He  and  his  wife  have  had  six  children. 
Four  grew  up  and  two  died  in  early  life. 
Sarah  E.  is  the  wife  of  Eli  Sager  in  Clare- 
mont township;  Rachael  C.  died  at  the  age 
of  fifteen ;  Mary  Matilda  married  Sam  Cer- 
ber,  deceased,  and  is  now  the  wife  of  Adolph 
Scherer  in  German  township;  John  Luther 
died  aged  eight  years;  Ira  J.  lives  on  a  farm 
in  Madison  township ;  and  Emma  Eunice 
died  in  infancy.  Daniel  Beck  and  his  wife 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AXD    MARION*    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


325 


also  reared  three  orphan  children,  two  boys 
and  one  girl.  One  of  the  boys,  Charles 
Smith,  is  now  married  and  lives  in  California 
near  Long  Beach.  Leslie  Dickerson,  the 
other  boy,  and  Carrie  Shaw,  the  girl,  still 
live  at  home  on  the  farm.  They  are  receiv- 
ing a  good  education;  Miss  Shaw  is  a  grad- 
uate of  home  schools  and  possesses  three 
diplomas. 

Daniel  Beck  before  he  was  quite  five  years 
old  attended  subscription  school  in  Clare- 
mont  township ;  afterwards  at  a  subscription 
school  in  German  township ;  and  for  another 
term  in  Claremont  township  with  Ben  Law- 
yer as  teacher.  He  attended  school  off  and 
on  irregularly  until  his  twenty-first  year.  The 
"three  R's"  were  principally  the  studies  en- 
gaged in,  and  considering  the  schooling  of 
the  day  he  received  a  very  good  education. 
The  hewn  pin-legged  seats,  without  backs, 
were  then  in  use,  and  wide  planks  set  against 
the  sides  of  the  wall  were  the  desks  used  to 
write  on. 

In  politics  Daniel  Beck  is  a  Democrat, 
with  a  lasting  admiration  for  both  Stevenson 
(once  Vice-President)  and  the  silver-tongued 
William  J.  Bryan.  He  is,  or  at  least  has  been, 
somewhat  active  in  local  affairs.  He  was 
once  elected  poundmaster,  an  office  which  he 
declined.  He  served  several  terms  as  a 
School  Director  in  the  school  district  of  Hick- 
ory Point.  He  lives  in  section  No.  28.  He 
has  never  sat  on  a  jury,  and  though  he  was 
summoned  several  times  as  a  witness  the 
few  cases  never  came  to  trial. 

He  and  his  wife  and  family  have  always 
been  members  and  faithful  workers  of  the 


St.  James  Lutheran  church  in  Claremont. 
He  is  an  elder  of  the  church,  having  been 
chosen  to  fill  a  vacancy.  He  can  lay  the 
claim  also,  as  before  stated,  to  be  one  of  the 
originators  of  the  church,  which  is  now  in 
its  third  building,  being  at  one  time  an  old 
log  structure. 

In  everyday  life,  Daniel  Beck  is  a  man 
whose  word  is  as  good,  if  not  better,  than  the 
bond  of  many.  Honesty  and  integrity  are 
no  meaningless  words  with  him  and  his 
records  as  a  man  and  citizen  are  without 
blemish. 


HENDERSON  BOYAKIN  WHAM. 

A  native  of  Haines  township,  Marion 
county,  and  having  spent  the  sixty  years 
of  his  life  there,  naturally  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  is  known  to  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  that  section  of  the  state.  Mr. 
Wham  has  been  very  much  in  the  public  eye, 
in  various  capacities,  having  on  more  than 
one  occasion  been  closely  identified  with 
the  affairs  of  the  township  in  an  official  way, 
and  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  state,  in  this 
connection,  that  his  constituents  never  had 
cause  to  regret  the  fact  of  having  conferred 
upon  him  their  suffrages.  He  is  known  as 
a  devoutly  religious  man. 

Mr.  Wham  was  born  in  Haines  township 
March  25,  1848,  being  the  offspring  of  Wil- 
liam and  Louisa  (Rainey)  Wrham,  the  for- 
mer a  native  of  Tennessee,  while  the  latter 
was  born  in  Kentucky.  The  grandfather  of 
the  subject  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


came  to  America  shortly  after  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  settling  in  South  Carolina  on 
a  farm.  Later  he  went  to  Tennessee,  where 
he  died,  and  the  father  and  grandmother  of 
Mr.  Wham  moved  to  Marion  county,  set- 
tling in  Haines  township,  where  later  the 
former  was  married.  The  couple  entered  a 
farm  of  prairie  and  timber  land  in  Haines 
township  that  was  purchased  from  the  gov- 
ernment. He  broke  the  land  and  built  upon 
it  what  was  then  considered  a  very  com- 
modious dwelling.  He  was  a  very  progres- 
sive man,  and  did  much  to  develop  the 
region.  After  improving  his  own  land  he 
did  much  work  for  his  neighbors  in  the  way 
of  breaking  the  sod,  using  an  ox  team,  and 
to  him  was  also  due  the  construction  of 
many  good  roads.  He  was  a  Whig  and 
later  a  Republican.  His  wife  died  in  1883, 
and  he  survived  her  ten  years.  He  was  born 
in  1817,  and  his  helpmate  in  1818.  They 
were  both  devout  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  for  many  years,  but  in  later 
years  became  members  of  the  Methodist 
denomination.  There  were  born  to  the 
couple  eight  children,  namely:  Margaret 
Ann,  widow  of  James  M.  Mount;  Martha, 
widow  of  William  K.  Storment,  living  at 
Cartter,  Illinois;  Elizabeth,  deceased,  was 
the  wife  of  John  R.  Morrison ;  Minerva,  de- 
ceased, was  the  wife  of  Thomas  J.  Holt; 
Jerusha,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Mathew 
M.  Gaston;  H.  B.,  our  subject;  Mathew  R., 
deceased,  and  William  R.,  living  at  Cartter, 
Illinois. 

The  early  life  of  the  subject  was  spent  on 
a  farm  in  Haines  township.  He  attended 
the  common  schools  and  later  the  high 


school  at  Centralia,  Illinois.  In  1871  he 
married  Nancy  Jane  Stonecipher,  daughter 
of  Joshua  and  Nancy  A.  (Hall)  Stone- 
cipher,  both  being  natives  of  Tennessee  and 
early  settlers  of  Marion  county.  The  sub- 
ject and  his  wife  had  ten  children,  viz. : 
Prof.  George  D.,  a  teacher  of  pedagogy  in 
the  State  Normal  School  at  Carbondale, 
who  married  Edith  Page,  of  Olney,  Illinois, 
and  who  is  the  father  of  one  child,  John 
Page  Wham;  Nellie  Eunice,  wife  of  T.  E. 
Maulding,  East  St.  Louis,  has  one  child, 
Howard  B. ;  Phoebe,  wife  of  E.  P.  Gaston, 
Centralia,  Illinois,  has  one  child,  Helen, 
Edgar  B.,  a  successful  merchant  of  Cartter, 
Illinois,  married  Anna  Blair;  Frederick, 
senior  in  law  department  of  the  University 
of  Illinois  at  Champaign,  Illinois;  Charles, 
in  school  at  Champaign,  taking  a  literary 
course;  Florence,  at  home;  Benjamin  in 
school  at  Carbondale,  normal  course;  Wil- 
liam J.,  died  in  infancy;  infant,  unnamed, 
deceased. 

Joshua  Stonecipher  and  wife,  parents  of 
Mrs.  Wham,  had  fourteen  children  and 
they  are  all  dead  but  five,  Hiram,  Phoebe, 
Mary,  Curtis  and  Mrs.  Wham.  The  Stone- 
cipher  family  is  very  highly  respected  in 
Marion  county.  William  Wham,  grand- 
father of  the  subject,  was  the  father  of  eight 
children,  Joseph,  John,  Benjamin,  William, 
Isabella,  Ann,  Jane  and  Elizabeth.  Mathew 
Rainey,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  the 
subject,  also  had  eight  children,  all  of  whom 
are  dead.  They  were:  Louisa  Ann,  Jeru- 
sia,  Jane,  Sarah,  Patsey,  William,  Robert 
and  Samuel. 

The  subject  has  one  of  the  most  attractive 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


327 


farms  in  Haines  township.  He  has  con- 
structed a  spacious  dwelling  and  ample 
barns.  He  has  been  a  stock  raiser  for  many 
years,  and  handles  the  very  best  grade  of 
horses,  mules,  cattle  and  sheep.  Although 
he  is  a  very  busy  man  Mr.  Wham  has  a 
great  love  for  literature,  and  spends  much 
time  among  his  books.  The  subject  began 
teaching  school  in  1867,  and  spent  alto- 
gether twenty-five  years  as  a  pedagogue. 
He  was  a  successful  instructor  and  did 
much  for  the  cause  of  education  in  Marion 
county,  and  particularly  Haines  township. 
He  early  became  an  enthusiastic  champion 
of  the  State  Normal  School  located  at  Car- 
bondale,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that 
Marion  county  stands  first  in  the  state  out- 
side of  the  county  in  which  the  school  is  lo- 
cated in  the  number  of  students  attending 
that  institution.  It  is  also  a  fact,  of  which 
Mr.  Wham  may  feel  justly  proud,  that 
Haines  township,  where  he  taught  for  so 
many  years,  has  furnished  more  students  for 
the  State  Normal  than  any  other  township 
in  Marion  county.  He  is  a  Republican  and 
has  been  Supervisor  of  Haines  township 
twice,  Town  Clerk  one  term,  besides  serving 
as  Assessor.  As  an  evidence  of  his  popu- 
larity it  may  be  stated  that  Haines  town- 
ship is  Democratic  normally,  but  Mr. 
Wham  received  an  unusually  large  plurality. 
He  has  rarely  been  defeated  for  public 
office,  but  when  he  ran  for  County  Treasurer 
in  1906  he  was  defeated  by  forty-two  votes. 
Mr.  Wham  has  been  a  Sunday  school 
teacher  and  superintendent  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  has  taken  a  great  interest  in 
church  work. 


LYDIA  PHILLIPS  GERBER. 

Of  the  older  residents  of  Claremont 
township  there  are  few  that  are  better 
known  and  more  widely  respected  than  the 
subject  of  this  brief  notice,  who  was  born 
July  14,  1834,  in  Stark  county,  Ohio,  the 
daughter  of  David  and  Sarah  Phillips,  her 
mother's  name  being  Hosier  and  a  native  of 
Stark  county.  Her  father  was  a  Pennsyl- 
vanian  and  moved  from  there  with  his  par- 
ents when  almost  at  the  age  of  manhood. 
His  parents  settled  in  Stark  county,  Ohio, 
where  they  lived  for  some  years  before 
coming  to  Illinois.  About  the  year  1840, 
they  moved  and  settled  in  Claremont  town- 
ship, Richland  county,  one  year  before 
Richland  county  was  surveyed.  Lydia 
Phillips  was  then  but  six  years  of  age.  In 
Richland  county  her  parents  entered  forty 
acres  of  unimproved  land,  the  greater  part 
of  which  was  covered  with  timber.  This 
land  he  (her  father)  bought  from  the  gov- 
ernment at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
an  acre.  He  started  to  clear  and  improve 
the  land  and  built  a  crude  log  house  of 
hewn  logs.  Industriously  he  kept  adding 
to  his  property  until  he  had  two  hundred 
acres  at  the  time  of  his  death.  When  two 
years  in  Illinois  his  parents  left  Ohio  and 
made  their  home  with  the  younger  family, 
where  they  remained  until  their  deaths, 
which  took  place  when  they  were  well  on 
in  the  eighties. 

Lydia  Phillips  remained  with  her  parents 
on  their  farm  until  her  marriage  to  Wil- 
liam Gerber,  which  was  celebrated  on  June 
20,  1856.  She  and  her  husband  settled  on 


I'.lor.KAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


forty  acres  of  land  in  Claremont  township, 
at  a  later  period  they  bought  more,  making 
a  total  of  one  hundred  acres.  Here  they 
remained  in  peaceful  married  life  and  work- 
ing hard  until  the  death  of  William  Gerber, 
which  event  occurred  on  January  3,  1896, 
when  he  had  reached  his  sixty-sixth  year. 
He  was  the  son  of  Phillip  and  Susannah 
Gerber,  his  mother's  name  being  Sager, 
both  of  them  being  natives  of  Pennsylvania, 
where  William  was  born  on  February  24, 
1830.  He  moved  with  his  parents  to  San- 
dusky,  Ohio,  then  to  Indiana,  and  later  re- 
turning again  to  Ohio.  Afterwards  they 
moved  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Richland 
county,  where  his  parents  died.  They  are 
buried  in  Claremont  township  cemetery. 

Lydia  Phillips  was  the  eldest  of  eight 
children  born  to  her  parents,  all  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity.  She  herself  was  blessed 
with  eight  children.  All  of  them  grew  to 
maturity,  but  four  have  since  died.  In  the 
order  of  their  birth,  they  are :  Sarah  Jane, 
Elizabeth,  Matilda  K.,  John  P.,  George  W., 
Levi  D.,  Ellen  and  Henry.  George  is  the 
only  child  who  married.  He  and  his  wife 
live  on  the  homestead  with  his  mother  and 
are  the  parents  of  four  children,  all  of  whom 
live.  They  are:  Inez  Myrtle,  Charles  Os- 
car, Grace  A.,  and  Francis  W. 

Lydia  Phillips  Gerber  attended  in  her 
early  days  the  free  schools  in  Claremont 
township  near  her  home.  The  building  was 
an  old  log  house  with  a  fireplace  which  was 
built  of  mud  and  sticks.  The  seats  were 
four  log  slabs  balanced  upon  four  pegs 
which  stood  for  legs.  The  books  used  were 


McGuffey's  readers  and  the  elementary 
speller  and  a  few  others  which  were  the 
principal  text-books  of  the  time.  Here  she 
attended  school  for  seventeen  years  and  ob- 
tained a  good  share  of  information. 

Her  husband  during  his  life  was  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics.  In  religion  she  and  her 
husband  and  the  grandparents  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Lutheran  church  in  Claremont 
township.  During  her  long  life  she  has 
never  omitted  to  give  her  church  duties  a 
proper  share  of  attention.  She  has  always 
been  respected  in  the  congregation  to  which 
she  belongs. 


JAMES  M.  DACE. 

Among  the  representative  business  men 
of  Marion  county  is  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who  is  at  present  proprietor  of  a  well 
known  and  flourishing  restaurant  in  Odin, 
and  who  is  carrying  on  his  line  of  business 
with  that  enterprise  and  discretion  which 
are  sure  to  find  their  sequel  in  definite  suc- 
cess. 

James  M.  Dace  was  born  in  Monroe  City, 
Monroe  county,  Illinois,  on  April  18,  1861, 
but  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
this  county,  where  he  applied  himself  in  a 
careful  manner  and  received  a  good  educa- 
tion. He  later  took  a  commercial  course  in 
the  Bryant  and  Stratton  Business  College 
of  St.  Louis.  After  leaving  school,  our 
subject  devoted  himself  to  fanning,  having 
while  attending  school  worked  on  his  fa- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


329 


ther's  farm.  This  he  followed  with  success 
attending  his  efforts  until  1888,  then  he 
traveled  for  a  period  of  seven  years  for  the 
D.  M.  Osborn  Company,  successfully  han- 
dling a  line  of  agricultural  implements,  and 
obtaining  a  large  amount  of  trade  for  them. 
In  1895  Mr.  Dace  gave  up  his  position  on 
the  road  and  opened  his  present  business  in 
Odin,  that  of  conducting  a  restaurant.  His 
success  was  instantaneous,  and  he  has  since 
conducted  the  same  with  much  satisfaction 
attending  his  efforts,  his  neat,  well  equipped 
and  carefully  managed  restaurant  being 
known  far  and  wide  to  the  transient  visitors 
to  Odin,  as  well  as  to  numerous  local  pa- 
trons. Here  is  served  the  very  best  grade 
of  materials  that  the  market  affords  and  all 
guests  are  accorded  the  kindest  considera- 
tion and  most  courteous  treatment,  so  that 
a  customer  is  never  lost,  but  all  speak  in 
praise  of  our  subject's  place  of  business, 
which  would  be  a  credit  to  any  town,  much 
less  one  the  size  of  Odin. 

Mr.  Dace  has  long  taken  considerable  in 
terest  in  public  affairs,  his  unusual  talents 
having  been  recognized  early  by  his  many 
political  friends,  so  that  he  was  sought  out 
for  public  office,  with  the  result  that  he  has 
been  Supervisor  of  his  township  for  the 
past  twelve  years  which  position  he  has 
held  with  great  credit  to  himself  and  with 
satisfaction  to  all  concerned.  In  politics 
he  is  a  loyal  Democrat. 

The  married  life  of  Mr.  Dace  dates  from 
1884,  when  he  was  united  in  the  bonds  of 
wedlock  with  Lulu  Charlton,  a  native  of 
this  county  and  a  daughter  of  Sidney  and 


Henrietta  (Gaines)  Charlton,  natives  of 
this  county.  The  paternal  grandfather  ot 
our  subject's  wife  came  to  this  county  in  an 
early  day,  taking  up  twelve  hundred  acres 
of  land,  which  he  developed  and  on  which 
he  raised  his  family  and  where  he  died,  hav- 
ing lived  to  an  old  age.  His  wife,  who  is 
still  living,  is  very  old. 

The  subject  and  wife  have  no  children 
living.  Mrs.  Dace  belongs  to  the  Christian 
church.  Our  subject  in  his  fraternal  rela- 
tions is  a  member  of  the  ancient  and  honor- 
able order  of  Masons,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  Woodmen,  having  filled 
many  of  the  chairs  in  the  latter.  He  at 
present  holds  offices  in  two  of  these  lodges. 
He  also  belongs  to  the  Red  Men.  Mr.  Dace 
has  always  been  known  as  a  man  of  sound 
business  principles,  kind  hearted,  liberal  and 
pleasant  to  all. 


JACOB  BURGENER. 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  at  this  time  to 
speak  of  the  part  played  by  European  exiles 
in  the  upbuilding  of  this  nation.  They  came 
here  prior  to  the  Revolution,  the  stream  grew 
larger  and  more  constant  at  its  close,  and 
they  have  still  continued  to  come  in  large 
numbers.  We  have  always  plenty  of  room 
for  them  and  they  pay  us  back,  and  have 
paid  us  back,  by  their  industrious  and  frugal 
lives  and  by  their  contributions  to  the  pros- 
perity of  our  United  States. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  comes  of  a  mid 
European  race — the  hardy  Swiss  mountain- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


eers.  Jacob  Burgener  was  born  in  the  Can- 
ton of  Bern,  Switzerland,  on  June  3,  1845, 
the  son  of  Jacob  and  Anna  Burgener.  His 
parents  were  both  natives  of  Switzerland, 
where  his  father  was  born.  In  April  of  the 
year  1847  the  subject  of  this  sketch  came 
with  his  parents  to  the  United  States,  land- 
ing in  New  York  harbor.  The  voyage  across 
the  vast  stretches  of  the  Atlantic  ocean  was  a 
tedious  one  in  those  days  and  their  trip  in  a 
sailing  vessel  was  of  forty-six  days'  duration 
having  been  beaten  out  of  their  course  sev- 
eral times  by  storms;  many  hundred  sharks 
followed  at  times  in  the  wake  of  the  ship; 
and  many,  of  the  emigrants  died  at  sea,  their 
bodies  being  sewed  in  a  sack  in  lieu  of  a 
shroud  and  then  thrown  overboard  to  make 
food  for  the  sharks. 

On  their  arrival  in  New  York  they  set  out 
for  Richland  county,  Ohio,  where  they  rent- 
ed a  farm  and  remained  for  two  or  three 
years.  In  the  year  1850  they  migrated  over- 
land in  wagons  from  Ohio  to  Illinois,  where 
they  settled  in  Richland  county,  Preston 
township.  Here  they  worked  on  the  farm 
of  an  old  inhabitant  named  Jacob  Yoggy, 
and  some  few  years  later  they  entered  eighty 
acres  bought  from  the  government  at  the 
current  price  of  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  an 
acre  in  Preston  township,  and  later  added 
forty  acres.  Eighty  acres  of  this  land  was 
mostly  prairie  land,  and  forty  acres  con- 
tained timber,  and  there  was  not  even  a  fence 
or  a  well  on  the  property.  Jacob  Burgener 
began  at  once  to  improve  his  holding  and 
built  a  log  house  with  a  long  shed  on  the  side 
running  the  full  length  of  the  house.  In 


this  shed  the  cows  were  kept  and  the  noise  of 
the  cow-bells  ringing  every  night  sounded 
almost  like  alarm  clocks  to  the  family.  A  log 
stable  was  also  built  and  fences  were  put  up, 
and  in  this  work  the  family  were  helped  by 
an  uncle,  William  Van  Alman,  who  broke 
many  an  acre  of  the  ground.  At  this  time 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  nine  or  ten 
years  old.  His  grandfather  Burgener  was 
also  with  them,  having  come  from  Switzer- 
land. He  also  settled  in  Preston  township 
where  he  lived  until  his  demise,  being  buried 
in  the  German  Reform  cemetery,  Preston 
township,  aged  eighty  years. 

Jacob  Burgener  was  about  fourteen  or  fif- 
teen years  old  when  his  mother  died.  She 
is  buried  in  the  German  Reform  cemetery 
in  Preston  township.  Her  mother  and  fa- 
ther were  born  in  Switzerland,  when  mother 
died  father  came  to  the  United  States, 
and  she  had  two  brothers  and  three 
sisters  who  helped  to  swell  the  tide  of  emi- 
gration to  the  United  States.  Some  time 
after  his  mother's  death  his  father  mar- 
ried again,  his  second  wife's  name  being 
Margaret  Stucchi.  She  died  in  the  year 
1903  and  is  also  buried  in  the  German  Re- 
form cemetery  in  Preston  township.  Jacob 
Burgener  remained  with  his  father  on  the 
farm  until  about  twenty-two  years  of  age. 
During  his  years  on  his  father's  farm  rattle- 
snakes abounded  there.  Herds  of  wild  deer, 
wolves  and  wild  game  were  also  in  evidence, 
the  wolves,  especially,  being  so  numerous 
and  ferocious  that  they  did  not  dare  let  the 
sheep  out  at  night. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two  Jacob  Burgener 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


331 


left  his  father's  farm  and  went  to  work  for 
some  neighbors,  obtaining  a  wage  of  about 
thirteen  or  fourteen  dollars  per  month.  In 
December,  1871,  he  married  Anna  Combs, 
who  was  born  in  Claremont  county,  Ohio. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Abner  and  Eliza- 
beth Combs,  her  mother's  name  being  Eliza- 
beth Smizer,  natives  of  Ohio,  who  came  to 
Illinois  and  settled  in  Preston  township  in 
the  year  1860,  where  they  built  a  fine  house 
and  barn  and  spent  about  two  thousand  dol- 
lars in  improvements  upon  their  farm  of  over 
three  hundred  acres.  Mrs.  Burgener's  fa- 
ther died  in  1884  and  her  mother  still  sur- 
vives, living  in  Preston  township  at  the  age 
of  ninety-two  years. 

On  his  marriage  Jacob  Burgener  settled 
on  a  farm  of  forty  acres  in  Olney  township, 
which  his  father-in-law  had  given  him,  and 
there  he  remained  until  his  removal  to  his 
present  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  in  Clare- 
mont township  in  the  year  1881.  While  liv- 
ing in  Olney  township  his  wife  died  on  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1878,  in  her  thirty-first  year,  and 
was  buried  in  Olney.  Three  children  were 
born  of  the  marriage,  two  boys  and  one  girl, 
all  of  whom  are  now  married  and  have  fami- 
lies of  their  own.  Their  names  are:  Wil- 
liam A.,  Harry  L.,  and  Winona.  William 
A.  lives  in  Olney  township  on  a  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acre  farm.  Harry  L.  lives  in  Clare- 
mont township  on  forty  acres  of  fine  im- 
proved land.  Winona  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Elliott  and  lives  in  Montana. 

Jacob  Burgener  re-married  on  October  15, 
1 88 1,  Sophia  (Fritchle)  Garber,  widow  of 
John  Garber.  She  was  born  September  2, 


1845,  in  Olney  township,  Richland  county, 
Illinois,  being  the  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Lydia  (Strathe)  Fritchle.  Her  father  was 
a  native  of  Germany  and  her  mother  of 
Pennsylvania.  They  were  married  in  Ohio 
and  lived  for  some  time  near  Canton,  Ohio, 
afterwards,  about  the  year  1839,  coming  to 
Richland  county,  Illinois,  and  settling  on  the 
farm  on  which  they  lived  until  their  deaths. 
Her  mother  died  in  the  year  1857  an<^  ner 
father  in  1899,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  or 
eighty-two  years.  Both  lie  buried  in  the 
Lutheran  cemetery  in  Claremont  township, 
situated  near  where  the  old  log  church  used 
to  stand.  By  her  first  marriage  the  second 
Mrs.  Burgener  had  four  children,  only  one 
of  whom  is  living.  They  were:  Jake  P., 
Daniel,  Charles,  all  deceased,  and  Mary  E., 
who  is  living  and  is  married  to  William  H. 
Haulterman,  the  owner  of  a  splendid  farm 
in  Jasper  county,  Illinois. 

Jacob  Burgener  in  his  young  days  attend- 
ed about  two  winter  terms  at  the  free  school 
in  Preston  township.  His  work  at  home  on 
the  farm  interfered  with  his  school  attend- 
ance and  he  consequently  did  not  receive 
much  education.  He  was  quick  to  learn, 
however,  and  became  proficient  in  reading, 
writing,  spelling,  and  some  arithmetic.  He 
has  been  active  in  the  life  of  the  township  and 
county,  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has 
served  a  term  on  the  county  grand  jury  at 
Olney.  He  and  his  wife  and  the  members 
of  their  family  all  belong  to  the  Lutheran 
church,  his  first  wife  being  a  Methodist.  The 
Burgeners  have  always  been  known  to  take 
an  active  part  in  church  affairs. 


332 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    RKM  I  MS( '  I-.NT    HISTORY    OF 


During  his  lengthy  life  Jacob  Burgener 
has  worked  hard  and  prospered  and  as  a  re- 
sult has  two  hundred  acres  of  fine  farm  land 
well  improved.  He  is  now  past  his  sixty- 
second  year,  with  his  present  wife  the  same 
age,  and  he  enjoys  fairly  good  health.  He 
is  an  influential  man  in  the  township  and  well 
known  and  respected  by  his  neighbors. 


BENJAMIN  F.  NORFLEET. 

This  venerable  and  highly  honored  citi- 
zen of  Raccoon  township,  represents  that 
class  of  noble  American  citizens  who  spend 
their  lives  in  the  rural  districts,  the  great 
producers,  on  whom  the  rest  of  the  world 
depends,  and  his  life  has  been  so  active  and 
carefully  lived  that  success  has  attended  al- 
most his  every  effort. 

Benjamin  F.  Norfleet  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  Tennessee,  May  29,  1832, 
the  son  of  Marmaduke  and  Malinda  (Mc- 
Fadden)  Norfleet,  natives  of  Montgomery 
county.  The  subject's  grandfather  was 
James  Norfleet,  a  native  of  North  Carolina. 
He  married  in  that  state,  but  lived  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  Tennessee,  most  of  his  life. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  raised  a  good  deal  of 
fruit.  He  was  noted  for  the  fine  apple  and 
peach  brandy  which  he  made.  He  and  his 
wife  died  in  that  county.  They  were  the 
parents  of  three  sons  and  four  daughters. 
He  was  of  Welsh  descent.  There  were  three 
brothers  of  the  Norfleet  family  who  came 
to  America,  namely:  James,  Marmaduke 
and  Starkey.  They  settled  in  North  Caro- 


lina. The  subject's  grandfather,  David 
McFadden,  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Elliott.  He  came  to 
America  shortly  after  they  were  married. 
He  came  first  to  this  country  and  in  six 
months  sent  for  his  wife.  He  settled  in 
Montgomery  county,  Tennessee,  on  the  Red 
river.  He  got  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  government  land.  He  cleared  a  great 
deal  of  the  land  and  built  a  fine  home  on  it. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  a  successful  business 
man.  They  lived  the  rest  of  their  lives  in 
Montgomery  county  and  reared  a  large 
family.  The  subject's  father  and  mother 
were  both  born  in  Montgomery  county, 
Tennessee.  The  former  was  educated  in 
the  home  schools  and  was  a  self-learned 
man  and  became  a  good  scholar.  He  was 
a  carpenter  and  farmer.  In  1855  he  went 
to  Stewart  county,  Tennessee,  and  bought 
a  farm  there.  He  was  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
was  active  in  Democratic  politics.  He  and 
his  wife  were  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Mrs.  Norfleet  died  in 
Stewart  county,  Tennessee.  They  were  the 
parents  of  thirteen  children,  namely :  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  our  subject;  David,  a 
farmer  in  Stewart  county,  Tennessee;  Hen- 
ry A.,  a  farmer  in  Stewart  county,  Tennes- 
see; George,  a  farmer  in  the  same  county; 
Virginia,  who  lives  in  the  same  county; 
Josephine  L.  also  lives  in  that  county ; 
Mary  Elizabeth  became  a  resident  of  Wil- 
liamson county,  Illinois,  where  she  died. 
The  rest  of  the  children  are  all  deceased. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  had  only  a  lim- 
ited education,  obtained  in  the  subscription 
schools.  He  lived  at  home  until  he  was 


RICHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


333 


twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  was  united 
in  marriage  October  10,  1855,  to  Josephine 
Hamlett,  of  Montgomery  county,  Tennes- 
see, the  daughter  of  James  and  Jane  (At- 
kins) Hamlett,  the  former  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  the  latter  of  Montgomery  county, 
Tennessee,  to  which  county  the  former  went 
when  ten  years  of  age.  He  was  a  carpen- 
ter and  cabinet  maker,  and  he  and  his  wife 
lived  in  that  county  the  rest  of  their  lives. 
They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children, 
namely:  James,  deceased;  Frank  is  a  car- 
penter in  Marshall,  Texas;  Mary  Jane  is 
deceased;  the  fourth  child  died  in  infancy; 
Jackson  is  deceased;  Josephine,  the  sub- 
ject's wife;  Maria,  of  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see; Margaret,  of  Clarksville,  Tennessee. 
Eleven  children  have  been  born  to  the 
subject  and  wife,  one  of  whom  is  deceased, 
namely :  Emma  is  the  wife  of  F.  G.  Boggs, 
of  Raccoon  township,  whose  sketch  appears 
in  full  on  another  page  of  this  volume; 
Marmaduke,  a  farmer  in  Raccoon  township, 
married  Lucy  Boggs ;  Edgar,  who  is  con- 
nected with  "The  Houston  Post,"  at 
Houston,  Texas,  married  Belle  Clayburn; 
Ella  died  young;  Jefferson,  who  married 
Minnie  Brown,  is  a  farmer  at  Springfield, 
Illinois;  Dora,  who  married  Ira  Richard- 
son, lives  at  Muskogee,  Oklahoma ;  Thomas 
M.,  who  is  an  engineer  in  a  coal  mine  at 
Springfield,  Illinois,  married  Hattie  Few; 
Sidney,  a  carpenter  living  at  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, married  Nettie  Stader;  Beulah,  the 
widow  of  William  Stewart,  lives  at  Centra- 
lia,  Illinois;  Benjamin  F.,  Jr.,  who  lives  in 
Lexington,  Kentucky,  married  a  Miss  Mc- 


Murphy.  He  is  a  well  known  professor  in 
that  city,  being  connected  with  a  correspon- 
dence school  there.  Starkey,  the  youngest 
child,  who  married  Ava  Davis,  is  a  farmer 
at  Muskogee,  Oklahoma. 

After  our  subject  married  he  and  his  wife 
lived  in  Montgomery  county,  Tennessee, 
until  1865,  when  he  went  to  Trenton,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  purchased  a  farm.  He  also 
worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  until  1870. 
He  came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  lo- 
cating in  Raccoon  township,  on  Tennessee 
Prairie,  where  he  rented  land  for  one  year 
and  bought  eighty  acres  in  section  22  and 
twenty  acres  in  section  27,  on  which  he 
built  a  house  and  lived  there  for  twenty 
years,  when  he  bought  his  present  place  of 
forty  acres  known  as  the  Wesley  Willis 
place  in  Raccoon  township.  He  has  worked 
at  the  carpenter's  trade  since  he  was  sixteen 
years  old,  and,  being  thus  naturally  gifted, 
he  became  a  very  fine  workman.  He  has 
worked  at  his  trade  with  much  success.  He 
has  been  a  most  excellent  farmer.  He  re- 
tired in  1905.  He  learned  his  trade  from 
his  father.  A  great  deal  of  the  time  he  pre- 
ferred to  rent  his  land  and  follow  carpentry. 

Mr.  Norfleet  has  served  as  Highway 
Commissioner  for  five  years,  and  two  terms 
as  school  trustee;  also  two  terms  as  director. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  relations. 
Mrs.  Norfleet  is  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church  and  the  subject  is  a  member  of  the 
Free  Will  Baptist  church.  Members  of  the 
Norfleet  family  are  well  known  in  Marion 
county  and  they  have  a  modern  and  nicely 
furnished  home. 


334 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


LUTHER  HOLT,  M.  D. 

Although  but  in  the  meridian  of  life  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  has  had  wonderful 
success  in  alleviating  the  ills  and  sufferings 
of  his  fellow  men,  and  in  Haines  township, 
Marion  county,  he  is  regarded  as  a  credit 
to  the  noble  profession  in  which  he  has  been 
engaged  for  more  than  twenty  years.  His 
boyhood  days  were  spent  on  a  farm,  but 
early  in  life  he  showed  a  desire  to  become  a 
medical  practitioner,  and  when  his  school 
days  came  to  an  end  his  parents  decided  that 
the  longing  of  his  heart  should  be  realized. 

Dr.  Holt  was  born  in  Haines  township, 
May  14,  1862,  the  son  of  Charles  Wesley 
and  Violindia  (Wilkins)  Holt.  The  father 
of  the  subject  first  saw  the  light  of  day  in 
West  Virginia,  November  20,  1834,  and 
was  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Jack- 
son) Holt,  the  latter  a  native  of  South  Caro- 
lina. Joseph,  after  going  South,  where  he 
was  married,  settled  in  Virginia,  and  final- 
ly removed  to  Tennessee,  where  he  lived 
until  1837,  when  he  decided  that  he  could 
better  his  condition  by  moving  further  west, 
and  as  a  result,  emigrated  to  Marion  coum 
ty,  settling  at  Centralia.  Later  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Washington  county,  Il- 
linois, and  remained  there  until  the  death 
of  his  wife,  Elizabeth  (Jackson)  Holt, 
which  occurred  in  1847.  After  this  sad 
event  he  went  to  Texas,  and  died  there  a 
few  years  later.  The  couple  were  survived 
by  eleven  children,  Joseph,  John,  Eliza, 
Gordon  W.,  Lee,  Sarah  J.,  Thomas  J. 
Charles  W.,  Nathaniel.  Albert  and  Fletcher 
L. 


Charles  W.  Holt,  father  of  the  subject, 
has  spent  all  of  his  life  in  Marion  county, 
Illinois.  He  was  only  three  years  old  when 
the  family  removed  to  the  state,  making  the 
trip  with  an  ox  team  and  pack  horses. 
When  a  young  man  he  worked  on  farms, 
and  was  employed  at  times  as  a  laborer  on 
public  improvements.  He  helped  to  grade 
the  Illinois  Central  road  when  it  was  con-, 
structed,  and  this  work  was  done  with  shov- 
els and  wheel-barrows.  Later  he  began 
farming  for  himself  on  forty  acres  in  sec- 
tion 12,  settling  on  his  present  farm  in  sec- 
tion 15,  in  1865,  which  was  almost  an  un- 
broken prairie  at  the  time.  This  farm  now 
consists  of  220  acres  of  well  tilled  land. 

The  mother  of  the  subject  is  a  native  of 
Marion  county,  being  the  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Cloanna  (Brewer)  Wilkins,  the 
latter  a  native  of  Kentucky.  Her  parents 
were  early  settlers  of  Marion  county,  and 
are  both  dead.  The  father  and  mother  of 
the  subject  are  members  of  the  Baptist 
church  at  Pleasant  Grove.  Mr.  Holt  is  a 
Democrat  and  has  served  in  the  capacity  of 
school  director.  In  connection  with  the  cul- 
tivation of  his  farm,  he  gives  considerable 
attention  to  stock  breeding,  raising  a  high 
grade  of  mules,  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  hogs. 
Dr.  Holt,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  lives  on 
the  farm  with  his  father  and  mothW,  upon 
which  is  a  building  which  is  utilized  by  him 
as  an  office.  He  received  a  common  school 
education,  and  in  1884  entered  the  St. 
Louis  Medical  College,  and  three  years  later 
graduated  in  medicine  and  surgery.  He 
then  returned  to  Illinois  and  began  prac- 
ticing with  Dr.  A.  P.  Kell,  at  Fortville,  but 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


335 


after  a  short  time  went  to  Xenia,  Illinois, 
where  for  one  year  he  practiced  with  T>r. 
Shirley.  At  the  end  of  that  interval  he  re- 
turned to  his  father's  farm,  and  since  then 
has  conducted  his  practice  from  that  place. 
In  1889  the  subject  was  married  to  Josie 
Huff,  who  was  born  and  raised  in  Haines 
township,  and  is  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Emma  (Fulton)  Huff.  Seven  children 
were  born  to  the  subject  and  his  wife,  six 
of  whom  survive.  They  are  Hallie,  Althia, 
Edna,  Earl,  Edgar,  Ida  and  Roy.  Althia 
is  dead;  Edna  lives  with  her  parents,  and 
Hallie  is  a  teacher  in  the  Marion  county 
schools.  Dr.  Holt  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
rion County  Medical  Society,  and  in  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat.  He  has  served  as  School 
Director,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  a  Salem 
bank.  He  has  always  taken  a  great  interest 
in  public  affairs. 


WILLIAM  VAN  ALMAN. 

One  of  the  owners  of  extensive  farming 
interests  in  Richland  county  is  the  gentle- 
man whose  name  initiates  this  sketch,  who 
resides  in  Preston  township.  His  valuable 
property  has  been  acquired  through  his  own 
efforts — his  persistency  of  purpose  and  his 
determination,  and  the  prosperity  which  is 
the  legitimate  reward  of  all  earnest  effort 
is  today  his. 

William  Van  Alman  was  born  in 
Switzerland.  July  5,  1828.  the  son  of 
Christian  and  Anna  (Milliman)  Van  Al- 


man, also  natives  of  Switzerland,  where 
they  lived  and  died.  The  father  of  the  sub- 
ject was  a  farmer  and  died  when  the  latter 
was  ten  years  old,  and  he  was  only  three 
years  old,  when  his  mother  died.  They 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  four 
girls  and  three  boys,  William  being  the 
youngest.  He  was  reared  in  his  native  land 
and  received  a  common  school  education. 
When  nineteen  years  old  he  went  through 
the  regular  drill  required  of  all  able  bodied 
young  men.  He  had  left  home  when  six- 
teen, having  secured  the  required  passport 
to  leave  his  native  section  of  Switzerland. 
He  worked  on  farms  and  at  dairy  work  for 
several  years.  In  the  latter  part  of  1849 
in  company  with  two  older  brothers  and  a 
cousin,  he  came  to  the  United  States  in  an 
old-fashioned  sailing  vessel,  being  fifty-four 
days  making  the  ocean  voyage,  landing  at 
New  Orleans,  where  he  says  he  saw  his  first 
"nigger."  He  came  up  the  Mississippi  and 
Ohio  rivers  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where 
he  arrived  January  i,  1850.  He  soon  went 
to  Ripley  county,  Indiana,  where  his  cousin 
lived,  and  in  the  following  March  went  to 
Mount  Vernon,  Illinois.  That  same  spring 
he  came  to  Richland  county,  and  went  to 
work  on  a  farm  for  seven  dollars  per 
month.  He  saved  his  money  which  he  add- 
ed to  what  he  had  when  he  came  to  the 
United  States.  In  1852  he  entered  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  Preston 
township,  eighty  acres  of  prairie  and  eighty 
acres  of  bottom  land.  He  at  once  built  a 
log  cabin  and  began  improving  his  place, 
having  bought  a  yoke  of  cattle  and  began 


336 


inOGKAPHICAL    AXU    REMIXISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


breaking  the  prairie  land,  and  being  a  hard 
worker,  he  was  not  long  in  making  many 
changes  on  his  farm.  He  bought  more 
oxen  and  continued  breaking  land  for  his 
neighbors  for  ten  years— rover  one  thousand 
acres  in  all.  He  operated  a  threshing  ma- 
chine for  thirty  years,  wearing  out  six  ma- 
chines during  that  time,  and  doing  a  large 
and  prosperous  business  in  this  line.  He 
became  prosperous  and  at  one  time  owned 
three  hundred  acres.  He  is  at  this  writing 
the  owner  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres. 

Olney  was  a  hamlet  of  only  a  few  houses 
— mean  wooden  structures — when  Mr.  Van 
Alman  came  here.  William  Van  Alman 
was  united  in  marriage  October  7,  1862, 
to  Elizabeth  Mattingly,  who  was  born  in 
Jasper  county,  Illinois,  the  daughter  of 
George  and  Elizabeth  Mattingly.  The  sub- 
ject and  wife  are  the  parents  of  thirteen 
children,  six  of  whom  grew  to  maturity. 
They  are,  Matilda,  Stephen,  died  when  thir- 
ty-two years  old ;  Charles,  Emma  is  the  wife 
of  William  Lamkin,  who  lives  in  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky;  Fred  W.  is  a  farmer  in 
Preston  township ;  Louise  is  the  wife  of  Ed. 
Williams,  living  on  the  old  homestead. 

Politically  Mr.  Van  Alman  is  a  Demo- 
crat, having  always  supported  the  principals 
of  that  party.  He  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  German  Reformed  church  in 
Preston  township. 

Mr.  Van  Alman  was  the  first  person  to 
break  the  banks  of  the  Ambrose  river  to 
cross  with  a  wagon  in  this  section.  He  was 
the  first  person  to  subscribe  fifty  dollars  for 
the  construction  of  a  bridge  across  this 
stream,  where  a  ferry  used  to  be  main- 


tained. He  built  the  first  ferry  across  the 
Ambrose  river  in  the  pioneer  days;  in  fact, 
he  built  four  ferries  before  a  bridge  was 
constructed.  His  name  is  associated  with 
progress  in  the  county  of  his  adoption  and 
among  those  in  whose  midst  he  has  so  long 
lived  and  labored,  he  is  held  in  the  highest 
esteem  by  reason  of  an  upright  life  of  fidel- 
ity to  principles. 


WILLIAM  F.  BUNDY. 

Holding  distinctive  prestige  among  the 
enterprising  citizens  of  Marion  county,  is 
William  F.  Bundy,  whose  record  here  briefly 
outlined,  is  that  of  a  man  who  has  been  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortunes,  a  self-made 
man,  who,  by  the  exercise  of  talents  with 
which  nature  endowed  him,  has  successfully 
surmounted  unfavorable  environment  and 
rose  to  the  position  he  now  occupies  as  one 
of  the  influential  attorneys  of  the  city  hon- 
ored by  his  residence.  He  is  a  creditable 
representative  of  one  of  the  old  and  highly 
esteemed  pioneer  families  of  southern  Il- 
linois, and  possesses  many  of  the  admirable 
qualities  and  characteristics  of  his  sturdy 
ancestors  who  figured  in  the  history  of  the 
early  days  in  this  section  of  the  great 
Prairie  state.  Isaac  Bundy,  the  subject's 
father,  was  born  October  4,  1828,  in  Rac- 
coon township,  this  county,  where  he  de- 
voted his  manhood  years  to  agricultural 
pursuits  and  became  known  as  a  most  ex- 
emplary citizen,  for  many  years  a  minister 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  always 
doing  his  full  share  in  the  promotion  and 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


337 


growth  of  his  part  of  the  county.  On  June 
7,  1849,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Amanda  M.  Richardson,  after  he  had  re- 
turned home  from  the  Mexican  war,  in 
which  he  served  with  distinction,  having  en- 
listed in  Colonel  Newby's  First  Regiment, 
on  June  8,  1847,  and  soon  afterward  began 
the  long  and  arduous  march  from  Kansas 
City,  Missouri,  to  Albuquerque,  New  Mex- 
ico; after  the  close  of  hostilities,  marching 
back  over  the  same  route.  John  A.  Logan, 
afterwards  a  conspicuous  general  in  the  war 
between  the  states,  was  then  a  second  lieu- 
tenant of  Company  H,  of  the  famous  First 
Regiment,  which  did  such  effective  work  in 
the  land  of  the  ancient  Montezumas,  in 
which  regiment  Mr.  Bundy  served  until  his 
honorable  discharge  on  October  13,  1848, 
having  been  a  member  of  Company  C.  This 
was  usually  referred  to  as  the  Illinois  Foot 
Volunteer  Regiment,  in  which  General 
James  S.  Martin,  whose  sketch  appears  in 
this  volume,  was  a  private.  Isaac  Bundy 
was  also  in  the  Civil  war,  having  enlisted 
as  a  private  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  Novem- 
ber 1 8, 1 86 1, remaining  at  Camp  Butler, near 
that  city  for  a  time.  He  was  appointed 
chaplain,  October  7,  1862,  and  after  serving 
faithfully  until  October  24,  1864,  resigned 
on  account  of  illness  and  returned  home  in 
Raccoon  township,  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  passing  to  his  rest  De- 
cember 13,  1899,  his  death  having  been 
deeply  lamented  by  the  people  among  whom 
he  had  so  long  lived  and  by  whom  he  was 
held  in  such  high  esteem. 

Amanda  M.  (Richardson)  Bundy,  moth- 
22 


er  of  the  subject,  was  the  daughter  of  Rev. 
James  I.  Richardson,  of  the  Methodist  Eis- 
copal  church,  who  came  to  this  state  in  an 
early  days,  and  for  some  time  was  presiding 
elder  of  the  Southern  Illinois  Conference, 
of  the  above  mentioned  denomination,  hav- 
ing been  located  at  Salem,  McLeansboro, 
Benton,  Spring  Garden,  Central  City  and 
many  other  charges  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  state.  Although  his  education  was 
gained  by  the  pine  knot  and  tallow  candle, 
with  a  short  term  in  the  common  schools, 
he  developed  a  strong  mind,  and  this,  coupled 
with  an  indomitable  will,  enabled  him  to  sur- 
mount many  obstacles  and  accomplish  much 
good.  He  was  a  large  man  physically,  hav- 
ing stood  six  feet  two  inches  in  height.  Be- 
ing a  strong  Abolitionist,  he  took  an  active 
part  in  "underground  railroad"  work,  as- 
sisting to  free  the  negro  from  slavery  when- 
ever an  opportunity  came.  His  talents  at- 
tracted public  attention  wherever  he  went, 
and  he  was  sought  for  positions  of  public 
trust  and  very  ably  served  as  a  member  of 
the  sixteenth  General  Assembly,  from  Ma- 
rion county.  Many  of  his  associates  in  the 
House  at  that  time  later  became  noted  in 
many  walks  of  life.  Reverend  Richardson 
served  in  the  Black  Hawk  war  of  1832,  hav- 
ing been  a  member  of  the  Spy  Battalion, 
Mounted  Volunteers,  under  Capt.  William 
Dobbins,  which  was  mustered  in  June  17, 
1832,  taking  part  in  the  battle  of  Kellogg's 
Grove,  eight  days  later,  June  25th,  under 
eral  Atkinson,  in  which  engagement  this 
company  had  fourteen  horses  killed,  six 
wounded  and  three  captured.  The  Spy  Bat- 


338 


mnCKAl'IIlCAI,    AXI)    KKMIMSCKNT    HISTORY    OF 


talion,  which  was  first  organized  in  Marion 
county,  May  4,  1832,  was  mustered  out  on 
August  i6th,  following.  For  his  war  rec- 
ord, his  political  service  and  his  ministry, 
covering  a  period  of  over  thirty  years,  Rev- 
erend Richardson  was  a  noted  character  in 
Southern  Illinois. 

The  subject's  paternal  great-grandfather, 
Jonathan  Bundy,  was  also  a  well  known 
character  in  this  part  of  the  state  in  its  earli- 
est pioneer  period.  He  came  from  North 
Carolina  in  1817,  having  made  the  trip  over- 
land with  his  family,  consisting  of  the  fol- 
lowing sons:  William,  Robert,  Frederick 
and  John.  William,  who  remained  single 
all  his  life,  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812, 
having  fought  at  New  Orleans,  under  Gen- 
eral Jackson.  Robert  and  Frederick  reared 
families,  the  descendants  of  whom  still  live 
in  Marion  county,  among  whom  is  Wil- 
liam K.,  the  oldest  son  of  Frederick  Bundy. 
John  Bundy's  family  consisted  of  five  sons, 
namely:  Isaac,  Bailey,  Alexander,  George 
and  Samuel. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Isaac  Bundy,  parents 
of  our  subject,  the  following  children  were 
born:  Elizabeth  Jane,  who  married  Noah 
E.  Barr,  is  living  near  Salem,  Dent  county, 
Missouri,  their  family  consisting  of  four 
boys  and  three  girls;  Asbury  and  Samuel 
both  died  in  infancy;  Laura  Alice  married 
James  N.  Adams,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  four  boys  and  one  girl,  namely:  Ernest 
J.  Sanford,  James  O.,  Rollin  and  Maud,  all 
living  in  Centralia,  with  the  exception  of 
James  O.,  who  is  living  in  Idaho.  William 
F.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  fifth  in 
order  of  birth,  having  been  born  in  Rac- 


coon township,  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
June  8,  1858.  He  was  educated  in  Southern 
Illinois  Normal  University,  at  Carbondale, 
Illinois,  and  decided  to  study  law.  He  was 
married  to  Mary  E.  McNally,  daughter  of 
James  J.  and  Sarah  A.  (Carter)  McNally. 
Mr.  McNally  was  born  in  Ireland,  Septem- 
ber 8,  1836.  After  coming  to  America,  he 
located  in  New  York  state,  and  when  the 
Civil  war  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  the  Thir- 
ty-fifth New  York  Infantry  and  later  in  the 
Twentieth  New  York  Cavalry.  In  the  latter 
he  became  second  lieutenant  in  Company  E. 
Mrs.  McNally  was  born  in  Constableville, 
Lewis  county,  New  York,  April  16,  1843. 
She  married  Me  McNally  September  21, 
1862. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  F.  Bundy  the 
following  children  have  been  born :  Donald 
M.  (deceased)  ;  Dorothy  E.,  Sarah  Pauline, 
and  Margaret  M. 

Politically  Mr.  Bundy  is  a  Republican, 
and  he  has  been  called  upon  to  serve  in  va- 
rious official  capacities,  among  which  was 
that  of  City  Attorney,  also  City  Clerk  of 
Centralia,  for  several  terms  each.  When  he 
was  young  in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
he  represented  the  Forty-second  District  of 
Illinois  in  the  General  Assembly  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  both  in  the  forty- 
second  General  Assembly  (1901  to  1903), 
and  in  the  forty-third  General  Assembly, 
(1903  to  1905).  During  the  forty-second 
General  Assembly  he  was  chairman  of  the 
important  committee  of  Senatorial  Appoint- 
ment and  he  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Steering  Committee  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  in  the  forty-third  General  As- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


339 


sembly  he  was  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Judicial  Department  and  Practice.  Mr. 
Bundy  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  Legis- 
lature while  a  member  and  won  a  record  of 
which  anyone  might  be  justly  proud.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Republican  State  Cen- 
tral Committee  for  the  Twenty-third  Con- 
gressional District  of  Illinois  from  1906  to 
1908.  Under  the  appointment  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, our  subject  is  serving  as  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  Southern  Illinois  Normal 
University  at  Carbondale,  his  alma  mater, 
having  been  appointed  early  in  1908.  He 
has  ever  kept  in  touch  with  the  interests  of 
his  city  and  county  and  is  an  ardent  advo- 
acte  and  liberal  patron  of  all  worthy  enter- 
prises, making  for  their  advancement  and 
prosperity.  As  a  lawyer  he  is  easily  the  peer 
of  any  of  his  professional  brethren  through- 
out the  southern  part  of  the  state  and  the 
honorable  distinction,  already  achieved  at 
the  bar  is  an  earnest  of  the  still  wider  sphere 
of  usefulness  that  he  is  destined  to  fill,  as 
he  is  yet  in  the  prime  of  manhood  and  a 
close  observer  of  the  trend  of  the  times  and 
an  intelligent  student  of  the  great  questions 
and  issues  upon  which  the  thought  of  the 
best  minds  of  the  world  are  centered. 


CHARLES  W.  HOPKINS. 

Charles  W.  Hopkins,  retired  hardware 
merchant  of  Clay  City,  Illinois,  is  well  and 
favorably  known  at  the  present  time  as  the 
owner  of  one  of  the  "banner"  farms,  for- 


merly the  property  of  his  parents,  of  Clay 
county.  For  fifteen  consecutive  years  Clay 
City  was  the  scene  of  his  successful  en- 
deavors as  a  hardware  merchant.  He  has 
not  yet  reached  his  fiftieth  year,  and  while 
he  has  already  "made  good"  as  a  citizen 
and  a  business  man,  many  years  of  in- 
creased prosperity  await  him  in  his  farming 
pursuits. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in 
Mason  county.  West  Virginia,  on  January 
12,  1860,  and  was  the  son  of  William  and 
Adriana  (Donnelly)  Hopkins.  Both  par- 
ents were  natives  of  old  Virginia,  and  came 
of  good  stock.  William  Hopkins  married 
in  his  native  state,  resided  on  a  farm  there, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  convention  called 
to  partition  the  state  into  the  present  di- 
visions of  east  and  west.  He  ran  boats  on 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  for  thirty- 
five  years.  During  that  time  he  was  cap- 
tain of  "The  Tigress,"  which  General  Grant 
pressed  into  service  at  Cairo,  Illinois,  dur- 
ing the  progress  of  the  Civil  war.  All 
through  its  meteoric  career  in  the  military 
service  he  remained  its  captain  under  com- 
mand of  the  gallant  Grant.  At  Pittsburg 
Landing,  Grant  made  his  headquarters  upon 
on  the  boat,  and  he  and  the  elder  Hopkins 
had  many  chats  together.  Later  then  ran 
the  blockade  at  Vicksburg  successfully,  but 
when  they  had  safely  passed  the  last  battery 
"The  Tigress"  sank,  having  been  shot 
through  the  hull.  At  this  time  Captain 
Hopkins  was  home  on  a  furlough,  and  ow- 
ing to  the  loss  of  his  boat  was  discharged 
from  the  service.  He  then  moved  with  his 


340 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


family  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Clay 
county,  in  the  winter  of  1865,  having 
bought  nearly  one  thousand  acres  of  land. 
This  he  was  easily  able  to  do  as  at  the  time 
of  his  arrival  in  Illinois  his  capital  amount- 
ed to  something  like  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars.  He  had  previously  sold  a  farm  in 
Virginia  for  forty-three  thousand  dollars. 
The  farm  settled  in  Clay  county  is  now  the 
property  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch.  In 
1883  William  Hopkins  retired  from  his 
farming  activities  and  moved  with  his  fam- 
ily to  Flora,  Illinois,  where  he  afterwards 
died  on  July  25,  1887,  aged  sixty-nine 
years.  William  Hopkins  married  three 
times.  Our  subject  was  the  youngest  of 
three  children,  and  his  mother  died  when  he 
was  only  three  years  of  age.  One  of  his 
brothers,  Andrew,  by  name,  is  now  dead. 
His  father  afterwards  married  Marian  Kel- 
ly, who  died  in  1873.  Later  he  espoused 
Kate  Wilson,  who  still  continues  to  survive 
him.  His  second  marriage  brought  Wil- 
liam Hopkins  three  children,  all  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity  though  only  one  is  now 
living.  His  third  marriage  brought  him 
one  son,  Frank,  who  lives  with  his  mother 
in  Evansville,  Indiana. 

Charles  W.  Hopkins  remained  in  the  pa- 
rental home  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage 
which  occurred  on  the  I5th  of  March,  1883, 
with  Mary  E.  Brissenden  in  Clay  county, 
Illinois.  For  a  number  of  years  he  lived 
on  a  farm  near  Clay  City.  In  the  spring 
of  1886,  he  and  his  wife  removed  to  Fur- 
nas  county,  Nebraska,  where  he  purchased 
a  farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 


acres.  There  they  remained  three  years, 
when  Mrs.  Hopkins  returned  to  Clay  coun- 
ty, Illinois,  on  a  visit.  There  she  died  on 
May  25,  1887,  being  buried  in  the  Clay 
City  cemetery.  Our  subject  soon  sold  his 
Nebraska  property  and  went  back  to  live  in 
Illinois  in  the  fall  of  1888.  His  marriage 
resulted  in  the  birth  of  two  girls,  Adrianna, 
now  the  wife  of  Clayson  Black,  of  Clay 
City,  who  is  engaged  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness, and  Sarah  A.,  who  lives  at  the  family 
residence.  Shortly  after  his  return  to  Il- 
linois, Charles  W.  Hopkins  engaged  in  the 
hardware  business  in  Clay  City,  continuing 
in  the  same  for  fifteen  years  to  a  day.  De- 
cember 24,  1889,  he  married  Mary  Barnes, 
of  Clay  county,  where  she  was  born  April 
i,  1 86 1.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Ellen  (Gardner)  Barnes,  natives  of  In- 
diana. They  married  in  the  Hoosier  state 
and  came  to  Illinois  in  1857,  settling  in 
Clay  county,  where  they  remained  until 
their  deaths.  Mrs.  Barnes  died  December 
i,  1866,  aged  thirty-three  years.  Her  hus- 
band married  secondly  Lou  Chapman,  a 
widow,  but  their  married  life  was  of  short 
duration  as  she  died  within  two  years.  Jo- 
seph Barnes  died  April  27,  1891,  aged  fifty- 
five  years,  and  was  buried  in  Xenia.  His 
first  wife  was  buried  in  Oskaloosa.  They 
were  the  parents  of  five  children,  of  whom 
two  died  in  infancy,  our  subject's  wife  be- 
ing the  third  in  order  of  birth. 

Charles  W.  Hopkins  sold  his  hardware 
business  on  February  19,  1904,  remained  in 
Clay  City  until  April  29,  1906,  and  then 
moved  to  the  old  homestead  of  his  parents. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


341 


where  he  now  lives.  He  owns  approximate- 
ly five  hundred  and  seventeen  acres  of  some 
of  the  best  land  in  Clay  county.  His  pres- 
ent married  life  has  also  been  a  happy  one, 
three  children  having  been  born  to  him; 
two  boys  and  a  girl — William  B.,  Charles  L. 
and  Hazel — all  of  whom  live  at  home  with 
their  parents. 

Our  subject  has  always  been  politically  a 
Republican  and  has  served  as  Supervisor, 
as  member  of  the  County  Board  in  Clay 
county  for  two  years,  as  President  of  the 
Town  Board  in  Clay  City  for  three  terms. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America,  Jefferson  Lodge  No.  1437,  at 
Clay  City.  Mrs.  Hopkins  is  a.  member  of 
the  Methodist  church  in  Clay  City,  and  has 
always  taken  an  active  part  in  church  af- 
fairs. 


JOSEPH  A.  ENGLE. 

The  present  Mayor  of  Claremont,  Rich- 
land  county,  Joseph  A.  Engle,  is  a  veteran 
of  the  Civil  war.  He  was  born  December 
12,  1829,  in  Vigo  county,  Indiana,  and  was 
the  son  of  John  and  Hannah  Engle.  His 
father  was  a  native  of  the  Blue  Grass  state, 
coming  from  Kentucky  to  Indiana  with  his 
parents  in  early  life.  There  they  settled 
upon  a  farm  in  Vigo  county,  where  subse- 
quently the  older  couple  died.  John  Engle 
at  the  time  of  his  marriage  bought  a  farm 
of  eighty  acres  in  Parke  county  in  the  same 
state.  The  newly  married  couple  remained 
there  but  a  short  time,  returning  to  Vigo 


county  and  purchasing  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres.  About  this  time 
Joseph  A.  Engle,  the  subject  of  our  present 
sketch,  was  born.  Later  ninety-six  acres 
adjoining  land  was  added  to  the  family 
property.  Work  upon  the  farm  went  on 
steadily  with  good  results,  and  it  became 
the  permanent  family  residence.  Here  his 
father's  death  occurred  in  1863,  and  his 
mother's  the  following  year.  At  the  time 
of  his  father's  death  he  was  in  the  army, 
but  was  home  on  wounded  furlough  when 
his  mother's  death  took  place.  His  parents 
are  buried  in  Sulphur  Springs  Meeting- 
house cemetery,  which  is  but  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  the  farm  where  they  died.  Jo- 
seph worked  manfully  on  the  farm  in  early 
life  and  was  of  much  assistance  to  his  par- 
ents. In  his  youth  the  homestead  was  a  log- 
cabin  and  the  land  was  in  a  very  raw  state. 
He  helped  materially  to  change  the  existing 
condition  of  affairs. 

His  mother  was  born  on  the  loth  of  Jan- 
uary, 1812,  and  belonged  to  an  old  Indiana 
family.  Up  to  the  time  of  her  marriage  she 
lived  with  her  parents  on  a  farm  on  the 
banks  of  Deer  creek  in  Perry  county.  Her 
father's  death  preceded  her  mother's  by 
several  years.  During  her  married  life  she 
reared  ten  children,  the  oldest  of  which  was 
Joseph. 

In  his  sixteenth  year  Joseph  A.  Engle 
was  apprenticed  to  the  blacksmith  trade  in 
Terre  Haute.  At  the  end  of  his  term  he 
opened  shop  for  himself,  where  he  contin- 
ued to  work  and  prosper  until  the  outbreak 
of  the  Civil  war.  His  business  as  a  black- 


342 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


smith  necessitated  the  use  of  three  furnaces 
and  the  help  of  several  skilled  assistants. 
Plows  were  manufactured  in  his  establish- 
ment and  numerous  wagons  and  buggies 
were  quipped.  At  this  period  of  his  life  his 
marriage  with  Rhoda  C.  Howell  took  place 
in  February,  1851.  His  wife  was  born  in 
the  state.  Her  father  died  when  she  was 
quite  young;  her  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Gookins,  survived  him  for  sev- 
eral years. 

His  marriage  resulted  in  a  family  of  five 
children — three  boys  and  two  girls.  Four 
grew  to  maturity,  one  child  dying  at  the 
age  of  two  years,  while  its  father  was 
away  on  active  military  service.  His  wife 
closed  a  happy  life  at  the  age  of  sixty-six 
on  June  n,  1897.  She  is  buried  at  Sod- 
dom  cemetery.  Her  children's  names  are: 
Olive,  John  H.,  Samuel  A.,  William  and 
Mary,  who  died  in  infancy,  as  above  record- 
ed. 

Joseph  A.  Engle  in  July,  1862,  joined 
Company  B,  of  the  Eighty-fifth  Regiment 
Indiana  Volunteers,  under  Col.  John  P. 
Beard,  in  the  western  division  of  the  army 
commanded  by  Sherman.  His  company 
moved  to  the  front  via  Indianapolis,  Cin- 
cinnati and  Covington,  his  company  first 
engaging  the  enemy  at  Thompson  Station. 
Being  unwell  at  this  crucial  period  he  did 
not  participate,  but  his  brother,  who  was 
also  on  the  ground  fought  in  the  engage- 
ment. He  was  a  flag  bearer  to  the  company 
and  was  captured,  being  immediately  shipped 
to  Libby  prison,  from  which  place  he  was 
later  discharged  on  account  of  chronic  sick- 


ness. Joseph's  indisposition,  however,  was 
only  temporary.  He  was  destined  to  go 
through  the  thick  of  the  struggle.  He  par- 
ticipated in  nine  of  the  fierce  engagements 
which  took  place  in  the  vicinity  of  Georgia. 
He  fought  at  Buzzard's  Roost,  Georgia, 
May  8,  1864;  at  Burned  Church  on  May  26, 
at  Calfsville,  May  igth  to  the  22d;  Gulp's 
House,  June  22d;  Dallas,  also  known  as 
Burnt  Hickory,  May  25th  to  June  5th ;  Dai- 
ton,  May  9th  and  August  I4th  to  i6th  and 
October  I3th;  Lost  Mountain,  June  Qth  to 
30th;  near  Dalton,  January  21,  1864;  New 
Hope  Church,  May  25th  to  June  5th ;  Battle 
of  Resaca,  May  I3th  to  i6th;  Peach  Tree 
Creek,  July  2Oth.  In  this  last  encounter 
he  received  a  serious  wound,  a  ball  striking 
him  on  the  head.  After  he  had  lain  uncon- 
scious on  the  field  for  half  an  hour  he  was 
found  and  taken  to  a  hospital.  From  there 
he  was  shortly  afterwards  invalided  home, 
where  he  remained.  He  received  his  dis- 
charge at  Indianapolis  during  the  latter 
part  of  1864. 

On  recovering  from  his  wound  and  the 
wear  and  tear  of  the  terrible  conflict,  he 
moved  with  his  family  to  Richland  county, 
where  he  had  some  time  before  acquired 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  At  the  end 
of  seventeen  years  of  a  peaceable  farm  life, 
he  moved  to  Olney,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  grocery  business  for  a  few  years,  when 
he  once  more  moved  to  Claremont  town- 
ship, where  his  wife  died  in  1897.  Shortly 
afterwards  he  again  sold  his  farm  and 
moved  into  Claremont,  where  he  purchased 
property.  Here  a  second  marriage  took 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


343 


place  on  January  18,  1898,  when  he  es- 
poused Laura  Stevens,  daughter  of  Edward 
and  Melissa  ( Shepherd)  Stevens,  natives  of 
Illinois.  She  was  born  in  Lawrence  coun- 
ty, February  7,  1860.  Her  father  was  a 
Civil  war  veteran.  Her  mother  still  lives 
in  Lawrence  county  with  a  young  daughter. 
Her  mother  was  born  in  1835,  an<^  ner 
father  in  1836.  On  the  mother's  side  the 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  Engle  was  the  first 
white  child  born  in  Lawrence  county.  In 
after  life  this  relative  took  an  active  part 
in  the  Black  Hawk  war. 

Joseph  A.  Engle's  second  matrimonial 
venture  has  proved  to  be  as  much  a  success 
as  his  first.  He  has  been  blessed  with  two 
more  children,  Joseph  L.,  and  Mary  Jo- 
sephine, aged  nine  and  six  years  respective- 
ly. 

In  early  life  the  subject  of  our  sketch  at- 
tended about  three  terms  in  the  old  sub- 
scription schools  in  Parke  county,  and  after- 
wards attended  for  an  equal  period  the 
schools  at  Sulphur  Springs,  Indiana.  The 
old  time  elementary  speller  and  Ray's  arith- 
metic were  then  used ;  blackboards  were  un- 
known; plain  rough  planks,  propped  with 
stout  wooden  "pins,"  were  used  as  seats, 
and  the  high  desks  ranged  along  the  sides 
of  the  room  for  the  pupils  to  write  upon. 

Joseph  A.  Engle's  mind  is  still  as  vig- 
orous as  ever,  his  health  also,  though  not 
as  robust  as  formerly,  is  still  good.  His 
public  life  has  been  a  most  popular  one  and 
he  well  maintains  his  place  as  Claremont's 
premier  citizen.  He  is  well  and  favorably 
known  in  fraternal  and  social  circles.  He 


was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Or- 
der of  United  Workmen,  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Grand  Army  Post  at  Olney,  Illinois. 
Joseph  A.  Engle's  public  life  began  as  a 
Ward  Supervisor  in  the  Third  ward  at  Ol- 
ney, serving  in  that  capacity  for  four  years. 
The  esteem  in  which  he  is  regarded  by  his 
fellow  citizens  may  be  determined  from  the 
fact  that  he  is  now  serving  a  third  term  as 
Mayor  of  Claremont.  In  politics  he  has 
been  an  active  Republican  from  the  days  of 
the  Civil  war,  and  is  a  vigilant  party 
worker.  The  first  time  he  cast  his  vote  at 
a  Presidential  election  it  went  to  Henry 
Clay,  who  was  then  running  in  the  old 
regime  as  a  Whig  candidate.  He  and  his 
wife  are  both  active  and  devoted  members  of 
the  Christian  church.  They  are  diligent 
church  workers. 


DAVID  M.  HESTER. 

Among  the  men  of  Marion  county  who 
have  appreciated  present  day  opportunities 
and  have  profited  by  his  ingenuity  and  per- 
sistency in  the  business  world  as  a  result  of 
the  favorable  conditions  existing  in  the 
great  commonwealth  of  Illinois,  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  David  M.  Hester,  who 
was  born  in  Centralia  township,  this  county, 
August  16,  1841,  the  son  of  Milton  P.  Hes- 
ter, of  Clark  County,  Indiana,  who  married 
Christina  Copple  in  1840  in  Centralia  town- 
ship. Matthias  Hester,  the  subject's  grand- 
father, was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  and 


344 


ISKHiKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


came  with  his  parents  to  America.  He  mar- 
ried a  Susannah  Huckleberry.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  he  and  his  wife  lived  and  died 
in  Clark  county,  Indiana.  They  were  the 
parents  of  twelve  children.  Grandfather 
David  Copple  lived  near  Walnut  Hill,  Illi- 
nois, on  a  farm.  The  father  of  the  subject 
came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1839 
when  he  was  still  single  and  settled  near 
Centralia  on  a  farm,  remaining  here  until 
his  death  in  1905.  His  first  wife  died  in 
1855  and  he  was  again  married,  his  second 
wife  being  Martha  O.  Johnson,  of  near  Mt. 
Vernon.  She  died  in  1890.  He  was  noted 
as  a  great  stock  raiser.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Republican,  and  was  active  in  church 
work.  He  was  also  a  promoter  of  the  gen- 
eral good  of  the  public.  There  were  eight 
children  born  to  him  by  his  first  union, 
namely:  David  M.,  our  subject;  Julia,  de- 
ceased, who  married  Mark  Young,  who 
lived  in  Salem  township;  William  A.  is  liv- 
ing on  a  farm  near  Mt.  Vernon;  John  C. 
is  a  farmer  near  Jefferson,  Kansas;  Sarah 
E.  married  A.  H.  Young,  of  Centralia; 
Isaac  is  single  and  living  on  a  farm  in 
Centralia  township ;  Samuel  M.  is  living  on 
a  farm  in  Clinton  county,  Illinois;  Mary  is 
single  and  living  on  the  old  place.  Four 
children  were  born  to  Milton  P.  Hester  by 
his  second  wife,  namely :  Ella  is  single  and 
living  in  Centralia ;  Albertus  V.  is  farming 
near  Dallas,  Texas;  Carrie  married  Mark 
Anthony,  who  is  a  lumber  dealer  in  Streator, 
this  state;  Lillian,  the  fourth  child,  is  the 
wife  of  George  Cams,  a  locomotive  engi- 
neer, living  in  Centralia. 


As  already  intimated  the  subject's  father 
located  on  a  farm  which  he  secured  from 
the  government  near  Walnut  Hill,  Marion 
county,  in  1839,  securing  from  five  hundred 
to  eight  hundred  acres.  Our  subject  lived 
at  home  attending  the  common  schools  in 
the  winter  months  until  he  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  He  then  went  to  Kansas  and 
located  in  the  eastern  part  of  that  state, 
where  he  remained  a  short  time.  When  the 
call  for  troops  was  issued  to  put  down  the 
rebellion  he  was  one  of  the  patriotic  sons  of 
the  North  who  responded,  having  enlisted  in 
November,  1861,  in  Company  H,  Ninth 
Kansas  Cavalry,  under  General  Blunt,  re- 
maining in  this  branch  of  the  service  for  two 
years.  He  was  in  many  battles  and  skir- 
mishes in  Arkansas  and  Missouri,  being 
wounded  in  the  left  arm  and  shoulder  at 
Cain  Hill.  He  was  laid  up  at  the  camp 
hospital  for  some  time  and  came  home  on  a 
furlough,  but  returned  to  the  service,  re- 
maining three  years  and  three  months,  hav- 
ing re-joined  his  regiment  at  Duvalls  Bluffs, 
Arkansas.  He  served  in  such  a  gallant  man- 
ner that  he  became  first  lieutenant.  After 
the  war  Mr.  Hester  returned  to  Kansas  and 
resumed  fanning  for  one  year  then  he  came 
back  to  Centralia.  He  had  a  farm  in  Kan- 
sas consisting  of  eighty  acres. 

Our  subject  married  Sarah  A.  Young, 
of  Salem  township,  in  1867.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Matthew  and  Sarah  (Ware) 
Young.  Nine  children  have  been  born  to 
the  subject  and  wife,  four  of  whom  are  de- 
ceased. Their  names  are:  Ella,  who  mar- 
ried J.  P.  Rogers,  of  Salem  township;  Rose, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


345 


who  married  William  Gaines,  of  Stevenson 
township;  Mathew  married  Pearl  Hopkins 
and  is  living  in  Salem  township ;  William  is 
living  on  a  farm,  having  married  Effie  Mc- 
Coy; Daisy  is  living  at  home.  These  chil- 
dren received  good  educations  at  the  home 
schools.  Mr.  Hester  is  considered  one  of 
the  best  farmers  in  his  community,  having 
made  all  the  improvements  on  the  excellent 
farm  which  he  has  owned  for  two  score 
years.  He  successfully  carries  on  general 
farming  and  raises  some  excellent  stock  of 
all  kinds.  He  has  about  five  hundred  acres 
of  excellent  land  all  in  Salem  township.  He 
is  a  loyal  Republican,  but  has  held  no  offices, 
being  content  to  lend  his  influence  in  placing 
the  best  men  available  in  the  local  offices, 
but  prefers  to  manage  his  business  affairs 
and  keep  out  of  politics  as  much  as  possible. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  Chandler  Post,  at  Salem. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  attend  the  Christian 
church.  They  are  both  pleasant  people  and 
they  have  a  comfortable  home. 


JUDGE  ALBERT  M.  ROSE. 

A  member  of  one  of  the  honored  pioneer 
families  of  Clay  county,  the  name  Rose  has 
long  been  closely  associated  with  the  history 
of  this  section  of  the  state,  and  the  subject 
of  this  review,  like  his  father,  is  numbered 
among  the  worthy  citizens  of  this  locality. 
In  business  he  has  always  been  known  to  be 
straightforward  and  reliable,  is  patriotic  in 


citizenship,  and  his  social  relations  ever 
wholesome.  He  is  esteemed  for  these  com- 
mendable traits  of  character  together  with 
his  cordial  disposition  and  genuine  worth, 
but  his  name  stands  out  more  prominently 
in  connection  with  the  bench  and  bar  of 
Southern  Illinois,  where  he  has  long  been  a 
prominent  figure. 

Albert  M.  Rose,  Judge  of  the  Fourth  Ju- 
dicial Circuit,  was  born  in  Bible  Grove 
township,  Clay  county,  September  26,  1862, 
the  son  of  Drury  Rose,  a  native  of  Grayson 
county,  Kentucky,  who  came  to  Illinois  in 
1856,  settling  first  in  Edwards  county,  then 
in  a  short  time  removed  to  Clay  county.  By 
trade  a  carpenter,  but  he  always  took  an 
interest  in  local  public  affairs  and  very  ably 
served  his  community  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  a  period  of  sixteen  years.  He 
moved  from  Bible  Grove  township  to  Clay 
City  in  1891,  where  he  lived  until  his  death 
in  1897,  closing  a  busy  and  useful  career, 
mourned  by  a  host  of  people  to  whom  he 
was  known  as  a  kindly  and  honorable  man. 
the  paternal  grandfather  of  the  subject 
was  also  a  native  of  Kentucky,  who  came 
to  Illinois  when  a  young  man,  settling  in 
Clay  county  among  the  pioneer  element, 
where  he  played  well  his  part  in  the  early 
struggles  of  the  locality  and  established  a 
good  home  amid  primitive  conditions.  The 
mother  of  Judge  Rose  was  known  in  her 
maidenhood  as  Caroline  Ackison.  whose 
people  were  from  Pennsylvania.  She  was 
born  in  Illinois,  spent  her  life  here  and 
passed  to  her  rest  in  1905,  remembered  by 
a  wide  circle  of  friends  as  a  woman  of  many 


346 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


beautiful  attributes  of  character.  To  Mr. 
and  Mrs..  Drury  Rose  the  following  chil- 
dren were  born :  Mary  Jane,  wife  of  Henry 
Crum,  of  Bible  Grove  township;  Albert  M., 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Rosa,  wife  of 
George  Stang,  of  Watertown,  Illinois; 
Ophelia,  wife  of  Frederick  Lyons,  of  Water- 
town,  Illinois;  Stephen  H.,  also  living  in 
Watertown,  where  resides  the  next  child, 
Addie,  the  wife  of  William  Ausbrook;  La- 
vina,  Althea,  wife  of  Godfrey  Peterson. 
The  ninth  and  tenth  children  are  deceased. 
Thomas  B.,  died  in  the  Philippine  Islands, 
while  a  soldier  in  the  regular  United  States 
army  in  1904.  George  died  in  infancy. 

Judge  Rose  spent  his  boyhood  days  on 
the  farm,  where  he  remained  until  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  assisting  with  the  work 
about  the  place  and  storing  up  the  qualities 
of  a  sturdy  manhood,  successfully  managing 
the  farm  while  his  father,  who  was  a  car- 
penter, as  already  intimated,  worked  at  his 
trade.  Not  satisfied  with  a  common 
schooling  and  actuated  by  a  desire  to  fol- 
low the  legal  profession,  Albert  M.  Rose 
entered  Vincennes  University  from  which 
institution  he  graduated  in  1888,  having 
made  very  creditable  grades  and  estab- 
lished an  excellent  record  for  scholarship. 
After  leaving  college  Mr.  Rose  turned  his 
attention  to  teaching  which  he  followed 
with  much  success  until  1891,  winning  the 
hearty  approbation  of  both  pupils  and  pa- 
trons, studying  law  in  the  meantime,  first 
under  Barnes  &  Ramsey,  attorneys  of 
Louisville,  in  1888,  making  rapid  progress. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  August,  1890, 
at  Mount  Vernon,  and  began  practice  in  the 


spring  of  1891  in  Louisville,  where  he  has 
been  practicing  continuously  ever  since,  his 
success  having  gradually  increased  until  he 
now  has  a  liberal  patronage  and  has  be- 
come one  of  the  leading  attorneys  in  the 
southern  part  of  -the  state. 

The  local  leaders  of  the  Democratic 
party  early  noted  his  talents  and  general 
favor  with  the  public  and  sought  him  for 
office,  first  serving  as  Trustee  of  Louisville 
for  a  period  of  six  years,  during  which 
time  he  assisted  in  securing  the  installation 
of  electric  lights  and  water  works,  also  se- 
cured sidewalks  and  in  many  ways  rendered 
lasting  good  to  the  town.  In  November, 
1906,  Mr.  Rose  was  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy 
in  the  Fourth  Judicial  circuit,  the  term  ex- 
piring in  June,  1909.  He  has  so  ably  and 
faithfully  performed  the  duties  of  this  re- 
sponsible position,  that  he  is  regarded  by  all 
concerned  as  one  of  the  best  jurists  in  the 
district,  his  decisions  showing  a  trained  and 
acute  legal  mind  and  a  desire  to  be  fair  and 
unbiased  in  all  cases,  weighing  carefully  in 
the  judicial  balance  all  details  of  whatever 
case  he  has  in  hand,  feeling  the  weight  of 
his  responsibility  and  ever  desiring  to  dis- 
charge his'  duties  in  a  manner  that  meets 
the  approval  of  his  constituents. 

The  domestic  life  of  Judge  Rose  began 
December  28,  1892,  when  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Lulu  Branson,  of  Wayne 
City,  Illinois,  the  talented  daughter  of  Dr. 
J.  M.  Branson,  a  well  known  physician  of 
that  place.  To  this  union  one  son,  Robley 
Branson  Rose,  now  a  bright  lad  of  fourteen 
years,  has  been  born. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  the  judge  is  a 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


347 


member  of  the  Masonic  Brotherhood,  also 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  in  politics  he  affiliates  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  as  intimated  in  a  preceding 
paragraph.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rose  are  faith- 
ful members  of  the  Christian  church. 

The  law  office  of  our  subject  is  always 
a  busy  place  where  numerous  clients  and 
friends  of  the  judge  gather,  and  it  is 
equipped  with  one  of  the  most  extensive  law 
libraries  to  be  found  in  this  locality.  When 
he  first  began  practice,  he  formed  partner- 
ship with  John  A.  Barnes  in  1891,  the  firm 
being  known  as  Barnes  &  Rose,  but  the  for- 
mer left  the  firm  in  1896,  and  the  subject 
has  had  different  partners  since  then.  Yet 
in  the  prime  of  vigorous  manhood  and  hav- 
ing accomplished  so  much  that  merits  the 
praise  of  his  fellow  men  and  gained  a  firm 
standing  in  the  affections  of  the  people  of 
this  vicinity,  the  future  to  such  a  man  as 
Judge  Rose  must  necessarily  be  replete  with 
honor  and  success. 


HON.  THOMAS  E.  MERRITT. 

During  the  dark  days  of  the  Revolution, 
the  colonies  had  no  defender  more  loyal 
than  Ebenezer  Merritt,  our  subject's  grand- 
father, who  served  with  valor  until  captured 
by  the  British  when  he  was  placed  in  an  old 
hulk  of  a  ship  in  New  York  harbor.  In 
after  years  he  was  wont  to  say  that  the 
sweetest  morsel  of  food  he  ever  tasted  was 
a  rotten  Irish  potato,  which  he  found  in  his 
prison. 


The  father  of  our  subject,  Hon.  John  W. 
Merritt,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Albany, 
New  York,  July  4,  1806,  and  in  his  early 
youth  evinced  a  very  decided  literary  taste, 
contributing  articles  to  many  of  the  most 
prominent  magazines  of  that  day.  Entering 
the  practice  of  law,  he  built  up  a  lucrative 
business  in  that  line  in  connection  with  J. 
J.  Brady.  Meantime  he  also  invested  in 
real  estate  and  so  fortunate  was  he  in  his 
speculations  that  he  became  independent  at 
a  comparatively  early  period  of  life.  How- 
ever, the  crisis  of  1837  destroyed  the  value 
of  his  investments  and  made  him  a  poor 
man  once  more.  Deciding  to  seek  a  home 
in  the  West,  Mr.  Merritt  came  to  Illinois 
in  1840,  and  settling  in  St.  Clair  county  es- 
tablished The  Belleville  Advocate,  which  he 
successfully  conducted  from  the  year  1848 
until  1851.  Meantime  he  also  superin- 
tended the  management  of  his  farm  and  con- 
tributed to  eastern  magazines  and  New  York 
papers.  He  also  wrote  and  published  a 
novel  called  "Shubal  Darton."  Coming  to 
Salem  in  1851,  he  established  The  Advo- 
cate, of  which  he  was  proprietor  and  editor 
for  many  years. 

In  1 86 1  he  was  elected  Assistant  Secre- 
tary of  the  Constitutional  Convention  and 
in  the  following  year  became  a  member  of 
the  Legislature. 

The  State  Register  at  Springfield  having 
lost  its  prestige,  Mr.  Merritt  with  his  son, 
Edward  L.,  assumed  editorial  charge  of  the 
paper  in  January,  1865,  and  attempted  to 
place  it  upon  a  substantial  footing.  The 
enterprise  though  not  prudent  proved  a  sue- 


348 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


cess.  For  some  years  Mr.  Merritt  conducted 
its  editorial  columns  with  great  ability  and 
during  a  portion  of  that  time  supplied  The 
St.  Louis  Republican  with  its  Springfield 
correspondence.  As  an  editor  he  justly  at- 
tained celebrity  throughout  the  country  and 
was  one  of  the  most  successful  journalists 
of  the  day.  His  county  may  well  feel  proud 
of  his  life  and  labors.  He  was  modest,  un- 
assuming, never  ambitious  for  worldly  dis- 
tinction and  preferring  the  success  of  his 
friends  to  his  own.  In  politics  he  was  an 
old-school  Democrat  and  was  one  of  the 
most  influential  workers  in  his  party 
throughout  the  state.  He  was  devoted  to 
the  doctrines  of  the  Episcopal  church  and 
was  a  faithful  member  of  that  denomination. 
In  disposition  mild,  he  never  used  profanity 
and  was  also  a  man  of  temperate  habits, 
never  tasting  intoxicating  liquor  through- 
out his  life.  He  married  in  Rochester,  New 
York,  in  August,  1827,  Julia  A.  De  Forrest, 
who  was  born  in  Oswego,  New  York,  and 
there  received  a  good  education.  Ten  chil- 
dren blessed  this  union,  of  whom  five  are 
now  living. 

During  his  residence  in  New  York,  John 
W.  Merritt  served  as  Alderman  and  aided 
in  formulating  a  new  plat  of  the  Fifth  Ward, 
which  he  represented  in  the  Council.  In 
1860  he  was  a  member  of  the  state  dele- 
gation to  the  National  Democratic  Conven- 
tion at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  later 
was  present  at  the  recall  of  that  convention 
in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  where  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency. 
He  was  president  of  the  first  Press  Associa- 


tion held  in  the  state  of  Illinois,  and  was 
at  the  time  of  his  demise  the  oldest  Odd 
Fellow  in  Salem.  While  uniformly  success- 
ful in  business  enterprises,  he  nevertheless 
met  with  reverses  and  at  one  time  lost  by 
fire  two  valuable  blocks  of  buildings  in 
Brooklyn.  By  his  long  and  virtuous  life  he 
left  a  name  to  which  his  descendants  may 
point  with  pride  and  when,  November  16, 
1878,  he  departed  this  life,  he  left  many 
warm  friends  to  mourn  their  loss.  The  fu- 
neral services  were  largely  attended  by  the 
citizens  of  Salem  and  Marion  county,  as 
well  as  many  friends  from  a  distance. 

Thomas  E.  Merritt,  our  subject,  was 
born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  April  22, 
1832.  He  was  brought  in  childhood  to 
Illinois  and  received  a  good  education  in 
the  schools  of  Belleville.  Before  attaining 
his  majority  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  where  he 
learned  the  trade  of  carriage  and  omnibus 
painting  in  the  shops  of  Theodore  Salom, 
serving  a  three  years'  apprenticeship  at  the 
trade.  Afterward  he  followed  the  occupa- 
tion for  four  years  in  St.  Louis.  He  then 
came  to  Salem  and  in  1859  began  to  read 
law  with  P.  P.  Hamilton,  an  attorney  of  this 
place,  now  deceased.  In  1862  he  was  ex- 
amined before  the  Supreme  Court  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  after  which  he  opened 
an  office  in  Salem  and  has  since  made  this 
city  his  home.  Always  a  stanch  Democrat, 
reared  in  the  faith  of  that  party,  Mr.  Merritt 
early  became  an  active  worker  in  its  ranks. 
In  1860  in  Romine  township,  Marion 
county,  he  made  his  first  political  speech  and 
since  then  has  participated  in  every  cam- 


HIGHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


349 


paign.  Until  1875  he  stumped  every  town- 
ship in  the  county  each  campaign  year. 

The  first  National  Democratic  Conven- 
tion that  he  attended  was  held  in  St.  Louis 
when  S.  J.  Tilden  was  nominated  President 
in  1876.  Later,  he  was  sent  as  a  delegate 
for  the  state-at-large  to  the  convention  that 
nominated  Gen.  W.  S.  Hancock,  in  1880, 
and  the  night  before  the  convention  met  he 
made  a  speech  in  favor  of  Col.  W.  R.  Morri- 
son on  the  steps  of  the  Burnet  House,  Cin- 
cinnati. At  the  next  national  convention  he 
was  alternate-at-large,  and  as  Col.  W.  R. 
Morrison,  who  was  delegate-at-large,  was 
appointed  on  the  Committee  on  Resolutions, 
and  obliged  to  give  his  entire  time  to  the 
work  of  that  body,  Mr.  Merritt  took  his 
place  in  the  convention.  It  was  this  assem- 
bly that  nominated  Grover  Cleveland  at  the 
time  of  his  first  term.  Our  subject  was  a 
delegate  from  the  Nineteenth  Congressional 
District  to  the  convention  at  St.  Louis  that 
nominated  President  Cleveland  the  second 
term.  In  1892,  he  attended  as  a  citizen  the 
convention  at  Chicago  which  nominated 
Cleveland  the  last  time.  During  the  three 
campaigns  in  which  that  famous  man  was 
the  presidential  candidate,  our  subject  made 
fifty-six  speeches  in  Illinois,  and  at  the  time 
believed  that  his  party  promised  more  than 
it  could  fulfill. 

In  1868  Mr.  Merritt  was  elected  to  the 
State  Legislature  and  was  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  for  fourteen  con- 
secutive years.  In  addition  he  served  as 
State  Senator  for  eight  years,  from  1882  to 
1890,  thus  making  a  legislative  experience 


of  twenty-two  years.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  joint  session  which  elected  John  A.  Lo- 
gan three  times  and  defeated  him  once,  also 
the  joint  session  that  elected  Richard 
Oglesby  United  States  Senator  and  those 
that  elected  Shelby  M.  Cullom  and  John  M. 
Palmer.  In  1875,  he  was  a  leading  member 
of  the  House  when  the  city  judge  of  East 
St.  Louis  was  to  be  impeached,  and  through 
his  influence  the  measure  was  reconsidered 
and  laid  on  the  table.  During  the  same  year 
he  secured  the  passage  of  the  first  coal  mine 
bill  through  the  legislature,  which  was  the 
first  act  ever  passed  in  the  state  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  coal  miners.  Hon.  John  M.  Pal- 
mer, State  Auditor  and  Secretary  of  the 
State,  gave  to  Mr.  Merritt  the  honor  of 
passing  the  bill  assessing  the  capital  stock 
of  corporations,  and  he  was  banqueted  after- 
ward. In  1871,  he  introduced  and  secured 
the  passage  of  the  bill  compelling  railroads 
to  pay  for  burning  property  along  their 
lines,  which  has  since  been  warped  by  the 
construction  placed  on  that  act  by  the  Su- 
preme Court.  He  was  prominent  in  the  at- 
tack made  upon  state  officials  for  extrava- 
gant expenditures,  and  in  that  way  saved  to 
the  tax  payers  of  Illinois  more  than  enough 
to  pay  the  entire  expenses  of  that  General 
Assembly.  His  services  in  that  capacity 
were  so  greatly  appreciated  throughout  the 
state,  that  many  of  the  papers  advocated  his 
nomination  as  Governor  of  Illinois.  Another 
bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Merritt  was  that  of 
allowing  parties  to  sue  before  the  Justice  of 
the  Peace  for  killing  stock  along  the  rail- 
roads. The  anarchist  bill  introduced  by  him 


350 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


in  1887,  and  passed  June  i6th  of  that  year, 
was  the  cause  of  the  greatest  fight  of  his 
life.  Afterward  it  was  published  by  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Russia,  while  at  the 
meeting  of  the  United  States  National  Bar 
Association  at  Saratoga,  New  York,  the 
President  gave  one  hour  to  its  consideration 
before  that  body.  Mr.  Merritt  worked  long 
and  faithfully  upon  the  bill  which  finally 
passed,  receiving  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
votes  in  the  House. 

The  Anti-Trust  bill,  January  22,  1889, 
was  the  first  ever  introduced  in  the  state. 
This  passed  the  Judiciary  Committee  by  one 
majority, .  and  the  House  by  one  hundred 
votes,  but  was  hung  up  in  the  Senate  by 
the  two-thirds  rule.  While  a  member  of  the 
Senate,  Mr.  Merritt  introduced  a  bill  to 
compel  insurance  companies  to  pay  the  full 
value  of  the  policy  for  destruction  of  prop- 
erty. This  he  passed  twice  through  the 
Senate,  and  it  was  defeated  in  the  House. 
He  passed  it  twice  in  the  House  and  it  was 
as  many  times  defeated  in  the  Senate.  In 
1868  he  introduced  in  the  House  a  bill  se- 
curing the  investigation  of  the  proceeds  for 
the  sale  of  lands  and  other  moneys  connected 
with  Irvington  Agricultural  College.  After 
investigation,  the  State  Auditor  and  Secre- 
tary of  State  took  possession  of  the  institu- 
tion, and  from  the  wreck  saved  to  the  state 
a  large  amount  of  money. 

In  1868  Mr.  Merritt  introduced  a  resolu- 
tion calling  upon  the  Secretary  of  State  to 
account  for  the  interest  received  by  him  on 
about  three  million  dollars  of  surplus  money 
that  was  lying  idle  in  the  treasury  and  could 


be  used  only  to  pay  off  the  old  state  indebt- 
edness which  was  held  by  English  capital- 
ists in  the  shape  of  state  bonds,  this  money 
being  set  aside  to  pay  the  bonds  as  they  be- 
came due.  It  had  been  collected  from  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  as  seven  per  cent, 
of  its  gross  earnings,  and  was  invested  in 
United  States  ten  per  cent,  gold  interest- 
bearing  bonds.  The  resolution  introduced 
by  Mr.  Merritt  was  to  the  effect  that  the 
Governor  and  Attorney-General  of  Illinois 
should  look  after  the  interest  of  this  money 
and  report  their  action  to  the  next  session 
of  the  General  Assembly.  He  passed  the 
resolution  through  the  House,  but  by  a 
strong  lobby  it  was  defeated  in  the  Senate. 
In  1872  three  million  dollars'  worth  of  these 
bonds  became  due  and  were  paid  in  New 
York  in  gold,  to  the  English  bondholders, 
the  Secretary  of  State  having  to  purchase 
the  gold  in  New  York.  He  notified  Gould 
and  Fisk  that  he  would  require  so  much  gold 
on  that  day.  By  bulling  the  market,  gold 
advanced  one-third  of  one  per  cent.,  so  that 
the  three  million  dollars  paid  that  much 
premium.  The  State  Treasurer  making  by 
this  deal  the  interest  on  United  States  bonds 
that  this  money  was  invested  in,  came  out 
four  hundred  thousand  dollars  ahead,  which 
was  a  loss  to  the  people  of  the  state  by  the 
defeat  of  the  resolution  in  the  Senate. 

During  Mr.  Merritt's  entire  legislative 
experience,  covering  a  period  of  twenty-two 
years,  it  cannot  be  shown  that  he  ever  cast 
a  vote  against  the  interests  of  the  people. 
As  one  of  the  delegates  of  the  state-at-large, 
he  attended  the  conventions  at  St.  Louis  in 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


351 


July,  1892,  and  at  New  Orleans  in  Febru- 
ary, 1893,  in  reference  to  the  Nicaragua 
canal.  At  the  latter  place,  he  made  a  speech 
for  Illinois  before  the  convention.  He  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  to  locate  the  In- 
stitute for  the  Feeble  Minded  at  Quincy, 
Illinois  (now  at  Lincoln),  also  the  Asylum 
for  the  Incurable  Criminal  Insane  at  Ches- 
ter. For  ten  successive  years  he  served  as 
Alderman  of  Salem. 

From  the  above  account  it  will  be  seen 
that  Mr.  Merritt  has  been  one  of  the  most 
prominent  Democrats  in  Illinois,  and  he  still 
occupies  a  foremost  position  among  the 
leaders  of  that  party.  His  work  in  behalf 
of  the  people  of  the  state  entitles  him  to  a 
high  place  in  their  regard,  and  his  name  will 
be  deservedly  perpetuated  in  the  annals  of 
the  state  as  a  loyal,  able  and  eminent  man. 
From  the  press  of  the  country  he  has  re- 
ceived the  highest  of  commendation  for  his 
unwearied  services  in  the  interests  of  the 
people  as  well  as  for  his  great  ability. 

The  State  Register  said  of  him  that, 
"The  man  who  wields  the  keenest  satire  is 
Merritt,  of  Marion".  The  Mount  Vernon 
Free  Press  paid  him  the  following  tribute: 
"He  is  always  awake  to  the  interests  of 
southern  Illinois,  and  no  influence,  let  it 
come  from  what  source  it  may,  is  ever  able 
to  swerve  him  from  the  path  of  duty  to  his 
constituents  and  the  people  generally".  An- 
other paper  says  of  him :  "Merritt  is  a  wit, 
besides  he  is  a  good  fellow  and  everybody 
likes  him.  He  never  rises  but  he  commands 
the  attention  of  the  House.  He  is  a  Bour- 
bon of  Bourbons".  In  addition  to  his  other 


services,  previously  mentioned,  he  was  a 
member  of  various  committees  of  import- 
ance. To  him  belongs  the  honor  of  having 
nominated  both  William  R.  Morrison  and 
John  M.  Palmer  for  United  States  Senator. 
On  the  3d  of  February,  1862,  Mr.  Mer- 
ritt was  married  to  Alice  McKinney,  a  na- 
tive of  Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  and  a 
daughter  of  William  McKinney,  who  was 
killed  in  battle  in  the  Civil  war.  Four 
daughters  and  three  sons  have  blessed  this 
union,  as  follows:  Addis  D.,  Frank  F., 
Clara,  Harriet,  Lottie,  Edith  and  Harold. 
In  religious  belief  Mrs.  Merritt  is  a  devoted 
member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 


JOHN  M.  SCHULTZ. 

No  man  in  Marion  county  is  more  de- 
serving of  the  success  he  has  attained  in 
business  and  political  circles  than  John  M. 
Schultz,  not  alone  because  of  the  splendid 
results  he  has  achieved,  but  also  because  of 
the  honorable,  straightforward  business  pol- 
icy he  has  ever  followed. 

John  M.  Schultz,  Circuit  Clerk,  was  born 
in  Salem,  Illinois,  January  30,  1867.  He  is 
the  son  of  Ephraim  Schultz,  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  who  came  to  Illinois  when 
a  young  man,  first  settling  in  Alma 
township  on  a  farm.  He  moved  to 
Salem  a  short  time  before  the  Civil  war, 
and  continued  to  live  in  this  place  up  to  his 
death  about  1895.  He  was  successful 
farmer  and  business  man  and  retained  the 


352 


IMOCKAl'llICAL    AND    KK  M  I  N  ISCK.NT    HISTORY    OF 


well-wishes  of  those  who  knew  him.  David 
Schultz  was  the  subject's  grandfather,  a  na- 
tive of  Germany.  Mrs.  Becky  Frizzell,  who 
is  living  in  Foster  township,  an  aunt  of  our 
subject,  has  reached  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety  years.  She  is  a  sister  to  Ephraim 
Schultz.  The  subject's  father  was  twice 
married,  his  second  wife  being  the  mother 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  His  first  wife 
was  a  Miss  Crawford,  who  was  born  in 
Baltimore,  Maryland.  Five  children  were 
born  to  his  first  wife,  two  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing at  this  writing.  The  mother  of  the  sub- 
ject's father  was  Hannah  Hull,  who  was 
born  in  Hull,  England.  The  maiden  name 
of  the  subject's  mother  was  Kissie  Mar- 
shall, a  native  of  Tennessee,  who  came  to 
Marion  county  in  an  early  day.  She  was 
called  to  her  rest  twenty  years  ago,  in  1888. 
Eight  children  were  born  to  the  father  and 
mother  of  the  subject,  four  of  whom  are 
living,  namely:  Mrs.  Millie  Siefman,  of 
Centralia,  Illinois;  Mrs.  Charles  Martin,  of 
Davenport,  Iowa;  Elizabeth  Schultz,  who 
is  living  in  Salem;  Joseph  Schultz,  de- 
ceased ;  Christian  and  Mary  died  in  infancy. 
David  and  Samuel  Schultz,  of  Salem,  Il- 
linois, who  were  both  in  the  Twenty-first  Il- 
linois Volunteer  Infantry,  were  sons  of  a 
former  marriage,  also  John  Schultz,  who 
was  killed  when  seventeen  years  old  on  the 
battlefield  of  Resaca,  Georgia.  He  was  in 
the  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry.  William  Schultz,  an- 
other son  of  the  first  marriage  is  de- 
ceased; also  a  daughter,  Lydia,  who  mar- 
ried George  Jennings,  of  Patoka,  this  coun- 
ty, and  died  several  years  ago.  Hannah 


Belle,  another  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ephraim  Schultz,  and  sister  of  our  subject, 
who  became  the  wife  of  L.  G.  Finch,  was 
a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Salem  for 
several  years.  She  passed  to  her  rest  two 
years  ago,  in  February,  1906. 

Joseph  Schultz,  a  brother  of  the  subject's 
father,  was  captain  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Eleventh  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry.  He 
was  afterward  Sheriff  of  Marion  county, 
also  postmaster  of  Salem  and  Revenue  Col- 
lector. David  Schultz,  another  brother  of 
Ephraim  Schultz,  was  wagon  master  in  the 
One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illinois  Volun- 
teer Infantry. 

John  M.  Schultz,  our  subject,  spent  his 
boyhood  days  in  Salem,  attending  the  local 
schools  in  which  he  made  a  splendid  record, 
receiving  a  fairly  good  education. 

Mr.  Schultz  was  an  industrious  lad  and 
soon  cast  about  for  the  best  way  in  which  to 
direct  his  life  work.  He  decided  to  be  a 
mechanic.  He  is  always  a  very  busy  man, 
for  his  work  is  satisfactorily  done  and  his 
business  has  steadily  grown,  owing  to  the 
fair  treatment  he  accords  his  customers. 
Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Wood- 
men. He  is  a  loyal  Democrat,  and  was 
nominated  and  triumphantly  elected  Circuit 
Clerk  in  1908,  his  election  being  regarded 
as  a  most  fortunate  one  by  his  many  friends. 
Mr.  Schultz  has  remained  unmarried.  His 
sister,  Elizabeth,  keeps  house  for  him.  He 
is  well  known  in  Marion  county,  being  in- 
terested in  whatever  has  tended  to  promote 
the  interests  of  the  county  in  any  way.  He 
is  accurate,  persistent  and  painstaking  in 
his  business  affairs. 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


353 


H.  N.  WOODWARD. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  man  of 
courage,  self-reliance  and  of  the  utmost  in- 
tegrity of  purpose,  as  a  result  of  which  he 
has,  during  his  entire  life  stood  high  in  the 
estimation  of  his  neighbors  and  friends  and 
is  therefore  deserving  of  a  place  in  this 
book. 

H.  N.  Woodward  was  born  in  Des 
Moines  county,  Iowa,  in  1855,  the  son  of 
Abner  M.  and  Silvia  (Scogin)  Woodward. 
His  paternal  grandfather  was  born  in  New 
Jersey.  He  moved  to  Ohio  and  devoted  his 
life  to  farming.  Like  all  his  people,  he  was 
a  Quaker  in  his  religious  affiliations.  Grand- 
mother Scogin  was  born  in  Kentucky,  and 
lived  to  be  eighty-two  years  old,  rearing  a 
large  family  of  fifteen  children.  She  was 
twice  married.  Grandfather  Scrogin  was 
born  in  November  in  the  memorable  year 
in  our  country's  history — 1812. 

The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  born  in  Ohio  and  received  his  early  ed- 
ucation in  the  public  schools  there  and  after 
that  he  received  an  academic  education.  He 
left  Ohio  before  he  was  twenty-one  years 
of  age  and  went  with  his  mother  to  Iowa, 
and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Burlington, 
where  he  remained  for  some  time.  He 
later  went  South  about  the  close  of  the  war 
to  the  Polk  plantation,  for  the  purpose  of 
managing  negroes  under  the  Freemen's  Bu- 
reau, and  from  there  he  went  to  Mississippi, 
later  spending  two  years  in  Tennessee,  hav^ 
ing  spent  one  year  in  Mississippi  in  a  very 
responsible  position,  which  was  filled  to  the 
23 


entire  satisfaction  of  the  Bureau.  They 
gave  him  fine  letters  commending  his  course 
and  the  results  of  his  work  while  there. 
He  then  bought  a  farm  in  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  in  1866,  and  farmed  with  much  suc- 
cess for  a  period  of  thirteen  years.  He  then 
formed  a  partnership  with  Colonel  Morri- 
son, in  Odin,  for  carrying  on  a  grain  busi- 
ness which  partnership  continued  for  a 
period  of  eight  years,  when  he  bought  out 
Colonel  Morrison's  interests  and  Mr.  Wood- 
ward retained  his  interest  until  his  death. 

In  1886  the  Odin  Coal  Company  was  put 
in  operation,  and  Mr.  Woodward  financed 
the  corporation.  He  was  secretary  and 
later  treasurer  of  the  same  and  always  a 
director,  having  remained  such  until  his 
death  which  occurred  in  1890.  He  was  a 
loyal  Mason.  The  mother  of  the  subject  is 
living  in  1908,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 
She  is  a  fine  old  lady  with  many  beautiful 
attributes.  There  are  six  children  in  this 
family,  four  of  whom  lived  to  maturity. 

H.  N.  Woodward,  our  subject,  first  at- 
tended the  public  schools  in  Marion  county, 
but  thirsting  for  higher  learning  he  entered 
the  University  of  Illinois,  where  he  made  a 
splendid  record  for  scholarship.  After  leav- 
ing college  he  decided  to  continue  the  work 
which  he  knew  the  most  about — farming, 
and  he  followed  this  until  he  was  twenty- 
seven  years  old.  He  went  into  the  grain 
and  hay  business  by  purchasing  Colonel 
Morrison's  business.  He  was  successful  in 
this  from  the  first,  more  so,  in  fact,  than  at 
farming;  however,  every  year  he  devoted  to 
farm  work  added  to  his  competence,  for  he 


354 


I'.IUCR.U'IIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OK 


was  a  careful  and  conservative  manager.  He 
has  enlarged  his  latter  line  of  business  until 
he  now  carries  on  a  general  merchandising 
establishment.  In  1902  the  same  was  in- 
corporated since  which  time  Mr.  Woodward 
has  been  president  and  is  the  largest  stock- 
holder, being  the  active  manager,  under 
whose  able  direction  the  business  has  in- 
creased to  a  satisfactory  state  and  is  rap- 
idly growing. 

After  the  death  of  his  father,  our  subject 
was  director  and  treasurer  of  the  Odin  Coal 
Company,  which  position  he  ably  retained 
for  a  period  of  twelve  years.  He  is  at  pres- 
ent connected  with  the  Marion  County  Coal 
Company,  of  Junction  City,  a  corporation. 
Mr.  Woodward  was  a  director  in  the  same, 
but  is  not  at  present.  In  all  his  business  deal- 
ings he  has  been  regarded  by  every  one  as  a 
man  of  unusual  tact  and  shrewdness  and 
ever  fair  and  honest.  Success  seems  to  at- 
tend his  efforts  in  whatever  line  he  under- 
takes. 

Mr.  Woodward  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1883  with  Agnes  Ferguson,  daughter  of 
William  and  Eliza  (Hildreth)  Ferguson, 
natives  of  Ohio,  where  they  lived  on  a  farm. 
Five  children  have  been  born  to  the  subject 
and  wife,  named  in  order  of  birth  as  follows : 
Grace,  born  in  1884,  is  living  at  home  with 
her  parents ;  Lucile,  the  second  child,  was 
born  in  1886,  is  single  and  living  at  home; 
Nelson  was  born  in  1888,  and  is  deceased; 
having  died  in  1890;  Edwin  was  born  in 
1893,  and  is  attending  high  school  in  1908; 
Agnes,  who  was  born  in  1897,  is  also  a  pu- 
pil in  the  Odin  schools. 


Mr.  Woodward,  in  his  fraternal  relations, 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and 
the  Woodmen.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican, taking  considerable  interest  in  the  af- 
fairs of  his  party,  especially  in  reference  to 
the  local  officials.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are 
faithful  members  of  the  Methodist  church. 
The  former  takes  a  great  interest  in  educa- 
tional matters.  He  is  known  as  a  man  of 
industry  and  frugality.  He  has  a  beautiful 
home  at  Odin. 


FRED  W.  SCHILT. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of  the 
progressive  agriculturists  of  Richland, 
whose  fine  farm  ranks  with  the  best  in  this 
locality,  having  been  improved  by  Mr. 
Schilt  to  its  present  high  state  of  excellency 
by  years  of  patient  toil  and  skillful  man- 
agement. His  success  has  been  won  entire- 
ly along  lines  of  old  and  time-tried  max- 
ims, "honesty  is  the  best  policy,"  and  "there 
is  no  excellence  without  labor." 

Fred  W.  Schilt  was  born  in  the  township 
where  he  now  resides.  March  i.  1868,  the 
son  of  Christian  and  Barbara  (Schilt) 
Schilt,  natives  of  Canton  Bern,  Switzer- 
land, who  came  to  the  United  States  with 
their  parents.  John  Schilt.  the  subject's  pa- 
ternal grandfather,  also  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  bringing  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren in  1852,  and  settled  in  Claremont 
township,  Richland  county.  He  improved 
a  good  farm  on  which  he  lived  until  his 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


355 


death.  Christian  was  a  young  man  when 
the  family  came  to  this  country.  He  soon 
afterward  bought  a  farm  in  Preston  town- 
ship which  he  improved  and  he  married 
here.  He  had  a  brother  in  the  Civil  war. 
He  remained  on  his  farm  in  Preston  town- 
ship until  his  death.  May  12,  1889,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-two  years.  His  widow  is  still 
living  on  the  old  homestead.  Of  nine  chil- 
dren born  to  them,  six  are  living  in  1908, 
our  subject  having  been  the  seventh  in  or- 
der of  birth. 

Fred  W.  Schilt  was  reared  on  a  farm  in 
Preston  township  and  received  a  common 
school  education,  having  remained  at  home 
assisting  with  the  work  on  the  place  until 
he  was  twenty-one  years  old.  He  then 
bought  a  farm  of  ninety  acres  in  German 
township,  where  he  soon  located  and  where 
he  lived  and  prospered  for  twelve  years, 
during  which  time  he  bought  forty-five 
acres  more.  In  the  fall  of  1902  he  became 
a  candidate  for  County  Treasurer  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  and  was  subsequently 
elected.  This  resulted  in  his  removal  to 
Olney,  where  he  carried  on  the  duties  of 
this  office  in  a  manner  that  reflects  much 
credit  on  his  native  ability  and  careful  busi- 
ness methods.  When  his  term  of  four  years 
expired  his  successor  found  the  affairs  of 
this  office  in  a  most  excellent  shape.  He 
had  previously  served  in  a  praiseworthy 
manner  as  Supervisor  for  two  terms  of  two 
years  each,  having  been  chairman  of  the 
County  Board  for  one  term.  After  retiring 
from  the  Treasurer's  office  he  resided  in  Ol- 
ney for  one  year,  and  in  1907  located  on 


his  present  fine  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  in  Preston  township,  about 
four  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Olney, 
which  he  had  recently  bought.  It  is  one  of 
the  best  farms  in  the  township,  well  fenced, 
well  drained,  and  on  it  stand  a  commodious 
dwelling  and  convenient  outbuildings,  in- 
cluding a  large  barn,  recently  erected.  Gen- 
eral farming  is  carried  on  and  much  atten- 
tention  is  given  to  stock  raising,  especially 
cattle  and  hogs,  the  latter  of  the  Berkshire 
breed,  of  which  Mr.  Schilt  always  has  some 
fine  specimens  to  show.  He  has  an  orchard 
of  sixteen  acres  of  carefully  selected  trees, 
which  bear  a  good  quality  of  fruit. 

Mr.  Schilt  was  united  in  marriage  Au- 
gust 25,  1889,  to  Anna  Jorris,  a  native  of 
Poland,  Indiana,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Al- 
etta  (Mermon)  Jorris,  natives  of  Germany, 
having  been  born  near  the  Rhine  river,  who 
came  to  the  United  States  when  young, 
married  here  and  settled  in  Wisconsin,  later 
lived  in  Indiana  and  Illinois.  Mrs.  Schilt's 
father  died  in  Poland,  Indiana,  October  25, 
1891,  and  his  wife  died  in  1898. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schilt  are  the  parents  of 
four  children,  namely:  Verna  May,  Chris- 
tian Franklin  Jorris ;  Esther  Magdalena  and 
Paul  Frederick  Foster. 

The  subject  in  his  fraternal  relations  is 
a  member  of  the  Moodern  Woodmen  of 
America  at  Dundas.  He  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  German  Reformed  church 
in  Preston  township,  the  former  being  a 
deacon  in  the  same,  having  served  several 
years  as  such.  In  manner  Mr.  Schilt  is 
cordial,  in  disposition,  genial :  in  tempera- 


356 


H10CRAIMIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ment,  kindly,  and  his  many  sterling  traits 
have  won  for  him  the  warm  friendship  of 
those  with  whom  he  has  been  brought  into 
contact. 


JOHN  SEILER. 

Switzerland  is  a  small  country,  but  no 
foreign  nation  has  sent  to  the  United  States 
a  larger  number  of  law-abiding  and  indus- 
drious  citizens  in  proportion  to  its  size. 
They  are  almost  without  exception,  pro- 
gressive, honorable,  thrifty  and  among  our 
best  citizens.  The  subject  of  this  sketch, 
one  of  Preston  township's  substantial  farm- 
ers, is  a  worthy  representative  of  this  type, 
having  spent  many  years  in  Richland  coun- 
ty, during  which  he  has  not  only  benefited 
himself,  but  also  those  with  whom  he  has 
come  in  contact. 

John  Seiler  was  born  in  Bern,  Switzer- 
land, September  12,  1833,  the  son  of  Wil- 
liam and  Anna  Seiler,  also  natives  of 
Switzerland,  where  they  were  reared  and 
where  they  married.  They  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  in  1851,  crossing  the  At- 
lantic in  an  old  sailing  vessel,  encountering 
a  severe  storm  on  the  way  which  delayed 
them  and  they  were  seven  weeks  making 
the  voyage.  The  lives  of  all  on  board  were 
imperiled,  the  waves  having  washed  over 
the  vessel,  and  the  baggage  was  thrown 
from  one  side  to  the  other  of  the  ship  and 
members  of  the  Seiler  family  narrowly  es- 
caped being  injured  by  coming  in  contact 
with  the  baggage,  etc.  Many  times  the 


passengers  thought  that  it  was  impossible 
to  save  the  ship,  but  it  finally  arrived  at 
New  Orleans  on  Christmas  day,  1851.  The 
Seilers  soon  afterward  took  a  boat  up  the 
Mississippi  and  Wabash  rivers  to  Vin- 
cennes,  Indiana.  The  first  week  in  Jan- 
uary they  secured  a  four  horse  team  to  car- 
ry their  effects  to  Richland  county,  where 
William  Seiler  bought  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  land  in  Preston  township, 
on  which  the  family  located.  The  trip  from 
Vincennes  was  a  very  difficult  one,  the 
roads  being  poor  and  very  muddy.  The 
older  members  of  the  family  walked  to  their 
destination.  It  cost  one  thousand  dollars 
to  bring  the  family  to  this  country  under 
the  most  trying  conditions  and  poor  con- 
veniences in  transportation.  The  land  on 
which  the  Seilers  located  was  prairie,  a  few 
acres  of  which  had  been  broken,  and  on  it 
stood  a  log  house  and  stable.  These  im- 
provements had  been  made  by  the  predeces- 
sor of  Mr.  Seiler,  the  former  having  lived 
on  it  two  years.  The  new  comers  at  ince 
began  work  on  the  place  and  improved  it, 
building  a  comfortable  home  and  making  a 
good  living.  William  Seiler  did  not  live- 
long after  coming  to  the  United  States, 
having  died  on  his  farm  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
seven  years.  His  wife  survived  until  she 
reached  the  age  of  seventy.  They  were  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  all  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity,  John  being  the  fourth  in 
order  of  birth.  One  son,  Peter  Seiler, 
served  in  the  Civil  war  a  short  time  before 
the  close,  and  continued  in  the  regular 
army  for  three  years. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


357 


John  -Seiler,  our  subject,  was  reared  in 
his  native  land,  in  which  he  remained  un- 
til he  was  nineteen  years  old  and  there  re- 
ceived a  good  common  school  education. 
He  came  to  the  United  States  with  his  par- 
ents and  continued  to  reside  on  the  home- 
stead after  his  father's  death  for  several 
years.  In  the  meantime  he  began  buying 
land,  at  first  securing  fifteen  acres  which  is 
a  part  of  the  present  farm.  He  later  add- 
ed to  the  same  and  built  a  good  frame 
house  on  the  place  on  which  he  located  in 
1861.  Here  he  has  continued  to  live  ever 
since,  having  prospered  from  the  first  as  a 
result  of  his  good  management.  At  one 
time  he  owned  five  hundred  acres  in  Rich- 
land  and  Jasper  counties,  but  in  late  years 
he  has  sold  much  of  it  to  his  children,  now 
owning  two  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  His 
is  one  of  the  model  farms  of  Richland 
county.  He  has  been  enabled  to  live  well 
all  these  years  and  to  give  his  children  a 
good  start  in  life.  He  is  now  living  in  re- 
tirement from  the  active  working  of  his 
lands. 

Mr.  Seiler  was  united  in  marriage  No- 
vember 22,  1855,  to  Mary  Zerbe,  a  native 
of  Stark  county,  Ohio,  the  daughter  of 
Amos  and  Susanna  (Klingman)  Zerbe,  the 
former  a  native  of  Maine,  and  the  latter  of 
Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania.  Her  fa- 
ther came  to  Ohio  when  a  small  boy  and 
was  reared  in  Stark  county,  where  he  was 
married  and  in  1848  he  came  to  Richland 
county,  settling  in  Preston  township.  He 
later  returned  to  Ohio,  but  died  in  Preston 
township  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  His 


widow  survived  for  several  years  and  died 
in  Richland  county  when  seventy-five  years 
old. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Seiler  are  the  parents 
of  twelve  children,  namely :  John,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  seven  years;  Susan,  Anna, 
Christian,  Peter,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Rosetta, 
Henry  Amos,  Emma  Louisa,  William 
Charles,  Ernest  Wesley.  They  have  been 
educated  in  the  home  schools. 

In  politics  Mr.  Seiler  is  a  Republican,  but 
has  never  taken  a  very  active  part  in  his 
party's  affairs.  He  and  his  family  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
in  Preston  township. 

Since  coming  to  this  county  Mr.  Seiler 
has  lived  to  see  great  changes,  towns  and 
villages  have  sprung  up  and  fertile  farms 
have  been  developed  from  the  wild  prairie 
and  the  wilderness,  and  marked  progress 
has  been  made  along  educational,  social  and 
moral  lines.  What  has  been  accomplished 
for  the  substantial  benefit  and  material  im- 
provement of  the  county  has  been  of  much 
interest  to  our  subject  and  the  active  co- 
operation which  he  has  given  to  measures 
for  the  general  good  is  worthy  of  notice  in 
the  reckoning  of  what  has  been  accom- 
plished here. 


ANDREW  SHANAFELT. 

Among  the  well  known  citizens  of  Ma- 
rion county  who  have  finished  their  labors 
and  gone  to  their  reward,  the  name  of  An- 


niOC.KAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


drew  Shanafelt  is  deserving  of  especial  no- 
tice. He  was  a  pioneer  himself  and  the  son 
of  a  pioneer.  He  was  one  of  the  sterling  yeo- 
men, whose  labors  and  self-sacrifice  made 
possible  the  advanced  state  of  civilization 
and  enlightenment  for  which  southern  Illi- 
nois has  long  been  noted. 

Andrew  Shanafelt  was  born  August  5, 
1821,  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  where  his 
parents,  Peter  and  Catherine  (Cover)  Shan- 
afelt, settled  in  a  very  early  day,  making  the 
journey  from  their  native  state  of  Pennsyl- 
vania by  means  of  a  sled  and  experiencing 
many  hardships  and  suffering  on  the  way. 
Peter  Shanafelt  purchased  a  tract  of  heavily 
timbered  land  which  by  dint  of  hard  work 
he  finally  succeeded  in  clearing  and  reduc- 
ing to  cultivation  and  on  which  he  died, 
shortly  after  becoming  situated  so  as  to  live 
comfortably.  His  wife,  who  survived  him 
a  number  of  years  and  for  some  time  prior 
to  her  death,  which  occurred  in  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven, 
made  her  home  with  her  children.  The  fam- 
ily of  Peter  and  Catherine  Shanafelt  con- 
sisted of  nine  children,  seven  sons  and  two 
daughters,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being 
the  youngest  of  the  number.  Both  parents 
were  of  German  extraction  and  representa- 
tives of  old  families  which  immigrated  to 
the  United  States  in  an  early  day  and  set- 
tled in  Pennsylvania,  where  numerous  de-> 
scendants  still  live. 

Andrew  Shanafelt  was  reared  on  the 
home  farm  in  Ohio,  early  learned  by  prac- 
tical experience,  the  true  meaning  of  hard 
work  and  grew  up  strong  and  vigorous  and 


well  able  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  and 
discouragements  which  life  had  in  store  for 
him.  After  remaining  in  his  native  county 
until  1847,  he  disposed  of  his  holdings  there 
and  came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  where 
for  some  time  he  labored  as  a  farm  hand, 
subsequently  renting  a  farm  near  the  vil- 
lage'of  Odin.  On  March  22,  1849,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Katherine  Johnson, 
of  Licking  county,  Ohio,  and  two  years  fol- 
lowing that  event,  purchased  forty  acres  of 
land  near  Odin,  on  which  he  lived  and  pros- 
pered until  the  summer  of  1856,  when  he 
sold  the  place  and  bought  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  which  he  made  his  home  to 
the  end  of  his  days  and  on  which  his  widow 
still  resides. 

Mr.  Shanafelt  labored  long  and  diligently 
to  reduce  the  latter  place  to  cultivation  and 
make  it  profitable,  the  land  being  about  half 
timber  and  half  prairie,  on  which  no  im- 
provements of  any  kind  had  been  previously 
attempted.  He  addressed  himself  resolutely 
to  his  task,  however,  and  after  working 
for  a  number  of  years  and  experiencing 
many  hardships  and  privations,  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  developing  a  fine  farm  and  placing 
himself  in  independent  circumstances. 
Methodical  in  directing  his  labors  and  emi- 
nently progressive  in  his  methods  of  cul- 
tivating the  soil,  he  became  widely  known 
as  a  model  farmer  while  in  business  matters 
his  sound  judgment  and  wise  forethought 
enabled  him  to  take  advantage  of  unfavor- 
able conditions  and  mould  them  to  suit  his 
purposes.  As  a  citizen  he  ranked  high  and 
was  ever  public  spirited  in  matters  relating 


RICHLANDj    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


359 


to  the  material  improvement  of  the  county 
and  the  moral  progress  of  those  about  him. 
Few  men  in  the  community  were  as  much 
esteemed  or  showed  themselves  more  wor- 
thy of  the  regard  of  the  people  of  the  com- 
munity and  throughout  a  long  and  emi- 
nently useful  life  he  discharged  his  every 
duty  as  he  would  answer  to  his  conscience 
and  his  God. 

Mrs.  Shanafelt,  who  is  still  living. at  the 
ripe  old  age  of  seventy-eight  years,  is  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Rachel  (McClel- 
land) Johnson,  the  former  a  native  of  Mary- 
land, the  latter  of  Licking  county,  Ohio. 
She  shared  her  husband's  fortunes  and  vicis- 
situdes, encouraged  him  by  her  wise  counsel 
and  judicious  advice  and  being  in  every 
sense  of  the  word  a  helpmeet,  contributed 
not  a  little  to  the  success  which  he  achieved. 
Ten  children  were  born  to  this  couple,  three 
of  whom  are  deceased,  viz:  Elizabeth,  Wil- 
liam and  Isaac;  those  surviving  are  Adam, 
a  farmer  of  Salem  township;  Rachel,  wife 
of  T.  M.  Branch,  of  Salem  township ;  Mary, 
who  married  John  R.  Branch,  of  Marion 
county ;  Susanna,  now  Mrs.  Riley  Farthing, 
of  Salem ;  Martha  ].,  wife  of  Frank  Young, 
also  of  Salem;  Samuel  and  David,  prosper- 
ous farmers  of  the  township  of  Salem. 

In  his  political  views,  Mr.  Shanafelt  was 
a  Democrat,  but  aside  from  serving  as 
School  Director  and  Supervisor,  never  as- 
pired to  public  position.  He  was  always  in- 
terested in  what  made  for  the  advancement 
of  the  county  and  the  development  of  his  re- 
sources, believed  in  enterprise  in  all  the  term 
implies  and  had  great  faith  in  the  future  of 


Marion  county  and  the  progress  of  its  peo- 
ple. He  lived  with  the  greatest  good  of  his 
fellow  men  ever  in  view  and  reached  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty  years,  retaining  to  a 
marked  degree,  the  possession  of  his  phys- 
ical and  mental  powers.  On  May  ist  of 
the  year  1901,  he  died  very  suddenly  of 
heart  failure,  and  it  goes  without  the  say- 
ing that  his  loss  was  deeply  felt  and  pro- 
foundly regretted  by  the  large  circle  of 
neighbors  and  friends  with  whom  he  had 
been  so  long  associated.  Since  his  death, 
his  widow  has  resided  on  the  family  home- 
stead and  although  nearly  eighty  years  old, 
she  feels  few  of  the  infirmities  incident  to 
advanced  age,  having  remarkable  action, 
and  able  to  attend  to  all  her  household  du- 
ties, besides  manifesting  a  lively  interest 
in  the  labors  of  the  farm.  She  has  spent 
her  entire  life  within  the  geographical  lim- 
its of  Marion  county  and  has  yet  to  take  her 
first  ride  behind  a  locomotive.  Although 
circumscribed  within  a  narrow  area,  she  is 
quite  intelligent  and  well  informed  and 
keeps  in  touch  with  the  times  on  all  matters 
of  general  and  local  interest. 

William  Johnson,  father  of  Mrs.  Shana- 
felt, was  taken  to  Ohio  when  thirteen  years 
old,  and  grew  to  manhood  in  Licking 
county.  He  was  reared  a  farmer  and  in  due 
time  married  Miss  Rachel  McClelland,  who 
bore  him  four  children  before  he  disposed  of 
his  interests  in  Ohio  and  moved,  in  1842,  to 
Marion  county,  Illinois.  He  made  the  jour- 
ney to  his  new  home  by  wagon  and  after 
purchasing  eighty  acres  of  wild  prairie  land, 
addressed  himself  to  the  labor  of  improving 


36o 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


a  farm  and  providing  for  those  dependent 
upon  him.  His  first  dwelling  was  a  hewed 
log  building  with  a  large  fire-place  for  heat- 
ing and  cooking,  such  modern  articles  as 
stoves  and  carpets  being  unknown  in  the 
pioneer  homes  of  those  days  and  the  good 
wife  and  mother  was  obliged  to  attend  to 
her  many  duties  with  but  few  of  the  con- 
veniences now  found  in  the  humblest  of 
households. 

Mr.  Johnson  and  family  lived  after  the 
manner  of  the  typical  pioneers  of  the  early 
times  and  experienced  not  a  few  hardships 
and  privations  ere  the  farm  was  fully  devel- 
oped and  capable  of  producing  a  comfort-, 
able  livelihood.  In  the  course  of  time,  how- 
ever, he  added  to  his  original  purchase  and 
became  one  of  the  enterprising  and  well-to- 
do  farmers  of  his  township,  besides  taking 
an  influential  part  in  the  development  of 
the  community  along  other  than  material 
lines.  He  lived  to  see  Marion  county  grow 
from  a  sparsely  settled  prairie  to  one  of  the 
most  enterprising  and  progressive  sections 
of  Southern  Illinois,  and  with  strong  arm 
and  clear  brain,  contributed  his  share  to- 
wards bringing  about  the  many  changes 
that  are  now  apparent.  He  departed  this 
life  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-one,  his 
wife  dying  several  years  later,  when  seventy- 
eight  years  old.  A  daughter,  Mrs.  Lavina 
Ross,  lives  on  the  family  homestead  at  the 
present  time  and  a  son  by  the  name  of 
Isaac  served  in  the  late  Civil  war  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illi- 
nois Infantry,  Mrs.  Shanafelt  being  one  of 
the  seven  surviving  members  of  the  family. 


FRANKLIN  GILBERT  BOGGS. 

The  subject  was  born  November  30, 
1854,  on  the  old  Boggs  homestead  in  Rac- 
coon township,  Marion  county,  the  son  of 
James  Clark  Boggs,  who  was  born  in  Jef- 
ferson county,  this  state,  April  3,  1828,  and 
reared,  educated  and  married  in  Marion 
county.  He  married  Margaret  Hicklin, 
who  was  born  February  23,  1834,  in  Lin- 
coln county,  Tennessee.  James  C.  Boggs 
was  the  son  of  Spruce  Boggs,  who  married 
Martha  H.  Kell,  January  21,  1825.  They 
were  of  North  Carolina.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church, 
and  gave  the  land  on  which  to  build  the 
church,  and  were  active  in  church  work. 
He  was  born  May  9,  1808.  They  came  to 
Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  in  the  early  twen- 
ties and  were  the  first  settlers  in  Rome  town- 
ship, the  north  part.  He  got  wild  land  here, 
and  in  those  days  the  Indians  were  quite 
troublesome  and  ate  most  of  his  crop  the 
first  year.  There  was  an  abundance  of  wild 
game  then.  He  was  a  hard  working,  rugged 
man,  and  won  success  despite  obstacles, 
through  his  agricultural  labors.  He  and 
his  wife  died  on  the  place.  They  were  the 
parents  of  fourteen  children,  seven  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity.  They  are  all  now  de- 
ceased. Those  who  grew  up  were :  Thomas, 
Clark,  William,  John,  Sarah,  Joseph  and 
Hugh.  The  subject's  grandfather,  William 
Hicklin,  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina. 
He  married  Ann  Sloan,  of  that  state.  They 
went  to  middle  Tennessee  where  they  re- 
mained for  a  number  of  years  after  their 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


marriage,  and  they  went  later  to  Randolph 
county,  Illinois,  and  then  to  Marion  county, 
settling  in  Raccoon  township,  where  they 
secured  wild  land  in  section  27,  having  got 
eighty  acres  of  government  land,  which  they 
developed  into  a  good  farm,  and  on  which 
they  died.  They  were  the  parents  of  four 
children,  John,  Margaret,  Betsy  J.  became 
the  wife  of  T.  B.  Parkinson,  of  Raccoon 
township,  this  county;  Florida  A.  lives  in 
Raccoon  township,  the  widow  of  Benjamin 
Cook.  The  subject's  father  received  only  a 
limited  education.  However,  he  was  self- 
learned.  When  a  young  man  he  taught 
school.  He  was  reared  on  his  father's  old 
homestead  and  lived  at  home  until  he  was 
twenty-one  years  old,  after  which  he  was  at 
different  places  for  awhile.  When  he  bought 
eighty  acres  of  land  in  section  34,  Raccoon 
township,  on  which  he  made  his  home  until 
in  April,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  Company 
H,  Eightieth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry. 
He  was  in  several  engagements,  among 
which  was  the  great  battle  of  Stone  River. 
In  fording  the  river  there  the  troops  had  to 
wade  the  water  up  to  their  arm  pits.  The 
subject's  father  was  very  warm  at  the  time, 
and  the  cold  water  caused  him  to  take  a 
severe  cold,  which  resulted  in  his  death  on 
April  6,  1863.  He  was  buried  in  the  Na- 
tional cemetery  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee. 
His  wife  remained  on  the  place  until  her 
death,  September  3,  1893.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church. 
Mr.  Boggs  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  a 
Republican  in  politics.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James 


Clark  Boggs  were  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren, namely:  William,  who  died  single  at 
the  age  of  nineteen;  Franklin  Gilbert,  our 
subject;  Mary  A.,  the  wife  of  E.  R.  Davis, 
who  now  lives  on  the  old  Boggs  place  in 
Raccoon  township;  Florida  married  Joseph 
C.  Telford,  a  farmer  in  Raccoon  township. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated 
in  the  home  schools  and  lived  at  home  until 
he  reached  the  age  of  twenty-four  years. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  December  6, 

1877,  to  Emma  Norfleet,  who  was  born  in 
Tennessee,  the  daughter  of  Benjamin  F.  and 
Josephine    (Hamlett)    Norfleet,  who    now 
live  in  Raccoon  township,  and  whose  sketch 
appears  in  full  in  this  work.     Three  sons 
have  been  born  to  the  subject  and  wife,   as 
follows :    Vivian  O.,  was  born  December  25, 

1878.  He  is  in  the  mercantile  business    in 
Mounds  and  Dongola,  Illinois,  making   his 
home  in  the  latter  town.    He  married  Anna 
May  Eimer,  of  Bellville,  Illinois,  and  they 
have  one  son,  Leland.     Vivian  O.   was    a 
stenographer  and  teacher  previous  to  going 
into  the  mercantile  business.     He  attended 
school  at  Carbondale,  Illinois,  and  took    a 
business  course  at  Centralia.    He  is  a  bright 
young  business  man.     Victor,  the  subject's 
sdneco  child,  was  born  September  30,  1880. 
He  attended  school  at  Carbondale,  Illinois, 
and  at  the  University  of  Valparaiso,  Indi- 
ana, where  he  made  a  brilliant  record    for 
scholarship.    He  is  a  graduate  in  pharmacy. 
He  is  now  in  St.  Louis,  engaged  in  carpen- 
try and  building,  also  real  estate.     He  buys 
lots  and  builds  on  them  for  investment  pur- 


362 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


poses.  He  married  Iva  Wyatt  on  Septem- 
ber 24,  1908.  Earl,  the  subject's  youngest 
son,  was  born  August  22,  1887.  He  is  a 
farmer  and  carpenter  at  Fruti,  Colorado, 
where  he  is  doing  well.  He  attended  the 
Centralia  schools. 

After  1877  the  subject  located  on  his  pres- 
ent farm  in  section  34,  Raccoon  township, 
where  he  purchased  forty  acres.  It  was  a 
new  place,  but  the  subject  was  a  hard 
worker  and  soon  developed  a  fine  farm,  well 
improved  in  every  respect,  and  his  home  is 
one  of  the  finest  in  Raccoon  township.  He 
does  most  all  his  own  carpenter  work,  being 
naturally  a  skilled  workman.  He  also  owns 
one  hundred  and  thirty-one  acres  of  well 
improved  and  very  productive  land  in  sec- 
tions 27,  34  and  35,  in  this  township.  He 
has  a  very  valuable  orchard.  He  raises  fine 
fruits  of  all  varieties,  and  he  used  to  raise  a 
great  many  strawberries.  No  small  part  of 
Mr.  Boggs'  income  is  derived  from  his  live 
stock.  He  always  keeps  a  good  grade,  his 
Duroc  and  Jersey  hogs  being  especially  well 
bred.  He  has  also  been  extensively  engaged 
in  the  poultry  business  for  the  past  seventeen 
years,  raising  mostly  Barred  Plymouth 
Rock  chickens.  He  carries  on  a  general 
farming,  and  his  place  shows  thrift,  good 
management  and  industry,  being  all  in  all 
one  of  the  most  desirable  farms  in  the  town- 
ship. 

Mr.  Boggs  is  a  stanch  Republican  and  a 
faithful  member  of  the  United  Presbyterian 
church.  He  is  well  read  on  modern  topics, 
and  he  makes  all  his  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances feel  at  home  when  thev  visit  him. 


JUDGE  JOHN  R.  BONNEY. 

To  present  the  leading  facts  in  the  life  of 
one  of  Clay  county's  busy  men  of  affairs 
and  throw  light  upon  some  of  his  more  pro- 
nounced characteristics  is  the  task  in  hand 
in  placing  before  the  reader  the  following 
biographical  review  of  Judge  John  R.  Bon- 
ney, who  has,  while  yet  in  the  prime  of  vig- 
orous manhood,  won  a  conspicuous  place  in 
the  legal  world  of  this  locality,  who,  for 
many  years  has  stood  in  the  front  rank  in 
his  profession  in  a  county  well  known  for 
its  splendid  array _  of  legal  talent.  He  long 
ago  succeeded  in  impressing  his  strong  per- 
sonality upon  the  community  in  which  he 
now  lives,  and  where  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury he  has  been  a  forceful  factor  in  di- 
recting and  controlling  important  move- 
ments looking  to  the  development  of  Clay 
county,  whose  interests  he  has  ever  had  at 
heart,  and  where  he  has  labored  for  the 
general  good  while  advancing  his  own  in- 
terests, which  he  has  done  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  win  the  hearty  commendation  of 
all  who  know  him. 

John  R.  Bonney  was  born  on  a  farm  in 
Monroe  county,  Illinois,  April  27,  1848,  the 
son  of  Philip  C.  Bonney,  a  native  of  Cum- 
berland county,  Maine,  who  came  West  in 
1840,  settling  at  Waterloo,  Monroe  county, 
Illinois.  The  subject's  father  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  A,  Thirty-first  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  which  was  commanded 
by  Gen.  John  A.  Logan.  He  was  through 
all  the  Vicksburg  campaign  and  partici- 
pated in  many  battles.  He  died  in  Jackson 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


363 


county,  Illinois,  in  1863,  from  the  effects  of 
exposure  while  in  the  service,  having  lived 
only  three  days  after  he  returned  home 
from  the  army. 

Thomas  Bonney,  the  subject's  grand- 
father, was  born  in  England.  The  mother 
of  the  judge  was  Mary  Fisher  in  her  maid- 
enhood, whose  people  were  from  Tennessee. 
She  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
seven  years,  having  died  in  Louisville,  Il- 
linois, May  12,  1908.  The  judge's  parents 
were  people  of  much  sterling  worth  and 
reared  their  children  in  a  wholesome  home 
atmosphere  which  has  had  a  marked  effect 
upon  their  subsequent  lives.  The  names  of 
their  eight  children  follow :  Marshall  and 
DeGrass  both  died  in  infancy;  Lyman  died 
in  1887;  John  R.  was  the  fourth  child  in 
order  of  birth ;  Rowland  died  in  1875 ;  Wil- 
liam died  in  19x55 ;  Samuel  died  when  three 
years  old;  Olive  is  the  wife  of  A.  L.  Bar- 
nett,  Sheriff  of  Searcy  county,  Arkansas. 

Judge  Bonney  received  a  good  common 
school  education,  despite  the  fact  that  op- 
portunities for  being  educated  in  the  early 
days  were  limited,  yet  he  was  an  ambitious 
youth  and  applied  himself  as  best  he  could 
to  whatever  books  that  fell  into  his  hands. 
His  business  and  professional  career  briefly 
stated,  is  as  follows: 

He  was  one  of  the  men  of  Illinois  to  offer 
his  services  in  behalf  of  the  Union  during 
the  Rebellion,  having  enlisted  in  1865,  and 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Return- 
ing home  he  began  blacksmithing,  at  which 
he  worked  with  success  from  1866  to  1873. 
Being  still  desirous  of  gaining  a  higher  ed- 


ucation, he  then  entered  Shurtliff  College, 
Upper  Alton,  Illinois,  in  1873,  in  which  he 
remained  for  two  years,  making  rapid 
progress,  after  which  he  began  teaching  in 
Clay  county,  having  taught  during  1876 
and  1877,  in  a  manner  that  won  much  fa- 
vorable comment  from  all  sources.  He  was 
Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Township  Treas- 
urer of  Hoosier  township  from  1881  until 
1898.  Having  made  rapid  strides  in  the 
study  of  law,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1896,  and  in  a  short  time  had  a  good  legal 
business.  He  was  elected  County  Judge  on 
November  8,  1898,  and  served  with  much 
credit  and  entire  satisfaction  to  his  constit- 
uents until  his  term  expired  December  i, 
1902.  Having  given  such  splendid  service 
in  this  office,  he  was  re-elected  in  1902  and 
served  four  more  years,  retiring  in  Decem- 
ber, 1906.  During  these  eight  years  many 
cases  of  great  importance  were  handled  by 
him  with  the  usual  dispatch  and  clearness 
in  analysis,  also  fairness  to  all  concerned. 
He  will,  no  doubt,  be  remembered  as  one 
of  the  ablest  jurists  the  county  has  ever 
had. 

Judge  Bonney  was  married  November  7, 
1869,  to  Samantha  Erwin,  the  representa- 
tive of  a  well  known  family.  She  was  called 
to  her  rest  November  26,  1888.  Six  chil- 
dren were  born  to  this  union,  namely: 
Laura,  the  wife  of  J.  H.  Chandler,  of  Clay 
county;  Etta  is  the  wife  of  George  W.  Mc- 
Glashon,  of  Louisville,  Illinois;  Lillian  is 
the  wife  of  E.  G.  Johnson,  of  Mill  Shoals, 
Illinois,  where  he  is  agent  for  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  Southwestern  Railroad  Company; 


364 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Roscoe  lives  at  Monta  Vista,  Colorado,  in 
the  government  service ;  Maude  is  employed 
by  the  Missouri  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
in  St.  Louis;  Jessie  is  living  at  home. 

The  Judge  again  married,  on  November 
7,  1890,  his  second  wife  being  Jennie 
Wolfe.  One  child  has  been  born  to  this 
union,  Harold,  who  is  ten  years  old  in 
1908.  Mrs.  Bonney  is  a  woman  of  many 
commendable  traits. 

Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  and  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  having  long  been  active  in  his 
party's  affairs.  The  keynote  of  his  charac- 
ter are  progress  and  patriotism,  for,  as  al- 
ready intimated  throughout  his  career  he 
has  labored  for  the  improvement  of  every 
line  of  business  or  public  interest  with 
which  he  has  been  associated. 


JUDGE  A.  N.  TOLLIVER. 

It  is  with  a  great  degree  of  satisfaction 
to  the  biographer  when  he  averts  to  the  life 
of  one  who  has  made  a  success  in  any  voca- 
tion requiring  definiteness  of  purpose  and 
determined  action.  Such  a  life  whether  it 
be  one  of  prosaic  endeavor  or  radical  ac- 
complishment, abounds  in  valuable  lesson 
and  incentive  to  those  who  have  become  dis- 
couraged in  the  fight  for  recognition  or  to 
the  youth  whose  future  is  undetermined. 
For  a  number  of  years  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  has  directed  his  efforts  toward  the 
goal  of  success  in  Clay  county,  and  by  pa- 
tient continuance  has  won. 


A.  N.  Tolliver,  the  well  known  County 
Judge  of  Clay  county,  Illinois,  is  a  native 
of  the  same,  having  been  born  October  12, 
1870,  the  son  of  John  H.  Tolliver,  who  was 
a  native  of  Lawrence  county,  Indiana,  and 
who  came  to  Clay  county,  Illinois,  when  a 
young  man.  He  has  spent  most  of  his  life 
engaged  in  farming,  but  he  has  been  in  the 
drug  business  at  Ingraham,  this  state,  for 
many  years.  Isom  Tolliver,  the  judge's 
grandfather,  was  also  a  native  of  Indiana, 
who  came  to  Clay  county,  Illinois,  being 
among  the  first  settlers  here.  He  died  in 
1874.  The  judge's  mother  was  Margaret 
Sanchner,  whose  people  were  from  Tennes- 
see. She  passed  to  her  rest  in  November, 
1905.  Seven  children  were  born  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  John  H.  Tolliver,  as  follows:  A. 
N.,  the  subject;  Fred  D.,  living  in  Hoosier 
township:  Dora  S.,  of  Hoosier  township; 
Mrs.  Minnie  O'Dell,  living  in  the  same 
community;  Myrtle;  Mrs.  Cora  Erwin.  of 
Hoosier  township;  Claud,  deceased. 

A.  N.  Tolliver  spent  his  boyhood  days  on 
the  parental  farm  in  Hoosier  township, 
where  he  developed  a  sturdy  manhood.  He 
attended  the  country  schools  during  the 
winter  months,  applying  himself  in  a  most 
assiduous  manner  and  becoming  well  edu- 
cated. Deciding  to  take  up  the  teacher's 
profession,  he  had  no  trouble  in  finding  an 
opportunity  and  for  a  period  of  ten  years 
taught  in  an  able  manner,  becoming  known 
as  one  of  the  popular  educators  of  the 
county,  but  believing  that  the  law  was  his 
proper  calling,  he  began  the  study  of  the 
same  while  teaching,  and  he  was  admitted 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


365 


to  the  bar  in  Clay  county  in  1902,  soon  be- 
ginning practice.  Successful  from  the  first, 
he  soon  built  up  an  excellent  business,  be- 
coming active  in  political  affairs,  it  was  not 
long  until  the  party  leaders  singled  him  out 
for  public  office.  He  was  the  choice  of  the 
Republican  party  for  the  nomination  of 
County  Judge,  and  he  was  triumphantly 
elected  to  this  office  in  1906,  and  is  now 
serving  in  that  capacity  in  a  manner  that 
stamps  him  as  an  able  jurist,  thoroughly 
versed  in  the  law  and  fair  and  unbiased  in 
his  decisions.  His  term  is  for  four  years, 
and  before  it  is  half  gone  he  has  shown  that 
his  constituents  made  no  mistake  in  select- 
ing him  for  the  place.  He  had  held  various 
minor  township  offices  prior  to  his  election 
to  the  judgeship,  and  his  services  were  al- 
ways characterized  by  a  strict  fidelity  to 
duty.  He  was  principal  and  superinten- 
dent of  the  Louisville  schools  from  1898  to 
1901. 

Judge  Tolliver  was  united  in  marriage, 
June  15,  1892,  with  Elizabeth  A.  Bryan, 
daughter  of  Josiah  Bryan,  of  Hoosier  town- 
ship, and  to  this  union  five  children  have 
been  born  as  follows:  Zola  A.,  Flossie  E., 
Lowell  S.,  Elizabeth  and  Bryan.  They  are 
attending  the  local  schools. 

The  judge  devotes  his  entire  time  to  the 
duties  of  his  office  and  to  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  His  clients  come  from  all 
over  this  locality  and  he  handles  some  very 
important  cases,  always  with  satisfaction  to 
his  clients.  In  his  fraternal  relations,  he 
belongs  to  the  Masonic  Order,  the  Knights 
of  Pythias,  the  Woodmen  and  the  Tribe  of 


Ben  Hur.  He  has  occupied  the  chairs  in 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  is  secretary  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Baptist  church. 

Mrs.  Tolliver  was  called  to  her  rest  De- 
cember 10,  1905. 

Judge  Tolliver  takes  an  abiding  interest 
in  the  progress  and  improvement  of  the 
schools  in  Clay  county  and,  in  fact,  all  mat- 
ters that  pertain  to  the  development  of  the 
community.  He  belongs  to  the  class  of 
substantial  citizens  whose  lives  do  not  show 
any  meteoric  effects,  but  who  by  their  sup- 
port of  the  moral,  political  and  social  status 
for  the  general  good,  promote  the  real  wel- 
fare of  their  respective  communities,  and 
are  therefore  deserving  of  honorable  men- 
tion on  the  pages  of  history. 


EDGAR  F.  BRUBAKER. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Edgar  F.  Bru- 
baker,  is  a  man  who  is  an  important  fac- 
tor in  the  farming  and  mercantile  business 
in  the  county  in  which  he  lives.  The  son  of 
one  of  the  pioneer  residents  of  Marion 
county,  a  man  who  held  a  record  as  a  large 
farmer  and  merchant,  and  as  a  church 
worker  and  a  prominent  citizen,  entitled 
him  by  birth  to  a  place  in  the  life  of  the 
community.  He  has,  however,  had  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  present-day  education,  and 
his  trained  brain  and  industrious  habits  have 
brought  him  success  in  life. 

Edgar   F.    Brubaker,   a   twin   brother  of 


366 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Edwin  M.  Brubaker,  was  born  in  Alma 
township,  on  October  6,  1859,  and  was  the 
son  of  Eli  Brubaker  and  Mary  Warner,  his 
wife.  His  father,  who  was  born  December 
11,  1818,  and  who  died  July  10,  1907,  was 
universally  known  and  respected  in  the  com- 
munity. He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Ma- 
rion county,  where  he  made  a  name  for  him- 
self. He  helped  to  establish  a  Presbyterian 
church  in  Stevenson  township,  and  was  an 
active,  conscientious,  and  untiring  religious 
worker.  For  over  forty  years  he  held  the 
position  of  superintendent  of  Sunday 
schools,  after  which  he  was  elected  hono- 
rary superintendent  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life.  He  was  noted  and  known  through- 
out the  county  as  a  raiser  and  breeder  of 
Durham  cattle.  His  farm  at  one  time  com- 
prised fourteen  hundred  acres  of  as  good 
land  as  there  was  in  the  county.  For  many 
years  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  mer- 
cantile business  in  an  extensive  way  in  Sa- 
lem. He  was  a  life-long  Democrat  and  one 
of  the  most  popular  and  important  men  in 
his  section  of  the  county.  His  family  con- 
sisted of  seven  children.  They  were :  Isaac 
B.,  who  married  Dolly  Kagy,  and  has  one 
child;  Christian  M.,  who  married  Wood- 
son  Cheely  and  has  eight  children ;  Anna 
B.,  who  married  Shannon  Kagy,  has  five 
children ;  William  A.  married  Marindy  Van 
Gilder,  and  has  five  children ;  Edwin  M., 
the  twin  brother  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch, 
married  Catherine  Byers  and  has  two  chil- 
dren; and  Logan  E.  married  Rachel  Kagy 
and  has  two  children. 

Edgar    F.    Brubaker    married    Marietta 


Kagy,  on  April  3,  1888.  No  children 
have  been  born  to  them.  In  his  youth 
he  was  educated  at  the  common  schools, 
afterwards  attending  Lincoln  University, 
where  he  took  a  scientific  course.  Like 
his  father  before  him,  he  started  ex- 
tensively in  the  farming  business  and  with 
much  success  until  about  eleven  years  ago, 
when  he  decided  to  go  into  the  mercantile 
business  in  Brubaker.  His  venture  along 
mercantile  lines  was  an  assured  success,  and 
his  business  has  a  turnover  now  of  about 
twenty  thousand  dollars.  In  addition  to  his 
large  mercantile  interests,  Edgar  F.  Bru- 
baker still  holds  about  four  hundred  acres 
of  land  and  is  a  breeder  or  Polled-Angus 
cattle  on  an  extensive  scale,  the  Polled-An- 
gus herd  which  he  now  has  on  his  farm 
being  of  a  remarkably  good  quality.  In 
the  past  he  has  been  quite  a  large  raiser  of 
sheep  and  has  the  reputation  of  being  a 
shrewd  and  experienced  agriculturalist. 

In  politics  Edgar  F.  Brubaker  is  a  Demo- 
crat. In  the  political  life  of  his  township 
he  has  been  as  active  as  his  business  inter- 
ests could  permit  him  to  be.  He  has  served 
a  term  as  Road  Supervisor,  and  twice  as  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace.  His  reputation  along 
agricultural  lines  gained  him  the  distinc- 
tion of  serving  on  the  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture at  the  State  Fair  at  the  time  of  its  be- 
ing held  at  Peoria,  Illinois.  In  the  social 
and  religious  life  of  the  township  and 
county,  the  names  of  Edgar  F.  and  Mrs. 
Brubaker  are  well  to  the  fore.  Their  names 
have  rarely  been  absent  from  social  and 
religious  functions  in  the  neighborhood.  As 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


367 


a  citizen  and  a  representative  business  man, 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  is  admired  and 
respected.  He  has  all  the  qualities  which  go 
to  the  making  of  the  desirable  and  conscien- 
tious member  of  the  community. 


JOHN  W.  THOMASON. 

Mr.  Thomason  is  known  as  a  man  of 
high  attainments  and  practical  ability  as  a 
lawyer,  and  as  one  who  has  achieved  suc- 
cess in  his  profession  because  he  has  worked 
for  it  persistently  and  in  channels  of  honest 
endeavor.  His  prestige  at  the  bar  of  Clay 
county  stands  in  evidence  of  his  ability  and 
likewise  serves  as  a  voucher  for  intrinsic 
worth  of  character.  He  has  used  his  intel- 
lect to  the  best  purpose,  has  directed  his 
energies  along  legitimate  courses,  and  his 
career  has  been  based  upon  the  wise  as- 
sumption that  nothing  save  industry,  perse- 
verance, sturdy  integrity  and  fidelity  to 
duty  will  lead  to  success. 

John  W.  Thomason  was  born  in  Blair 
township.  Clay  county,  July  5,  1874,  the 
son  of  William  B.  Thomason,  who  was  a 
native  of  Indiana.  He  came  to  Bible  Grove 
township  when  a  boy,  where  he  settled 
on  a  farm  and  continued  to*  live  in  this 
county  until  his  death,  about  1878,  when 
only  about  twenty-eight  years  old.  Allan 
Thomason  was  the  subject's  grandfather,  a 
native  of  North  Carolina,  who  emigrated 
to  Kentucky  and  then  to  Indiana,  residing 
on  a  farm  in  Washington  county.  He  was 


a  soldier  in  the  Mexican  war.  The  sub- 
ject's mother  was  known  in  her  maiden- 
hood as  Caroline  Kellums,  whose  people 
were  natives  of  Indiana,  she  having  been 
born  in  Greene  county,  that  state.  She  was 
called  to  her  rest  in  1900,  when  living  at 
lola,  Illinois.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  B. 
Thomason  were  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren, only  two  of  whom  are  living  at  this 
writing,  Walter  L.  Thomason  living  at 
Madison,  Illinois,  and  John  W. 

Mr.  Thomason  spent  his  early  life  on  the 
farm.  His  father  was  called  to  his  reward 
When  John  W.  was  four  years  old,  and  the 
mother  and  son  lived  with  the  latter's  ma- 
ternal grandfather.  The  mother  remarried 
when  John  W.  was  eight  years  old.  His 
step-father  was  J.  W.  Fender,  of  lola,  Il- 
linois, by  which  union  six  children  were 
born. 

Mr.  Thomason  attended  the  district 
schools  until  he  was  eighteen  years  old, 
when  he  entered  Orchard  City  College,  at 
Flora,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1894, 
having  made  a  splendid  record  for  scholar- 
ship. He  taught  school  one  year  before 
graduating  and  a  few  terms  afterward,  with 
much  success  attending  his  efforts.  He 
then  went  to  Mercer  county,  this  state, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  grain  and  stock 
business  with  an  uncle,  having  been  asso- 
ciated with  him  for  four  years,  making  a 
success  of  this  line  of  work  in  every  par- 
ticular. But  a  business  life  was  too  prosaic 
for  him  and  he  decided  to  enter  the  profes- 
sion of  law,  and  accordingly  began  study 
at  Aledo,  Mercer  county,  this  state.  He 


368 


lUOCKAIMIICAI.    AM)     REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


attended  Kent  College  of  Law  one  term,  in 
Chicago,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1899,  in  Clay  county,  where  he  at  once  be- 
gan practice  and  has  continued  ever  since 
in  a  manner  that  has  stamped  him  as  one 
of  the  leading  representatives  of  the  bar  in 
this  part  of  the  state.  He  first  practiced 
alone. 

In  1900  Mr.  Thomason  was  elected 
State's  Attorney  on  the  Democratic  ticket, 
for  a  term  of  four  years,  which  office  he 
filled  with  much  credit  and  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all  concerned.  He  was  a  candidate 
for  re-election,  but  was  defeated  by  one 
vote  only,  the  rest  of  the  ticket  being  de- 
feated by  majorities  ranging  up  to  four 
hundred  and  seventy-three.  This  shows 
Mr.  Thomason's  great  popularity  in  the 
county  with  his  party.  He  then  formed  a 
partnership  with  H.  R.  Boyles,  which  con- 
tinued until  Mr.  Boyles  died  in  1905.  He 
practiced  alone  then  until  1907,  when  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  H.  D.  McCollum, 
which  now  exists.  The  firm  has  a  very 
large  and  complete  library,  which  is  kept 
well  replenished  with  late  decisions  and  the 
most  standard  works,  in  fact,  it  is  one  of 
the  best  in  Clay  county,  and  few  firms  do  a 
more  extensive  business  than  this  one. 

Mr.  Thomason  was  united  in  marriage 
March  28,  1900,  to  Margaret  L.  Downing, 
daughter  of  John  Downing,  of  Joy,  Mercer 
county,  this  state.  She  is  the  worthy  rep- 
resentative of  an  influential  family  of  that 
locality.  To  this  union  two  winsome 
daughters  have  been  born;  Corrinne  and 
Helen.  Mr.  Thomason  has  a  farm  in  Blair 
township,  and  he  is  interested  in  the  stock 


business,  always  keeping  some  good  breeds 
on  hand.  His  farm  is  a  valuable  one  and 
is  kept  well  improved. 

Our  subject  is  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic County  Central  Committee,  and  is 
very  active  in  politics.  He  was  appointed 
Master  in  Chancery  in  March,  1908.  and 
is  now  ably  serving  in  this  capacity.  In 
his  fraternal  relations  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  Order,  and  at  this  writing  Master 
of  the  Louisville  Lodge  No.  196.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  being 
Chancellor  Commander.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Woodmen  and  Ben  Hur. 

It  stands  to  Mr.  Thomason's  credit  that 
he  has  attained  prosperity  and  definite  suc- 
cess through  his  own  efforts,  since  he 
started  out  in  life  with  no  further  reinforce- 
ment than  that  implied  in  a  stout  heart, 
willing  hands  and  a  determination  to  suc- 
ceed through  honest  and  earnest  effort. 


JOSEPH  C.  PARKINSON. 

No  family  in  Marion  county  is  better  or 
more  favorably  known  than  the  Parkin- 
sons, who  have  been  identified  with  the 
growth  of  this  locality  since  the  early  pio- 
neer days,  and  who  have  in  every  instance 
played  well  their  parts  in  the  county's  his- 
tory. The  subject  of  the  present  sketch  is 
a  worthy  representative  of  his  ancestors. 

Joseph  C.  Parkinson  was  born  on  the  old 
Parkinson  homestead  in  Raccoon  township, 
February  27,  1869,  the  son  of  Brown  and 
Mary  J.  (Leuty)  Parkinson,  the  former  a 
native  of  Tennessee,  and  the  latter  of  Jef- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


"369 


ferson  county,  Illinois.  He  married  in  Jef- 
ferson county  and  came  to  Marion  county, 
locating  in  Raccoon  township,  where  he  se- 
cured one  hundred  acres  of  land  in  section 
23,  all  wild  land,  but  he  was  a  hard  worker 
and  cleared  it,  making  a  good  home.  He  de- 
voted his  life  to  farming,  and  was  School 
Director,  a  Republican,  and  he  also  held 
several  minor  offices.  He  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
church.  He  died  in  October,  1883,  and  his 
wife  died  August  29,  1905.  The  father  of 
the  subject  was  not  only  well  known  but  well 
liked.  To  the  parents  of  the  subject  the 
following  children  were  born :  John,  a 
farmer  in  Raccoon  township,  living  on  part 
of  the  old  place ;  Luella  married  B.  F.  Mer- 
cer, of  Raccoon  township;  William  K.  is  a 
farmer  in  Raccoon  township;  Nettie  is  de- 
ceased; Charles  A.  is  superintendent  of  the 
public  schools  at  Glen  Carbon,  Illinois;  Jo- 
seph C,  our  subject,  is  the  youngest  child. 

Joseph  C.  Parkinson  lived  at  home  with 
his  mother  until  he  was  twenty-two  years 
old.  He  attended  the  neighborhood  schools 
there  and  got  a  fairly  good  education.  He 
was  happily  married  February  5,  1891,  to 
Flaura  J.  March,  of  Raccoon  township,  the 
daughter  of  John  S.  March  (whose  sketch 
appears  in  full  in  this  volume).  To  the  sub- 
ject and  wife  seven  children  have  been  born 
as  follows:  Maude,  Hattie,  Harris,  Roy, 
Helen,  May  and  Merle. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Parkinson  located 

on  a  part  of  his  father's  farm  and  lived  on 

the  old  homestead,  making  a  success  of  his 

farming  operations  until  the  spring  of  1901, 

24 


when  he  moved  to  the  south  line  of  the  old 
homestead,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He 
owns  fifty  acres  of  the  old  place  and  twenty- 
six  and  one-half  acres  adjoining  it,  making 
his  a  very  valuable  and  desirable  farm, 
highly  improved  and  one  of  the  most  pro- 
ductive in  the  township.  The  subject  car- 
ries on  a  general  farming  business.  He 
raises  all  kinds  of  grain,  horses  and  cattle, 
good  hogs;  his  cattle  are  Jersey  and  Dur- 
ham, and  his  hogs  are  Poland-China  and 
Duroc  Red.  His  fine  stock  is  known  all 
over  the  county,  and  no  small  portion  of  his 
income  is  derived  from  this  source.  He  has 
always  been  a  farmer  and  is  considered  an 
excellent  one  by  those  who  know  him.  He 
has  a  comfortable  home  and  convenient  out- 
buildings. 

Mr.  Parkinson  has  ably  served  his  com- 
munity as  Township  Clerk  for  two  years 
and  School  Director  for  three  years.  He  is 
a  stanch  Republican,  and  always  takes  an 
interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  county,  doing 
what  he  can  to  promote  his  interests, 
whether  politically,  socially  or  materially. 
He  and  his  wife  are  faithful  members  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  church. 


WILLIAM  H.   HUDELSON. 

The  history,  biographical  record  or  mem- 
oir of  Clay  county  or  of  Southern  Illinois, 
would  be  singularly  incomplete  without 
mention  of  William  H.  Hudelson,  deceased. 
Therefore  the  following  article  has  been 


KIOGRAPI1ICAI.    AND    KKM 1  \  ISC'KXT     HISTORY    OF 


compiled  from  facts  available  and  quota- 
tions from  the  utterances  and  writings  of 
those  who  knew  him  intimately  throughout 
his  long  career  as  a  citizen  of  Clay  county. 

In  every  community  there  is  to  be  found 
a  man,  or  a  few  men,  whose  names  are  pre- 
eminently and  unmistakably  identified 
with  the  community's  material  growth  and 
development,  and  who  are  always  to  be 
found  associated  with  every  movement  that 
seems  to  promise  an  addition  to  that  com- 
munity's wealth,  resources  and  enterprise, 
and  to  enhance  the  importance  of  its  loca- 
tion and  surroundings.  Such  men  are  sel- 
dom obtrusive,  though  always  on  the  alert, 
and  always  to  be  found  when  called  upon. 
The  masses  feel  their  presence,  though  it  is 
not  thrust  upon  them,  and  almost  insensi- 
bly, but  no  less  surely,  do  they  leave  their 
impress  upon  the  character,  institutions  and 
developments  of  that  community.  Such  a 
man  was  \Yilliam  H.  Hudelson. 

He  was  born  on  a  farm  three  miles  south 
of  Princeton,  Gibson  county,  a  son  of  Sam- 
uel Hudelson,  a  pioneer  of  that  community. 
He  was  not  exactly  a  child  of  the  wilder- 
ness, but  wilderness  features  surrounded . 
the  rude  cradle  in  which  he  was  rocked. 
The  trail  of  the  wolf  was  yet  to  be  seen  in 
the  snow  and  the  alarm  of  the  rattle-snake 
at  the  base  of  the  hill.  It  was  the  period  of 
the  legendary  cabin  and  fire-place,  the  old 
family  Bible  and  alphabet,  and  the  school- 
house  with  its  floors  of  puncheon,  its  un- 
hewn logs  and  roof  of  boards.  It  was  the 
day  of  the  hasty,  primitive  education,  when 
the  subjects  taught  were  reading  and  writ- 
ing, spelling  and  arithmetic,  when  grammar 


was  catalogued  with,  the  natural  sciences, 
and  geography  among  the  classics.  It  was 
the  time  of  day  of  the  pious  mother,  who 
had  her  pleasant  legends  and  fairy  tales, 
with  which  she  suppressed  the  rising  sighs 
and  kept  open  the  leaden  eye-lids  of  the 
little  ones,  as  she  plied  her  spinning-wheel 
and  waited  for  the  return  of  her  husband 
from  his  labors,  when  perchance,  driving 
snowstorm  delayed  him  far  into  the  hours 
of  thickest  night. 

Amid  such  scenes  our  subject  spenthisboy- 
hood  and  the  revolving  years  on  to  his  man- 
hood, until,  in  April  of  1852,  he  located  in 
Louisville,  Clay  county.  Illinois.  With  a 
limited  financial  capital,  he  established  in 
the  grocery  and  "general  store"  business 
with  John  McGriffin  as  a  partner.  This 
was  some  years  before  the  advent  of  Rail- 
roads, and  their  stock  of  goods  was 
brought  by  wagon  from  Evansville,  In- 
diana. By  industry  and  fair  dealing  the 
firm  was  successful  and  endured  for  a  pe- 
riod of  five  years,  when  in  1857,  Mr.  Hud- 
elson exchanged  his  interest  for  the  farm 
of  Harrison  Rayburn.  Here  from  dawn 
far  into  the  night  he  labored  and  toiled. 
His  tremendous  industry,  his  splendid  phys- 
ical strength  and  endurance  made  him 
known  throughout  the  countryside  and 
many  are  the  tales  related  of  his  wonderful 
powers.  In  1866  he  sold  his  then  titled 
farm  and  he  again  became  a  resident  of 
Louisville  village.  At  about  this  time  the 
building  of  the  court-house  was  agitated, 
and  bonds  providing  for  same  were  issued 
by  the  county.  Clay  county  was  even  then 
much  in  the  "back  woods''  and  the  financial 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


371 


men  of  the  East  to  whom  the  then  young 
West  looked  for  its  cast  supply,  did  not 
take  kindly  to  the  court-house  bond  issue. 
In  consequence  they  were  not  greatly 
sought  and  were  offered  at  a  most  liberal 
discount.  With  a  far-seeing  wisdom  and 
an  abiding  faith  in  the  community  and  its 
citizens.  Mr.  Hudelson  invested  his  capital 
and  savings  in  these  bonds  and  the  subse- 
quent years  fully  warranted  his  faith  and 
trust  in  the  county's  future.  His  first  ven- 
ture in  the  whirlpool  of  finance  proving  suc- 
cessful, he  for  some  years,  devoted  himself 
to  investments  and  private  banking.  In 
about  1870,  with  Henry  Watson  as  a  part- 
ner, a  savings  bank  was  established,  known 
as  the  Bank  of  Louisville,  and  this  he  con- 
ducted until  in  about  1879,  the  business 
was  closed,  after  which  he  continued  as  a  pri- 
vate banker  and  an  investor  in  lands  and  real 
estate.  At  one  time  his  land  holdings  were 
estimated  at  between  thirty-five  hundred 
and  four  thousand-  acres,  and  his  wealth,  a 
portion  of  which  he  inherited  from  deceased 
relatives,  was  said  to  have  been  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Farmers'  and  Merchants'  Bank  of  Louis- 
ville, in  1892.  and  served  as  its  president 
for  a  number  of  years.  Some  years  pre- 
vious to  his  death  he  launched  a  series  of 
philanthropical  movements,  which  it  was  his 
aim  should  result  in  advancing  the  cause  of 
Christianity,  education  and  the  betterment 
of  mankind.  He  gave  lavishly  of  his 
wealth  to  Ewing  College,  of  Ewing,  Illinois, 
and  erected  a  handsome  building  and 
grounds  in  Clay  county,  known  as  Hudel- 


son Academy,  which  flourished  during  his 
life  largely  through  his  contributions  for 
its  maintenance. 

He  was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  faith 
though  in  no  respect  a  politician.  He  held 
the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  some 
time  and  in  1868,  he  was  a  candidate 
against  Hon.  L.  S.  Hopkins  for  County 
Judge,  which  contest  resulted  in  a  vote 
whereupon  Mr.  Hudelson  magnanimously 
relinquished  his  claim  and  Mr.  Hopkins  was 
seated.  He  was  of  deeply  religious  temper- 
ament, and  joined  the  Baptist  church  at  Lou- 
isville in  1868,  continuing  his  membership 
there  for  many  years,  though  a  few  years 
before  his  death  he  withdrew  from  that 
congregation  and  became  a  member  of  the 
Wabash  Baptist  church.  He  contributed 
much  to  the  church  and  was  largely  re- 
sponsible for  the  erection  of  the  church  edi- 
fice at  Louisville,  a  building  which  would 
do  credit  to  a  much  larger  city. 

Mr.  Hudelson  was  twice  married,  his 
first  wife  being  Frances  C.  McCawley,  of 
near  Clay  City.  They  were  married  Octo- 
ber 26.  1854,  and  her  death  occurred  Au- 
gust 12,  1856.  One  child,  Cornelius,  who 
died  in  infancy,  was  born  to  them.  On  Oc- 
tober 12,  1858,  he  married  Mrs.  Pennina 
Bentley  (nee  Bundy),  who  died  May  13, 
1903.  Mr.  Hudelson  died  March  9.  1905. 

"Uncle  Bill"  and  "Aunt  Piney"  Hudel- 
son will  live  long  in  the  memories  of  the 
citizens  of  Clay  and  adjoining  counties, 
where  one  or  both  of  them  were  known  al- 
most universally.  "Aunt  Piney"  was  an 
affectionately  comforting  and  '  devoted 
woman,  deeply  attached  to  her  husband. 


372 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    KKM I XISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


and  wholly  consecrated  to  his  well  being. 
His  circle  of  home  was  cheerful,  tranquil, 
and  in  that  charmed  spot  he1  ever  seemed 
as  happy  as  a  child,  and  when  after  forty- 
five  years  she  was  taken  from  him,  he  felt 
an  irreparable  loss,  for  his  devotion  to  her 
was  the  echo  of  hers  for  him. 

"Uncle  Bill"  and  "Aunt  Piney"  found 
great  pleasure  in  the  association  of  friends 
and  deeply  enjoyed  their  society.  To  those 
in  whom  the  former  had  confidence  and 
with  whom  he  became  most  intimate;  to 
those  who  merited  and  won  his  friendship, 
he  was  indeed  a  friend,  tried,  trusted  and 
true.  In  his  dealings  with  his  fellow  men 
he  was  honorable,  fair,  punctual,  his  word 
as  good  as  his  bond.  If  he  was  your  debtor 
he  would  repay  to  the  last  farthing  and  he 
exacted  the  same  treatment,  the  same  ster- 
ling integrity  from  those  who  were  in  his 
debt.  He  possessed  a  genius  for  execution 
and  management  and  of  that  quality  of 
personality  which  accompanied  by  deed  de- 
termination is  bound  to  rise  no  matter  what 
the  environment  or  circumstances. 


E.  P.  GARNER. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  well  earned 
the  honor  to  be  addressed  as  one  of  the 
progressive,  public-spirited  men  of  Marion 
county.  His  early  labors  were  devoted  to 
railroad  work,  but  the  latter  years  up  to  the 
time  of  this  writing,  1908,  were  spent  in 
the  management  of  a  grocery  store  in  Salem, 
where  he  held  high  rank  as  a  merchant  and 
successful  business  man. 


E.  P.  Garner  was  born  in  Salem,  Illinois, 
March  4,  1856,  the  son  of  Albert  Garner,  a 
native  of  Tennessee,  who  came  to  Illinois 
when  a  young  man,  settling  in  Salem.  He 
drove  a  stage  coach  on  the  old  Mayesville 
and  St.  Louis  lines ;  in  latter  years  he  was  a 
stock  trader  and  butcher.  He  died  in  Sa- 
lem after  an  active  and  useful  life  replete 
with  success  and  honor.  The  mother  of 
the  subject  was  known  in  her  maidenhood 
as  Letitia  Pace,  who  was  born  in  Mt.  Ver- 
non,  Illinois.  She  is  a  woman  of  beautiful 
Christian  character  and  admirable  traits  and 
is  living  in  Salem  in  1908,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-five years.  The  parents  of  the  subject 
had  a  family  of  seven  children,  four  of 
whom  are  deceased  at  this  writing.  They 
are:  Florence,  deceased;  Ann,  deceased; 
Albert,  deceased;  E.  P.,  our  subject; 
Blanche,  deceased;  Maggie,  the  wife  of  J. 
H.  Vawter,  of  Salem;  Frankie,  who  is  liv- 
ing in  Salem. 

Mr.  Garner  was  reared  in  Salem,  having 
attended  the  common  schools  until  he  was 
fiften  years  old.  His  first  position  was  as  a 
brakeman  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Rail- 
road, on  a  passenger  train,  having  followed 
this  from  the  time  he  was  nineteen  until  he 
was  twenty-four  years  old.  He  then  fired  a 
locomotive  on  the  same  road  for  one  year, 
between  East  St.  Louis  and  Vincennes.  Af- 
ter this  he  went  to  work  for  the  Wabash 
Railroad  at  East  St.  Louis  as  a  car  account- 
ant, having  followed  this  up  to  1906,  on 
which  date  he  abandoned  railroading  and 
went  into  the  grocery  and  meat  business  in 
Salem,  which  business  he  has  handled  with 
success,  building  up  an  excellent  trade. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


373 


Our  subject  was  happily  married  March 
8,  1883,  to  Janie  Jackson,  a  daughter  of 
John  W.  Jackson,  of  Frankfort,  Kentucky, 
who  is  a  brother  of  the  late  Capt.  James 
S.  Jackson,  of  Salem.  This  family  has 
always  been  influential.  Three  interesting 
children  have  been  born  to  the  subject  and 
wife,  as  follows:  Carrie  J.,  whose  date  of 
birth  occurred  March  17,  1884,  in  Salem; 
Sherrill  P.,  who  was  born  February  25, 
1889,  in  East  St.  Louis;  Ralph  E.,  born  De- 
cember 23,  1898,  in  Salem,  is  in  the  public 
schools  at  Salem.  These  children  have  re- 
ceived every  care  and  attention  at  the  hands 
of  their  parents  and  they  all  give  promise  of 
successful  futures. 

Our  subject  is  a  charter  member  of  the 
Modern  Americans,  and  in  his  religious  af- 
filiations he  subscribes  to  the  Christian 
church.  Mrs.  Garner  and  the  three  boys 
are  also  members  of  this  church. 

Mr.  Garner  was  on  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  Salem  township  in  1880,  with  W. 
J.  Bryan  at  the  organization  of  the  Hancock 
and  English  club.  This  was  Mr.  Bryan's 
first  political  act,  he  being  only  twenty  years 
old  at  that  time.  Mr.  Bryan  was  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  permanent  organization. 


EDWIN  HEDRICK. 


The  student  interested  in  the  history  of 
Richland  county  does  not  have  to  carry  his 
investigations  far  into  its  annals  before 
learning  that  Edwin  Hedrick  has  long  been 


a  leading  representative  of  its  agricultural 
interests,  and  that  his  labors  have  proven  a 
potent  force.  More  than  half  a  century  has 
passed  away  since  he  came  to  the  county. 
There  was  much  difficult  work  before  the 
early  settlers,  like  the  Hedricks,  in  clearing 
the  land  for  improvement  and  for  many 
decades  Edwin  has  successfully  carried  on 
the  various  lines  of  farming,  and  while  he 
has  prospered  in  this  he  has  also  found 
ample  opportunity  to  assist  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  county. 

Edwin  Hedrick,  whose  farm  lies  in  Deck- 
er township,  Richland  county,  was  born  in 
Ohio  county,  Kentucky,  January  23,  1830, 
the  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Lucas)  Hed- 
rick, the  former  a  native  of  Ohio  and  the 
latter  of  South '  Carolina.  Grandfather 
Philip  Hedrick  was  bom  in  Germany, 
where  he  was  reared  and  where  he  mar- 
ried. He  came  to  the  United  States  and 
settled  in  Clark  county,  Ohio,  where  he  en- 
tered a  great  deal  of  land,  and  became  very 
wealthy.  He  reared  a  large  family  of  fif- 
teen children  and  carried  on  a  big  dairy. 
He  made  large  quantities  of  cheese  which 
he  hauled  to  Cincinnati  by  the  wagon  load 
every  two  weeks.  He  continued  to  buy 
government  land,  and  acquired  many  sec- 
tions, dividing  it  among  his  children,  giv- 
ing each  a  large  farm.  He  was  a  German 
to  the  core,  and  did  not  acquire  much  Eng- 
lish education.  His  cousin  was  Colonel 
Hedrick  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  After 
the  war  the  colonel  returned  to  Germany, 
where  he  had  invested  money  and  became 
a  millionaire.  He  never  married  and  his 


374 


1UOGKA1M1ICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


fortune  finally  went  to  the  German  govern- 
ment. Philip,  the  father  of  the  subject,  ac- 
quired a  farm  from  his  father  and  consid- 
erable money  from  the  estate.  He  sold  out 
in  Ohio,  and  went  to  Kentucky,  where  he 
married  and  engaged  in  farming  for  sev- 
eral years.  He  then  sold  out  and  in  1841 
came  to  Richland  county,  Illinois,  settling 
in  Decker  township,  where  he  entered  about 
one  thousand  acres  of  land,  paying  one  dol- 
lar and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre.  It  was 
a  wild,  unsettled  country  at  that  time,  and 
later  he  went  to  Palestine  to  enter  land. 
There  were  no  roads  at  that  time,  and  there 
was  plenty  of  wild  game  of  all  kinds,  tur- 
keys, deer,  by  the  hundreds.  He  lived  only 
five  years  after  coming  here,  having  died 
in  1846,  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years.  He 
had  been  a  minister  in  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  for  several  years.  His 
wife  survived  him  twenty-five  years,  and 
she  married  a  second  time,  her  last  husband 
having  been  a  Mr.  Harrison.  She  was  sev- 
enty-six years  old  when  she  died  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Decker  township.  She  be- 
came the  mother  of  eight  children  by  her 
first  husband,  of  which  number  our  subject 
was  the  third  in  order  of  birth.  Three  of 
them  are  living  at  this  writing;  a  younger 
brother.  Mason  Hedrick,  was  a  major  in 
the  Union  Army  during  the  Civil  war,  in 
the  Twelfth  Kentucky  Cavalry,  having  en- 
listed from  Davis  county,  that  state,  and 
served'  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  is 
now  living  at  Odin,  Illinois. 

Edwin  Hedrick  was  eleven  years  old 
when  he  came  to  Richland  county.  Reared 
on  a  farm  he  received  what  education  he 


could  in  the  public  rural  schools,  which  was 
somewhat  limited,  school  having  been 
taught  in  the  primitive  log  cabin,  with  rude 
furnishings.  He  attended  only  a  few 
months  during  the  winter.  However,  after 
the  death  of  his  father  he  went  to  Ken- 
tucky, and  lived  for  several  years,  where 
he  secured  a  good  education  and  taught 
school  in  that  state  in  an  acceptable  man- 
ner for  a  period  of  eight  years.  He  was  a 
fine  penman  and  taught  penmanship  during 
vacations.  In  1857  he  returned  to  Rich- 
land  county  and  settled  on  the  old  home- 
stead, having  bought  the  interest  of  the 
other  heirs  and  he  has  since  lived  here.  But 
few  improvements  had  been  made  on  the 
place.  About  that  time  he  got  married  and 
began  housekeeping  in  a  small  log  cabin. 
There  were  but  few  roads  through  the 
country,  and  he  endured  a!5  the  privations 
and  hardships  of  frontier  life.  Forty  acres 
having  been  left  him  by  his  father,  he 
bought  forty  acres  more  from  his  mother, 
going  in  debt  for  the  same.  He  prospered 
from  the  first  and  bought  more  land,  which 
he  improved,  and  is  now  the  owner  of  six 
hundred  acres,  comprising  one  of  Rich- 
land  county's  model  farms,  besides  having 
given  six  hundred  acres  to  his  children. 
For  forty  years  he  was  widely  known  as  an 
able  farmer,  trader  and  stockman,  dealing 
in  live  stock  on  an  extensive  scale.  He  was 
a  large  dealer  in  mules  for  many  years, 
and  usually  had  from  one  hundred  and  fifty 
to  two  hundred  head  of  cattle  every  year 
for  many  years.  He  has  been  unusually 
successful  in  whatever  he  has  undertaken. 
Mr.  Hedrick  was  united  in  marriage 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


375 


June  23,  1857,  to  Mary  A.  Adamson,  a 
native  of  Union  county,  Kentucky,  the 
daughter  of  Aaron  and  Martha  Jennings 
(Thompson)  Adamson,  the  former  a  native 
of  Kentucky,  and  the  latter  of  Tennessee. 
She  moved  to  Edwards  county,  Illinois, 
with  her  parents,  when  young.  Her  father 
died  in  Kentucky  when  about  forty  years 
old.  The  subject's  wife's  mother  died  in 
Wayne  county,  Illinois,  when  she  had  at- 
tained the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four 
years.  Grandfather  Thompson  served  in 
the  \Yar  of  1812.  He  was  a  native  of 
Louisiana,  and  came  to  Edwards  county, 
Illinois,  among  the  early  pioneers  and  lo- 
cated here. 

Eight  children  were  born  to  the  subject 
and  wife,  seven  of  whom  grew  to  maturity. 
They  are  Elvira ;  Francis  Marion ;  Samuel 
Aaron,  Eva  McClelland,  Mara  Martha, 
Mary  Elizabeth,  Edwin,  a  prominent  law- 
yer in  Chicago.  All  these  children  are  liv- 
ing except  Eva  McClelland,  who  died  when 
thirty-six  years  old.  These  children  have 
received  good  educations. 

In  politics  Mr.  Hedrick  is  a  Democrat, 
and  has  always  been  very  active,  being  one 
of  the  local  "wheel-horses"  for  many  years 
in  local  affairs,  and  was  for  quite  a  long 
time  very  influential  in  his  township,  but 
since  he  has  reached  old  age  he  does  not 
take  much  part  in  political  matters.  He 
has  never  aspired  to  positions  of  public 
trust,  preferring  to  give  all  his  attention  to 
his  business  and  in  rearing  and.  educating 
his  children. 

In  June,    1907,   Mr.  and    Mrs.    Hedrick 


celebrated  their  golden  wedding  anniver- 
sary on  the  homestead.  There  were  sixty- 
five  relatives  present.  Both  our  subject  and 
his  wife  received  beautiful  gold  watches  in 
remembrance  of  the  occasion,  which  they 
prize  very  highly.  Mr.  Hedrick  has  been 
a  faithful  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  for  sixty-five  years,  and  he  was  an 
elder  of  the  same  for  many  years.  Mrs. 
Hedrick  has  also  been  a  member  of  that 
church  for  many  years. 

Our  subject  deserves  the  great  credit 
which  he  is  given  for  his  success,  for  not 
a  dishonest  dollar  ever  passed  through  his 
hands,  and  his  lands,  money  and  stock  ag- 
gregate from  forty  to  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, all  the  result  of  his  own  efforts,  for 
he  started  in  life  with  only  forty  acres  of 
wild  land. 


W.  R.  WOODARD. 

The  subject  is  now  practically  living  re- 
tired in  Salem,  Illinois.  Through  his  long 
connection  with  agricultural  interests  he 
not  only  carefully  conducted  his  farm,  but 
so  managed  its  affairs  that  he  acquired 
thereby  a  position  among  the  substantial 
residents  of  the  community.  Moreover  he 
is  entitled  to  representation  in  this  volume 
because  he  is  one  of  the  native  sons  of  Ma- 
rion county,  and  his  mind  bears  the  impress 
of  its  early  historical  annals,  and  from  the 
pioneer  days  down  to  the  present,  he  has 
been  an  interested  witness  of  its  develop- 
ment. 


376 


lilOGKAPHICAL    AND    REMIXISCICXT    HISTORY    OF 


\V.  R.  Woodard  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  about  five  miles  northwest  of  Sa- 
lem, August  8,  1844,  the  son  of  Charles 
Woodard,  a  native  of  Ohio,  who  came  to 
Illinois  in  1840,  settling  on  the  farm  where 
our  subject  was  born,  and  he  continued  to 
live  there  until  1904,  developing  an  excel- 
lent farm  and  reaping  rich  rewards  for  his 
toil  from  year  to  year,  for  he  was  a  thrifty 
man  of  the  best  type  of  agriculturist.  In 
1904  he  moved  to  Salem  where  he  spent 
his  old  age,  surrounded  with  the  comforts 
of  life,  which  his  manhood  years,  in  the 
youth  and  "noon"  of  life  had  accumulated, 
having  passed  to  his  rest  in  Salem,  Febru- 
ary 10,  1907,  more  than  eighty-seven  years 
old.  He  was  at  one  time  postmaster  at 
Tonti. 

He  worked  in  a  carding  mill  in  Salem 
for  some  time,  and  had  the  weave  made  up 
into  clothes.  The  paternal  grandfather  of 
the  subject  was  Joshua  Woodard,  who  was 
a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  who  migrated 
to  Ohio  and  then  to  Illinois  with  his  son, 
the  father  of  our  subject.  He  made  a  suc- 
cess of  whatever  he  undertook,  being  a  man 
of  sterling  qualities,  like  most  of  the  pio- 
neers of  the  country  of  those  early  days. 
He  finally  went  back  to  Ohio  where  he  died. 

The  mother  of  our  subject  was  Ann  All- 
mon  in  her  maidenhood,  the  representative 
of  a  fine  old  family  in  Tennessee.  Her  peo- 
ple finally  moved  to  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
where  she  passed  to  her  rest  in  1884.  Four 
children  were  born  to  the  subject's  parents, 
W.  R..  our  subject;  A.  J.,  who  lives  on  a 
farm  near  the  old  home  place:  Elizabeth 


Ann,  widow  of  J.  H.  Scott,  living  near 
Tonti;  Ann,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Our  subject  was  reared  on  his  father's 
farm  and  attended  the  country  schools  in 
that  neighborhood,  having  applied  himself 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  gain  a  fairly  good 
education  for  those  primitive  school  days. 
He  lived  on  the  old  farm  where  he  made  a 
decided  success  at  agricultural  pursuits  un- 
til he  moved  to  Salem  in  1904.  He  erected 
a  house  on  the  old  homestead  for  himself, 
where  he  spent  his  years  of  labor  in  com- 
fort and  plenty.  Mr.  Woodard  was  united 
in  marriage  in  1871  to  Mrs.  Martha  N. 
(Deeds)  Nichols,  whose  parents  came  to 
this  state  from  Virginia  when  she  was  one 
year  old.  She  was  always  known  as  a  wo- 
man of  many  fine  personal  traits.  Four 
children  were  born  to  the  subject  and  wife, 
all  deceased,  three  having  died  in  infancy, 
and  the  fourth  after  reaching  maturity. 
Our  subject  always  took  considerable  in- 
terest in  public  affairs  and  he  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  of  Tonti  after  his 
father  gave  it  up.  He  has  also  been  hon- 
ored with  township  offices  in  Tonti  town- 
ship. 

Mr.  Woodard  is  a  faithful  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Salem, 
and  his  wife  is  also  a  consistent  member  of 
this  church,  both  ranking  high  in  the  con- 
gregation of  the  same.  Our  subject  has 
spent  his  long  and  useful  life  in  Marion 
county,  and  it  is  interesting  to  hear  him  tell 
of  the  early  days  when  Salem  was  a  small 
hamlet  with  but  a  few  houses  and  much 
wild  game  was  in  the  great  forests  and  on 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


377 


the  uncultivated  prairies  roundabout.  He 
has  been  a  man  of  good  business  judgment 
and  a  hard  worker,  consequently  he  has 
made  a  success  of  his  life  work  which  has 
always  been  carried  on  in  an  honest  man- 
ner. He  owns  a  good  residence  in  Salem, 
where  he  is  regarded  as  a  good  law  abiding 
citizen,  and  where  he  has  many  personal 
friends. 


JOSEPH  GOSS. 

We  rarely  find  two  persons  in  every-day 
life  who  attribute  their  success  in  their  dif- 
ferent spheres  to  similar  qualities.  Hard 
work  and  plodding  industry  paved  the  way 
for  one.  good  judgment  and  a  keen  sense 
of  values  for  another,  intuition  and  a  well 
balanced  mind  for  the  third.  An  admix- 
ture of  some  of  the  qualities  above  named, 
emphasized  by  hard  work  and  plodding  in- 
dustry, has  been  responsible  for  the  success 
of  the  subject  of  the  present  sketch  in  his 
battle  for  the  spoils  of  victory. 

Joseph  Goss  of  German  township,  Rich- 
land  county,  is  a  familiar  figure  in  the  life 
of  his  township  and  county.  He  was  born 
on  the  3d  of  October,  1833,  in  Stark  coun- 
ty. Ohio,  the  son  of  Jacob  and  Margaret 
(Bolinger)  Goss,  both  natives  of  Stark 
county,  Ohio.  His  grandparents  on  the 
father's  side,  came  from  Germany.  They 
married  in  New  Jersey,  and  after  having 
spent  a  short  time  in  Pennsylvania,  moved 
to  Stark  county,  Ohio,  where  the  father  of 
our  subject  was  born,  and  where  they  lived 


until  the  death  of  the  elder  Mrs.  Goss.  At 
that  time  Grandfather  Goss  came  to  Illi- 
nois, where  he  died  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
five,  being  buried  in  Goss  cemetery  in  Ger- 
man township.  The  father  of  Joseph  Goss 
remained  with  his  parents  until  his  mar- 
riage to  Margaret  Bolinger  in  Stark  county, 
where  he  removed  to  a  farm  of  his  own  on 
which  he  remained  until  he  came  to  Illinois 
in  the  year  1840.  The  journey  to  Illinois  was 
made  overland,  bringing  with  him  his  fam- 
ily of  eight  children,  one  of  whom  was  Jo- 
seph, then  only  seven  years  of  age.  In 
German  township  they  entered  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  of  government  land,  pay- 
ing one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre 
for  it.  It  was  all  timber  land  and  totally 
unimproved.  They  set  about  clearing  it, 
cut  down  trees  and  hewed  out  logs  with 
which  a  rough  log  house  was  built.  It  was 
a  small  family  dwelling,  eighteen  feet  by 
twenty  in  area,  and  having  four  windows 
and  two  doors.  A  log  stable  was  also  built. 
As  fast  as  Jacob  could  clear  the  land  he 
planted  wheat  and  corn  and  from  time  to 
time  added  adjoining  land,  and  owning  at 
the  time  of  his  death  about  two  hundred 
acres.  His  death  took  place  on  the  farm, 
his  wife  having  preceded  him  to  the  un- 
known, in  the  year  1861,  he,  himself  dying 
in  the  year  1873.  on  April  28th,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-five  years.  Both  are  buried  near 
the  family  home  in  German  township.  Ten 
children  were  born  during  their  married 
life,  of  which  Joseph  was  the  fourth  in  or- 
der of  birth. 

Joseph  Goss  remained  with  his  parents, 


378 


IlKIC.RAl'HICAL    AND    RK.M  I  XISCKXT     HISTORY    OF 


helping  them  in  their  arduous  tasks  until 
his  twenty-seventh  year,  at  which  time  he 
married  Julia  Gerber,  on  May  14,  1860, 
their  marriage  taking  place  in  Richlancl 
county.  His  wife  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania in  the  year  1831,  and  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Philip  and  Mrs.  Gerber.  Her  family 
came  to  Richland  county  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  the  year  1845,  where  they  re- 
mained until  their  deaths.  Julia  Gerber  re- 
mained with  her  parents  until  her  marriage 
in  1860. 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage,  Joseph  Goss 
bought  some  timber  land,  ninety  acres  in 
Claremont  township,  and  for  many  years  he 
put  in  much  hard  work  clearing,  fencing 
and  improving  it.  He  built  a  frame  house 
for  himself  and  his  wife.  The  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war  occurred  just  then,  and  in  the 
warmth  of  his  patriotism,  he  volunteered 
for  service.  His  sen-ices  were  refused, 
however,  on  account  of  one  of  his  hands 
being  somewhat  crippled,  but  his  family 
was  well  represented  on  the  field  of  battle, 
having  had  two  brothers  and  two  nephews 
in  active  service,  his  nephews  both  being 
killed — one  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson. 
His  brothers  luckily  escaped,  neither  being 
injured  nor  taken  prisoner.  About  the  year 
1869,  Joseph  Goss  sold  his  property  in 
Claremont  township,  and  bought  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  in  German  town- 
ship, the  place  on  which  he  now  lives. 
Since  coming  into  possession  he  has  added 
more  land  and  now  owns  one  hundred  and 
forty  acres  of  well  improved  land.  His 


wife  died  in  January,  1875,  aged  forty-four 
years,  and  is  buried  in  Goss  cemetery.  Four 
children  were  born  to  them,  all  are  living, 
and  in  order  of  their  birth  they  are:  Johrr 
Mathias,  Jacob,  Daniel  and  Emma :  all  are 
married.  John  M.  lives  at  home  with  his 
father;  Jacob  and  Daniel  both  own  farms 
and  live  in  Jasper  county,  Illinois;  Emma 
is  the  wife  of  Ernest  Kennedy,  a  farmer,, 
and  lives  in  Lawrence  county. 

Joseph  Goss  remarried  in  July,  1888. 
This  time  he  took  for  a  wife  Salome  (Seil- 
er)  Gerber,  the  widow  of  Edwin  Gerber, 
who  was  a  brother  of  his  first  wife.  The 
second  Mrs.  Goss  was  born  in  Stark  county, 
Ohio,  September  3,  1837. 

Joseph  Goss  did  not  receive  a  very  ex- 
tended education — two  or  three  terms  was 
his  limit,  for  farm  work  was  urgent  in  his 
young  days,  and  the  school  was  five  miles 
away,  so  he  had  to  bow  to  circumstances. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  he  has 
made  his  influence  felt  in  his  locality,  hav- 
ing been  in  his  younger  days  very  active. 
He  served  for  several  years  as  a  School  Di- 
rector in  district  No.  4. 

He  and  his  wife  and  family  are  frequent 
in  their  attendance  at  St.  James  Lutheran 
church  in  Claremont  township,  all  being  in- 
fluential and  active  members  of  that  per- 
suasion. His  first  wife  was  also  active  in 
the  same  church. 

Joseph  Goss's  honesty  and  genial  good 
fellowship  have  given  him  a  recognized  po- 
sition in  the  community  and  his  life  in  the 
declining  period  is  peaceful  and  sunny. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


379 


GEORGE  WOLGAMOTT. 

George  Wolgamott  was  born  January 
22,  1826,  in  Cambridge,  Guernsey  county, 
Ohio,  the  son  of  David  and  Sophia  (Shee- 
ley)  Wolgamott,  both  natives  of  Maryland, 
in  which  state  David  Wolgamott  remained 
until  his  marriage  at  which  time  he  re- 
moved to  Ohio,  coming  overland  with  his 
wife,  and  encountering  the  usual  quota  of 
hardships  which  traveling  in  those  days  en- 
tailed. He  entered  three  hundred  acres 
from  the  government,  paying  one  dollar 
and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre,  in  Guernsey 
county.  It  was  all  timber  land  with  no 
improvements  of  any  kind,  but  he  imme- 
diately erected  a  home  for  his  family  in 
which  he  and  his  wife  remained  until  their 
deaths.  David  Wolgamott  died  about 
1878,  having  passed  his  ninetieth  milestone. 
His  widow  survived  ten  years,  dying  in 
1888,  having  also  reached  her  ninetieth 
year.  Both  are  buried  in  the  Liberty  cem- 
etery in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio.  David 
Wolgamott  served  about  one  and  a  half 
years  in  the  Civil  war  in  an  Ohio  regiment, 
mostly  as  one  of  the  home  guards  in  the 
vicinity  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  He  was  the 
father  of  a  family  of  ten  children,  eight  of 
whom  grew  to  maturity,  two  dying  in  early 
life.  Joe  Wolgamott,  one  of  his  eldest 
sons,  went  through  the  Mexican  war  under 
command  of  General  Taylor. 

George  Wolgamott  remained  at  home 
until  his  fourteenth  year  when  he  ran  away 
from  home  and  volunteered  for  the  Mexi- 
can war.  On  account  of  his  youth  he 


could  not  be  taken  as  a  soldier  and  served 
as  a  hostler.  Later,  when  he  became  older, 
he  got  into  the  regular  service.  The  first 
battle  he  took  part  in  was  that  of  Buena 
Vista,  in  whrch  he  received  a  wound  in  the 
leg,  which  was  the  only  wound  he  received 
throughout  the  campaign,  but  it  did  not 
hinder  him  from  service,  and  he  remained 
with  his  regiment  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  then  returned  to  his  parents  in  Guern- 
sey county,  Ohio,  and  resumed  work  on 
the  farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he 
came  to  Illinois  and  entered  eighty  acres 
of  prairie  land  in  German  township.  Rich- 
land  county,  in  the  fall  of  1847,  and  he 
came  in  company  with  Billy  K.  Johnson,  a 
banker  of  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  who  also 
entered  a  great  deal  of  land  surrounding 
our  subject's  eighty  acres.  He  thai  went 
back  to  Ohio  in  the  spring  of  1848,  and 
once  more  farmed  with  his  father.  In  1850 
his  marriage  with  Nancy  Jane  Rogers 
took  place.  They  left  Ohio  in  1852  and 
came  overland  to  Illinois  and  settled  on  the 
land  which  he  had  already  entered.  On 
their  arrival  he  built  a  log  cabin,  broke 
prairie  and  raised  corn  and  wheat,  and 
otherwise  improved  the  land.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  at  Olney 
in  the  winter  of  1860.  He  had  had  small- 
pox when  a  boy  and  therefore  was  placed 
in  the  Union  hospital  in  Springfield,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  served  as  an  attendant.  This 
occupation  proved  too  irksome  for  him  and 
he  ran  away  to  New  Orleans,  rejoining  his 
regiment,  the  Sixty-third  Illinois,  Com- 
pany A,  two  years  later.  The  company 


38o 


r.lOC.KAIMIICAI.    AND    KK  M  I  \  iS(  K  \  T     HISTORY    OF 


was  commanded  by  Captain  McClure. 
George  Wolgamott  in  active  service  then 
went  through  many  of  the  principal  en- 
gagements of  the  war.  He  marched  with 
Sherman  to  the  sea  and  took  part  in  the 
battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Buzzard's  Roost, 
Lookout  Mountain,  Big  Shanty,  Atlanta, 
Missionary  Ridge  and  many  others.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  he  was  mustered  out 
at  Springfield,  Illinois.  He  was  with  his 
regiment  at  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  when 
the  war  ended,  marched  to  Washington,  D. 
C,  and  came  to  Parkersburg  in  open  stock 
cars,  then  taking  boat  to  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, and  thence  to  Springfield,  Illinois. 
His  wife  had  returned  to  Ohio  during  the 
war  to  which  place  he  went  to  bring  her 
back  to  Illinois.  On  their  return  home  his 
wife  soon  died.  Two  children  were  born 
of  this  marriage;  they  were  named  Lemon 
and  Emma;  the  former  lives  in  Iowa,  and 
the  latter  at  Lewiston,  Illinois:  she  is  the 
wife  of  Anderson  Whites.  The  subject 
of  our  sketch  then  married  Eliza  Thomp- 
son in  1868:  she  died  about  four  years 
later.  Three  children  were  born  to  this 
union;  one,  Savannah,  married  William 
Campbell,  and  lives  in  German  township. 
The  other  two  children  died  in  childhood. 
George  Wolgamott  married  shortly  after, 
taking  for  his  third  wife  Jane  Foster.  On 
November  30,  1879,  he  again  ventured  into 
matrimony.  marrying  Nancy  (Fisher) 
Carr,  the  widow  of  David  Carr,  a  sol- 
dier of  the  Civil  war,  who  died  in  1874,  and 
is  buried  in  Bridgeport  cemetery,  Guernsey 
county,  Ohio,  his  death  occurring  at  the 


age  of  forty-six.  To  them  were  born  three 
children,  namely:  Sylvester  (deceased); 
Lillis  and  Ida.  Lillis  married  Heldon 
Travis  and  lives  in  Topeka,  Kansas;  Ida  is 
the  wife  of  Edward  Stradge,  and  resides  in 
Curtis,  Frontier  county,  Nebraska.  Nancy 
(Fisher)  Carr  was  born  in  1838,  February 
27th,  of  that  year,  in  Troy,.  New  York. 
She  lived  in  Troy  with  her  parents  until 
about  three  years  of  age,  when  they  moved 
to  Schenectady  county,  New  York.  Here 
she  lived  until  her  fourteenth  year,  when 
her  parents  moved  to  Ohio  and  settled  in 
Tuscarawas  county,  later  moving  to  Guern- 
sey county.  Her  parents  came  to  Richland 
county,  Illinois,  prior  to  the  date  of  her 
marriage  to  our  subject.  Both  her  parents 
died  in  Richland  county,  her  father  dying 
in  1879;  her  mother  survived  him  for  many 
years,  dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight,  years 
about  the  year  1906.  Her  parents  are  in- 
terred in  the  Wagner  cemetery,  German 
township. 

George  Wolgamott  in  his  early  years  at- 
tended the  subscription  schools  in  Ohio. 
His  present  wife  was  also  educated  in  the 
subscription  schools  in  New  York  state,  but 
she  left  school  at  the  age  of  fourteen. 

Mr.  Wolgamott  has  always  voted  the 
Republican  ticket,  taking  an  active  part  in 
local  politics.  He  was  a  school,  director 
for  about  sixteen  years  in  his  home  district. 
He  has  also  been  for  many  terms  road  over- 
seer in  German  township.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  local  camp  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  Post  No.  745,  in  Chancey. 
Lawrence  countv,  Illinois.  He  was  elected 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


post  commander  several  times.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  attend  the  Christian  church, 
though  neither  are  members  of  any  par- 
ticular church. 


JOHN  P.  WILLIAMS. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  belongs  to  that 
class  of  men  who  win  in  life's  battles  by 
sheer  force  of  personality  and  determination, 
and  in  whatever  he  has  undertaken  he  has 
shown  himself  to  be  a  man  of  ability  and 
honor. 

John  P.  Williams  was  born  in  New  York 
City,  May  10,  1849,  the  son  of  Robert  Wil- 
liams, a  native  of  Wales,  who  came  to 
America  when  a  young  man.  He  was  a  pat- 
tern-maker and  ship  carpenter  of  great  skill. 
He  left  New  York  in  1853,  and  went  to 
Licking  county,  Ohio,  where  he  remained 
until  his  death  in  1854. 

The  subject's  mother  was  Margaret 
Parry,  also  a  native  of  Wales,  who  came 
to  America  when  very  young.  She  is  re- 
membered as  a  woman  of  many  fine  traits 
and  a  worthy  companion  of  Robert  Wil- 
liams. She  passed  to  her  rest  while  living 
with  our  subject  in  Salem,  July  10,  1882, 
to  which  place  she  had  come  four  years  pre- 
vious. Three  children  were  born  to  the  par- 
ents of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  the  only 
one  living  being  John  P.  Williams.  Row- 
land H.,  his  brother,  died  in  Salem,  Decem- 
10,  1890.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
Salem  by  President  Harrison,  and  his  death 


occurred  after  he  had  served  only  about 
eighteen  months.  Robert,  the  subject's  other 
brother,  died  March  10,  1877,  in  Licking 
county.  Ohio.  These  children  recived  ev- 
ery advantage  possible  that  their  parents 
could  give  them. 

John  P.  Williams  was  reared  in  Lick- 
ing county,  Ohio,  making  his  home  there 
from  the  time  he  was  three  years  old  un- 
til he  was  twenty-eight.  He  received  his 
education  in  that  county,  having  applied 
himself  in  a  manner  that  resulted  in  a  fairly 
good  common  school  education.  After  leav- 
ing school  Mr.  Williams  engaged  in  the  shoe 
making  business,  which  he  followed  for. 
twelve  years  and  in  which  he  was  eminently 
successful.  He  came  to  Salem  in  1878  and 
worked  as  a  solicitor  for  his  brother  who 
was  then  in  the  monument  business,  fol- 
lowing this  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner 
until  1882  when  he  went  into  the  life  and 
fire  insurance  business,  spending  consider- 
able time  on  the  road  as  a  special  agent  in 
life  insurance  and  making  a  marked  success 
in  this  line  of  business. 

Mr.  Williams  was  appointed  postmaster 
of  Salem,  April  i,  1898,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  with  entire  satisfaction  to  the  au- 
thorities and  in  a  manner  that  reflected  much 
credit  upon  his  natural  executive  ability,  un- 
til 1907.  This  appointment  was  made  by 
President  McKinley,  and  he  was  re-ap- 
pointed by  President  Roosevelt.  After  leav- 
ing the  office,  Mr.  Williams  opened  a  real 
estate  and  insurance  office  in  1907  and  has 
been  conducting  the  same  to  the  present 
time,  building  up  an  excellent  patronage  and 


IMOCKAI'IIICAI.    AND    RKMIXISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


is  now  doing  an  extensive  business  through- 
out this  community.  He  represents  eight 
old-line  companies  and  the  business  of  these 
could  not  be  entrusted  to  better  or  abler 
hands,  owing  to  Mr.  Williams'  popularity 
in  Marion  county,  his  genuine  worth  and 
integrity. 

Our  subject  was  happily  married  in  1873 
to  Laura  A.  Ruton,  an  accomplished  daugh- 
ter of  E.  E.  Ruton,  a  native  of  New  York 
state.  The  ceremony  which  united  this  con- 
genial couple  was  performed  in  Ohio  and 
their  subsequent  life  history  is  one  of  the 
utmost  harmony  and  happiness,  and  to  this 
union  six  interesting  children  have  been 
born,  named  in  order  of  their  birth  as  fol- 
lows: Margaret,  the  wife  of  James  N. 
Chance,  a  merchant  tailor  of  Salem;  Lucy, 
the  wife  of  William  P.  Morris,  a  wholesale 
cigar  dealer  of  Salem;  Frances,  the  wife 
of  L:  W.  Fellows,  a  broker,  of  New  York 
City ;  Lena,  who  is  living  at  home ;  R.  Carl, 
who  is  a  train  dispatcher  on  the  Missouri 
Pacific  Railroad  at  Jefferson  City,  Missouri ; 
Rowland  L.,  who  is  living  at  home,  and  is 
assistant  time-keeper  for  the  Chicago  & 
Eastern  Illinois  Railroad  Company  at 
Salem. 

Mr.  Williams,  in  his  fraternal  relations, 
belongs  to  the  Salem  Blue  Lodge,  Council 
and  Chapter,  Masons,  and  judging  from  his 
daily  life  one  would  conclude  that  he  be- 
lieves in  carrying  out  the  noble  precepts  of 
this  ancient  and  praiseworthy  order.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  church.  The  career  of 
Mr.  Williams  clearly  illustrates  the  possibili- 


ties that  are  open  in  this  country  to  earnes 
persevering  men  who  have  the  courage  c 
their  convictions  and  are  determined  to  1 
the  architects  of  their  own  fortunes. 


GEORGE  BUTLER. 

George  Butler  was  born  in  Richlar 
county  on  July  9,  1844,  being  the  son  ( 
Samuel  and  Nancy  (Baker)  Butler,  bol 
natives  of  Muskingum  county,  Ohi 
George  Butler's  father  and  mother  wei 
married  in  Ohio,  where  three  children  wei 
born  to  them.  They  came  to  Illinois  in  tl 
year  1842,  making  the  trip  overland  : 
wagons,  being  four  weeks  on  the  journe 
and  they  endured  the  customary  hardshi] 
of  that  tedious  system  of  travel,  arriving 
German  township,  Richland  county.  111 
nois,  in  September,  1842,  and  entered  tw 
hundred  acres  at  the  government  price  < 
one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  an  acr 
all  timber  land,  on  which  stood  one  sms 
log  house  and  a  log  stable  capable  of  hou 
ing  two  horses;  these  had  been  erected  t 
Gabriel  Reed,  who  had  taken  a  squatter 
claim  on  the  place,  for  whose  good  will  ar 
the  improvements  Samuel  Butler  paid  tl 
sum  of  sixty-five  dollars.  He  had  to  go 
Palestine  on  horseback  to  make  entry  of  tl 
land  and  was  but  twenty-four  hours  ahe; 
of  a  man  named  Lathrop  (since  decease* 
who  intended  making  entry  of  the  san 
place.  Samuel  Butler  having  successful 
entered  the  land  proceeded  at  once  to  cle; 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


383 


and  improve  same.  He  moved  into  the  log 
house,  and  a  few  years  later  built  a  double 
log  house,  and  erected  other  buildings. 
Wild  animals  and  game,  including  wolves, 
wild  turkey  and  deer,  were  in  abundance. 
Mrs.  Samuel  Butler  died  November  n. 
1860.  aged  about  sixty  years.  Her  husband 
survived  her  about  twenty  years,  dying 
November  14,  1880.  aged  eighty.  Both  are 
buried  in  Mount  North  cemetery,  in  Ger- 
man township.  Our  subject  remained  in 
the  paternal  home  assisting  his  father  and 
mother  until  the  Civil  war  broke  out,  when 
he  enlisted  July  9.  1861.  though  not  quite 
seventeen  years  of  age  at  the  time,  having 
obtained  his  father's  consent  to  fight  for 
his  country.  He  was  sent  to  St.  Louis  and 
was  attached  to  Company  E,  Eleventh  Mis- 
souri Infantry,  under  Captain  Levenston. 
He  was  then  transferred  to  Cape  Girardeau, 
Missouri,  for  a  course  of  training  of  three 
months.  He  was  ordered  from  there  to  the 
front  where  he  participated  in  some  of  the 
historic  battles  of  the  conflict,  such  as  Island 
No.  10,  at  Fort  Donelson,  Pittsburg  Land- 
ing, Corinth.  Mississippi;  the  battle  of 
luka :  Holly  Springs,  and  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg,  in  which  he  was  wounded  by  a 
shell  striking  him  in  the  side,  which  broke 
several  ribs  and  inflicted  other  injuries.  He 
remained  for  only  two  or  three  weeks  in  a 
field  hospital,  and  again  returned  to  his 
regiment  with  which  he  remained  in  active 
service  until  mustered  out  at  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  on  January  23,  1866. 

George  Butler  then  returned  home  to  his 
parents  in  Richland  county,  and  again  took 
up  his  agricultural  calling  in  which  he  con- 


tinued until  his  marriage  which  took  place 
on  March  2.  1869.  On  that  date  he  mar- 
ried Buleau  Burnell  in  Richland  county. 
His  wife  was  a  native  of  Richland  county, 
being  born  there  on  August  6.  1850.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Hizer  and  Sophia 
(Sumner)  Burnell.  Her  father  was  born 
in  Ohio,  and  her  mother  in  Lawrence  coun- 
ty, Illinois.  The  former  came  with  his  par- 
ents from  Ohio,  when  only  a  small  boy. 
They  settled  on  a  farm  in  Wabash  county. 
where  his  father  died  when  he  was  still 
young.  His  mother  survived  her  husband 
for  many  years,  and  married  a  second 
time,  a  Mr.  McMullen,  who  afterwards 
died.  Mrs.  Butler's  father  continued  to 
make  his  home  with  his  mother  until  he 
married  Sophia  Sumner,  about  the  year 
1845.  He  then  settled  in  Lawrence  county 
for  three  or  four  years,  after  which  he  came 
to  Richland  county  and  entered  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  Preston 
township,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death,  August  26,  1854,  being  buried  in 
Springfield  cemetery,  Lawrence  county. 
Mrs.  Burnell  married  secondly  in  March. 
1865,  William  Musgrove,  and  came  with 
her  family  to  reside  in  German  township, 
where  she  remained  until  her  death.  Wil- 
liam Musgrove,  the  step-father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch,  died  January  13,  1895 ; 
her  mother  born  July  21,  1826,  died  April 
24,  1903.  Both  are  buried  in  Butler  cem- 
etery in  German  township.  Mrs.  Butler's 
parents  had  a  family  of  three  children. 
They  were,  besides  herself,  Quintes  and 
Mul  ford,  who  died  in  childhood.  Her 
mother  by  her  second  marriage  had  seven 


niOCKAPHICAL    AND    KKM1N ISCKNT     HISTORY    OF 


children,  namely:  Symmia,  deceased;  An- 
drew; Mauzella,  deceased;  Filina;  Effie.  de- 
ceased; Warren  and  Erdie,  deceased;  Bu- 
leau  Burnell  remained  at  home  with  her 
parents  until  her  marriage  in  1869. 

From  the  money  which  George  Butler 
received  and  saved  while  serving  in  the  Civ- 
il war,  he  bought  eighty  acres  of  raw  tim- 
ber land  in  German  township.  On  this  he 
built  a  log  house  and  made  a  clearing  on 
the  land  and  at  the  time  of  his  marriage 
moved  with  his  wife  into  the  place  where 
they  lived  for  several  years.  About  the 
year  1882  he  sold  the  land  and  changed  to 
another  farm  in  German  township  in  which 
they  now  reside.  Their  property  now  con- 
sists of  three  hundred  and  sixty-two  acres 
of  the  choicest  land,  all  of  which  is  in  Ger- 
man township.  In  1888,  the  subject  of 
our  sketch  had  built  upon  his  land  a  two- 
story  house  of  seven  rooms,  which  cost 
about  two  thousand  dollars. 

Our  subject  and  wife  are  the  parents  of 
four  children,  only  two  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity,  one  dying  in  infancy.  The  others 
are  Bertha  E.,  Burton  E.,  and  Bennie  H., 
who  died  aged  seven  years.  Bertha  E.  is 
the  wife  of  Harvey  Stoltz,  residing  in  Zal- 
ma,  Missouri,  where  Mr.  Stoltz  is  engaged 
in  the  moving  and  transfer  business;  they 
are  prosperous  and  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  Marrietta,  Hester  and  George. 
Burton  Butler  married  Glennie  Bauman ; 
they  reside  on  a  portion  of  his  father's 
property  in  German  township  and  are  very 
successful;  three  children  were  born  to 
them,  Lady  June,  Trail  and  Katie  Jean. 

George  Butler  in  his  early  years  attended 


only  the  subscription  schools,  but  never 
continued  in  attendance  for  three  months 
altogether.  Owing  to  his  heavy  farm  du- 
ties and  his  enlistment  in  the  army  at  the 
age  of  seventeen,  his  schooling  was  almost 
entirely  neglected.  He  did  not  even  learn 
to  read  at  school,  and  never  held  a  pen  in 
his  hand.  These  necessary  accomplish- 
ments he  had  to  acquire  in  after  life 
through  self-study.  His  wife  met  with 
much  the  same  experience  during  her  early 
life,  although  she  is  now  well  able  to  read 
and  write. 

George  Butler  is  a  member  of  the  Bour- 
ier  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  No. 
92,  at  Olney,  Illinois.  In  politics  he  has 
always  been  a  Republican.  His  first  bal- 
lot for  President  was  cast  while  in  the 
army  and  went  to  Abe  Lincoln.  He  has 
always  taken  an  interest  in  local  politics, 
and  served  as  Road  Commissioner  for  over 
nine  years  in  German  township,  and  as 
School  Director  for  over  thirty  years.  He 
and  his  wife  and  all  members  of  his  family 
are  regular  attendants  of  the  Methodist 
church. 


GEORGE  C.  WELLS. 

The  fact  that  the  subject  was  one  of  the 
patriotic  sons  of  the  north  who  offered  his 
services  and  his  life,  if  need  be,  on  the  field 
of  battle  in  defense  of  the  flag  during  the 
dark  days  of  the  rebellion,  entitles  him  to 
the  high  honor  which  is  due  everyone  ot 
the  gallant  boys  in  blue. 

George  C.  Wells  was  born  in  Washing- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


ton  county,  Rhode  Island,  January  20, 
1844,  the  son  of  Peter  C.  and  Elizabeth 
(Stillman)  Wells,  both  natives  of  the  same 
county,  in  Rhode  Island.  He  was  a  farmer 
and  died  in  1872,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six 
years;  she  passed  away  in  July,  1888,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  The  sub- 
ject's parents  had  seven  children,  namely; 
Anna  Elizabeth ;  Maria,  of  Alleghany 
county,  New  York;  Harriett,  living  in 
Rhode  Island ;  George  Clark,  our  subject ; 
Adeline,  Emeline  and  Oscar,  all  living  in 
Rhode  Island. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated 
in  the  home  schools  and  Alford  College, 
New  York.  In  July,  1862,  he  enlisted  for  a 
period  of  three  years  in  Company  A, 
Seventh  Rhode  Island  Volunteer  Infantry, 
at  Hopkinton,  Rhode  Island.  He  was  in 
the  army  of  the  Potomac,  Ninth  Army 
Corps.  He  was  in  the  great  battle  of  Fred- 
ericksburg  and  was  shot  in  the  right  hip, 
December  13,  1862,  and  was  sent  to  Wash- 
ington, District  of  Columbia,  where  he  re- 
mained for  one  month,  and  he  was  in  the 
home  hospital  for  one  year,  was  then  dis- 
charged and  came  home.  He.  served  six 
months.  After  the  war  he  went  to  Westerly, 
Rhode  Island  and  engaged  as  a  mechanic 
until  December  10,  1865,  when  he  came  west 
and  located  in  section  4,  Meacham  township, 
Marion  county,  Illinois.  He  first  bought 
forty-four  acres  of  land,  but  being  thrifty 
and  a  good  manager,  he  gradually  added  to 
this  until  he  owned  two  hundred  and  ninety 
acres.  He  made  all  of  the  improvements  on 
25 


the  place  and  was  considered  one  of  the 
best  farmers  in  the  township. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  Feb- 
ruary 1 6,  1868,  with  Emma  L.  Brown,  a 
native  of  Niagara  county,  New  York,  and 
three  children  have  blessed  this  union, 
namely:  Oscar  C.,  who  married  Inez  Ran- 
dolph. He  is  a  farmer  and  poultry  raiser 
in  Meacham  township,  and  the  father  of 
five  children,  Gale,  Glenn,  Ora,  Elsie  and 
George.  Harriett,  the  subject's  second 
child,  is  living  at  home;  Lena,  the  young- 
est, is  also  a  member  of  the  home  circle. 
Oscar  Wells  taught  school  for  many  years. 
Lena  is  now  in  the  Farina  high  school. 

The  subject  carries  on  a  general  farm- 
ing business,  raises  Red  Polled  stock,  Red 
Comb  and  Brown  Leghorn  chickens,  Pekin 
ducks  and  several  varieties  of  good  live 
stock.  Since  1896  Mr.  Wells  has  been  liv- 
ing in  practical  retirement,  however,  he  still 
oversees  his  farm.  He  has  for  many  years 
dealt  very  successfully  in  poultry,  feed  and 
fertilizers.  He  has  held  several  of  the 
township  offices,  and  is  a  Republican  of 
pronounced  convictions. 

Mr.  Wells  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  No.  426,  at  Farina, 
Illinois.  He  has  been  commander  of  the 
same,  having  held  all  the  offices  of  this 
post.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Seventh  Day 
Baptist  church  at  Farina.  Mr.  Wells  de- 
serves a  great  deal  of  credit  for  what  he 
has  accomplished.  He  started  life  poor, 
but  being  ambitious  he  worked  hard  and 
has  achieved  eminent  success,  being  today 


386 


lUOC.KAI'IllCAL     AM)     KICM  I  .\  ISCKX  T     JIISTOKV     ( )  F 


one  of  the  solid  and  substantial  men  ot 
his  township  and  well  and  favorably  known 
by  every  one.  He  is  remembered  as  a 
teacher  of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  hav- 
ing taught  school  for  six  years,  one  year  in 
the  Farina,  Illinois,  high  school.  What  his 
hand  and  mind  have  found  to  do  he  has 
done  with  his  might,  and  having  attained 
a  commanding  position  among  his  contem-- 
poraries  he  wears  his  honor  in  a  becoming 
manner. 


WINFIELD  S.  LACEY. 

Among  the  citizens  of  Meacham  town- 
ship, Marion  county,  whose  lives  have  been 
led  along  such  worthy  lines  of  endeavor 
that  they  have  endeared  themselves  to  their 
fellow  citizens,  thereby  being  eligible  for 
representation  in  a  volume  of  this  nature, 
is  the  gentleman  whose  name  appears 
above. 

Winfield  S.  Lacey  was  born  in  Morrow 
county,  Ohio,  September  30,  1849,  the  son 
of  Hiram  G.  and  Sophia  (Sell)  Lacey,  the 
former  a  native  of  Ohio,  who  grew  to  man- 
hood there  and  married  before  leaving  that 
county.  He  lived  in  Ohio  until  1855. 
when  he  brought  his  family  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  settling  in  Meacham  town- 
ship. He  drove  through  the  country  from 
Ohio,  bringing  twenty-two  head  of  cows 
with  him,  also  three  teams.  He  secured 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  in 
sections  10  and  15.  It  was  partly  improved 
and  had  an  old  house,  eighteen  by  thirty-six 


feet,  of  split  timber,  and  there  was  an  old 
log  stable.  These  soon  gave  way  to  com- 
fortable and  substantial  buildings,  and  the 
place  was  put  under  a  high  state  of  im- 
provements. Being  thrifty  he  soon  bought 
more  land  and  lived  on  this  place  until  his 
death.  His  wife  died  in  Farina,  this  state. 
They  were  Methodists.  Mr.  Lacey  was  a 
Republican,  but  never  aspired  to  office. 
The  following  children  were  born  to  them : 
Gabriel  S..  who  lives  in  Meacham  town- 
ship; Mahala  also  lives  in  Meacham  town- 
ship; Thomas  S.  lives  in  the  same  town- 
ship; Francis  M.,  enlisted  in  the  Union 
army  when  eighteen  years  old  and  served 
during  the  war.  After  the  war  he  mar- 
ried and  moved  to  Cowley  county,  Kansas; 
Abram  F.,  was  also  a  soldier  in  the  Federal 
ranks,  who  served  three  years.  After  the 
war  he  returned  to  his  home  in  this  county, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death;  A.  H., 
resides  on  the  old  place,  and  was  also  a 
soldier;  Nancy  married  Michael  Butts, 
and  is  living  in  Meacham  township;  W.  S., 
our  subject;  Anthony  and  Catherine  were 
twins,  the  former  is  deceased,  and  the  lat- 
ter is  the  wife  of  Jacob  Althon,  of  Clay 
county,  Illinois;  Hiram  is  living  in  Meach- 
am township,  this  county ;  Hugh  is  de- 
ceased; Mary  is  the  wife  of  Douglas 
Roberts,  who  lives  in  Fayette  county. 
Illinois. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  had  only  a  lim- 
ited education,  not  having  an  opportunity 
to  attend  school  very  long  in  his  youth.  He 
remained  a  member  of  the  parental  family 
circle  until  he  was  twenty- four  years  old. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


He  was  married  February  27,  1873,  to 
Nancy  Hitchcock,  of  Harrison  county,  Ohio, 
the  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Hitch- 
cock. Her  parents  moved  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1870,  and  located  in 
Omega  township,  where  they  remained  two 
years  and  then  moved  to  Meacharr  town- 
ship, remaining  here  one  year,  then  they 
went  to  Iowa,  where  Mr.  Hitchcock  died. 
His  wife  is  living  at  this  writing  in  Ne- 
braska. Seven  children  were  born  to  the 
subject  and  wife  as  follows :  Edward,  who 
is  farming  in  Meacham  township,  married 
Margaret  Gotshall,  of  Ohio;  Lydia,  who  is 
now  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Lon  Myres : 
Haman  is  living  in  Farina,  Illinois,  en- 
gaged in  the  hardware  business,  and  in  mar^ 
ried  to  Olive  Warren;  Orville  is  deceased; 
Hugh  is  also  deceased;  Ollie  married  Jesse 
Norman,  and  is  living  in  Meacham  town- 
ship ;  Milton  is  living  at  home.  These 
children  attended  the  local  schools,  receiving 
fairly  good  educations. 

After  his  marriage  the  subject  bought 
forty  acres  of  land  in  Meacham  township 
lives,  in  section  4,  Meacham  township.  It 
was  raw  land,  but  Mr.  Lacey  was  always  a 
and  lived  there  for  three  years,  when  he 
sold  out  and  bought  the  place  where  he  now 
hardworker  and  a  good  manager,  and  he 
rapidly  improved  the  place  up  to  its  present 
high  state  of  efficiency.  The  subject  now 
owns  three  hundred  and  forty  acres,  which 
lie  rents,  being  now  retired.  His  farm  is 
well  up  to  the  standard  of  Marion  county's 
choice  farms,  being  well  fenced,  and  in 
every  way  in  fust  class  condition.  He  has 


a  substantial  and  beautiful  dwelling  and  a 
good  barn  and  other  out  buildings. 

No  little  part  of  Mr.  Lacey's  income  has 
been  derived  from  live  stock,  raising  an  ex- 
cellent grade  of  hogs,  cattle  and  sheep.  He 
is  also  a  good  judge  of  horses  and  has  al- 
ways kept  some  fine  ones.  He  has  devoted 
his  life  to  farming,  consequently  he  has 
mastered  every  detail  of  this  class  of  busi- 
ness. In  politics  he  is  a  Populist,  but  has 
never  held  office.  He  started  in  life  in  a 
small  way,  but  he  is  now  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial men  of  the  township,  having  gained 
all  his  property  unaided,  by  his  careful  man- 
agement and  hard  work.  The  subject's  first 
wife  was  called  to  her  rest  in  February. 
1903,  and  he  married  Rebecca  Minard,  of 
Harrison  county,  Ohio,  in  October,  1905. 
Mr.  Lacey  is  known  by  the  people  of  Mea- 
cham township  for  his  honesty  and  useful 
life. 


JOHN  THOMAS  HAUSER. 

The  people  in  the  vicinity  of  Claremont 
township  and  we  might  say  of  Richland 
county  in  general,  are  well  acquainted  with 
the  life  history  of  its  pioneer  inhabitants, 
and  the  story  of  the  career  of  John  T. 
Hauser  is  not  the  least  known.  He  was 
born  on  the  28th  day  of  December,  1817, 
in  Stokes  county,  now  known  as  Forsythe 
county,  in  North  Carolina,  the  son  of  John 
and  Annie  Hauser.  both  of  his  parents  na- 
tives of  the  state  in  which  they  lived :  his 
mother's  maiden  name  being  Canuse. 


388 


BIOCKAPHICAl.    AND    KKM  I  \  ISCKXT     HISTORY    OF 


When  six  years  old  his  father  died  and  he 
came  to  be  of  much  assistance  to  his  mother 
on  the  family  farm.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
he  started  in  to  learn  the  trade  of  shoe- 
maker and,  upon  becoming  a  proficient 
workman,  he  left  home.  His  travels  took 
him  over  various  portions  of  the  Carolinas 
and  the  state  of  Kentucky,  successfully  ply- 
ing his  trade  as  he  went  along.  On  the 
outbreak  of  an  epidemic  of  cholera  during 
his  stay  in  Kentucky  he  decided  to  return 
home,  traveling  by  way  of  the  famous  Cum- 
berland Gap.  A  short  time  after  his  re- 
turn his  mother  died  and  once  more  he  set 
about  to  seek  a  change.  He  was  then  about 
twenty-three  years  of  age  and  upon  settling 
upon  a  small  farm  in  .the  state  of  Ohio,  he 
soon  married.  His  choice  fell  upon  Lucy 
Ulrich,  but  their  married  life  was  unfortu- 
nately a  brief  one,  his  wife  dying  in  the 
following  year,  being  buried  at  New  Phil- 
adelphia. On  March  21,  1851,  he  married 
Elizabeth,  the  widow  of  Oliver  Weaver. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Eliza- 
beth Cable,  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
came  to  the  state  prior  to  the  War  of  1812, 
both  of  whom  were  well  known  and  respect- 
ed in  the  community. 

John  T.  Hauser's  life  in  Ohio  was  not 
an  uneventful  one.  Those  were  early  Ohian 
clays;  many  Indians  still  lingered  in  the 
western  part  of  the  state,  reluctant  to  leave 
their  patrimony;  game  abounded  in  large 
quantities;  marauding  bears  and  ferocious 
wolves  were  not  uncommon  visitors,  and 
consequently  many  hardships  were  suffered. 

In  the  year   1867,  once  more  a  prey  to 


wandering  instincts — and  possibly  with  a 
view  of  taking  a  hand  in  "the  winning  of  the 
West,"  the  subject  of  our  sketch  pressed 
onward  to  Illinois,  where  he  settled  on  a 
farm  in  Richland  county.  On  his  arrival 
he  set  to  work  and  built  a  rude  house,  and 
two  months  later,  his  wife  and  family  ar- 
rived in  the  new  surroundings  in  which  they 
were  destined  to  live.  Year  after  year  has. 
seen  improvements  made  on  the  property. 
The  land  today  is  in  an  admirable  state  of 
cultivation.  A  substantial  brick  house  has. 
been  erected. 

The  death  of  his  wife  occurred  on  the 
26th  of  September,  1908.  Seven  children 
resulted  from  the  union,  all  of  whom  are 
still  living.  In  order  of  birth  they  are: 
Anna  Elizabeth,  Cable,  Ira  A.,  Susie,  John 
L.,  Benjamin  F.,  and  Harvey  E. 

John  T.  Hauser  has  now  reached  the  ripe 
age  of  ninety-one  years — an  age  not  reached 
by  very  many  nowadays. 

Such  a  man  as  John  T.  Hauser  could 
not  fail  to  be  drawn  into  the  whirlpool  of 
at  least  one  of  the  struggles  for  supremacy 
that  convulsed  the  country  in  the  early  half 
of  the  century.  He  passed  through  the  Civil 
war,  serving  four  arduous  years  in  an  Ohio 
regiment.  At  different  periods  of  the  time 
he  served  under  Grant  and  Sherman.  He 
is  a  member  of  Grand  Army,  Post  No.  92, 
at  Calhoun. 

In  religion  Mr.  Hauser  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  communion,  though  formerly 
he  was  affiliated  with  the  German  Moravian 
church  for  many  years.  While  his  health 
permitted  he  was  ever  active  in  church  work. 


RICHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


His  wife  was  for  twenty  years  a  German 
Lutheran,  but  at  the  time  of  her  death  she 
was  a  Methodist. 

Mr.  Hauser  has  ever  been  a  Republican 
in  politics  and,  had  his  delicate  health  per- 
mitted him,  would  have  attended  the  elec- 
tion of  November,  1908.  Had  he  done  so 
he  would  have  voted  for  eighteen  consecu- 
tive Presidents  of  the  United  States. 


SAMUEL   PUFFER. 

Prominently  identified  with  the  industrial 
and  civic  affairs  of  Marion  county  is  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  who  is  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  of  this  locality,  residing  on 
a  beautiful  farmstead  in  Meacham  township, 
which  he  has  improved. 

Samuel  Puffer  was  born  in  Effingham 
county,  Illinois,  June  n,  1848,  the  son  of 
John  Puffer,  a  native  of  Maury  county, 
Tennessee.  He  married  Martha  J.  Gray,  in 
Illinois.  He  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Puffer, 
a  native  of  the  New  England  states,  who 
came  to  Tennessee  in  an  early  day.  About 
1833  he  came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
and  settled  near  Kinmundy.  His  father  came 
later  and  lived  with  him  until  the  latter's 
death.  His  wife  died  in  Tennessee.  He 
married  a  Miss  Eagan.  His  second  wife  was 
a  Miss  Caldwell.  He  had  two  sons  and  a 
daughter  by  his  first  wife  and  two  daughters 
by  his  second  marriage.  The  subject's 
father  located  in  Effingham  county,  Illinois, 
about  1836,  taking  up  government  land  on 


Fulfer  creek,  where  he  lived  until  about 
1857,  when  he  went  to  Collins  county, 
Texas,  where  he  secured  eighty  acres  of 
land  and  in  1862  he  went  to  Bates  county, 
Missouri,  where  he  owned  a  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres.  He  died  there 
in  1862,  having  been  preceded  to  the  other 
world  by  his  wife  in  1851.  He  married  a 
second  time,  this  wife  being  Lovina  New- 
man, who  died  in  Texas.  He  again  mar- 
ried, his  third  wife  being  a  Miss  Degraften- 
read,  of  Texas.  There  were  two  children  by 
his  second  wife,  one  dying  when  small 
John,  who  grew  to  maturity,  lived  in  Mis- 
souri, and  went  to  Colorado  in  1890. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  Ma- 
rion county,  Illinois,  in  1862,  and  located 
near  Kinmundy,  where  he  lived  until  1878, 
when  he  bought  a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres 
in  Meacham  township,  section  7,  where  he 
has  since  lived.  He  made  all  the  improve- 
ments on  his  farm,  which  is  considered  equal 
in  every  way  to  any  in  the  county,  and  he  has 
a  beautiful,  well  furnished  and  comfortable 
home. 

On  February  12,  1872,  the  subject  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Sarah  Eagan,  of 
Kinmundy  township,  the  daughter  of  Isaac 
and  Athlina  Tulley,  the  former  of  Tennes- 
see, where  his  youth  was  spent.  They 
were  pioneers  of  Marion  county,  first  set- 
tling at  Salem,  later  at  Kinmundy.  He  was 
the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  land,  part  of 
which  is  the  present  site  of  Kinmundy.  He 
died  in  1874  and  his  wife  passed  away  in 
1888.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  chil- 
dren, of  whom  four  are  living  at  this  writ- 


39« 


IIIOGRAPIIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ing,  namely:  John,  who  resides  in  Kin- 
mundy  township;  Sarah,  the  subject's  wife; 
Ras,  of  Salem,  Illinois ;  Harriett,  widow  of 
James  Hayworth,  of  Kinmundy.  Two  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  the  subject  and  wife, 
namely:  Myrtle,  the  wife  of  Charles  E. 
Wenck,  who  lives  east  of  Farina,  Illinois; 
Mae,  who  was  maried  June  24,  1903,  to 
Mark  Boyd,  of  Meacham  township,  and 
who  is  the  mother  of  one  son,  Richard  F. 
Mark  Boyd  lives  with  the  subject  and  as- 
sists him  in  managing  the  place.  Mr.  Puffer 
has  lived  on  his  present  place  since  1878.  He 
carries  on  general  farming  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  gain  a  comfortable  living  from 
year  to  year  and  lay  by  a  competency  for  his 
old  age.  His  farm  is  well  improved  and  he 
raises  not  only  good  crops  of  various  kinds, 
but  also  excellent  horses,  hogs  and  cattle.  He 
has  held  some  of  the  township  offices,  and  is 
a  loyal  Democrat.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church.  He  de- 
served a  great  deal  of  credit  for  what  he 
has  accomplished.  Having  started  in  life  a 
poor  boy,  he  has,  by  hard  work,  achieved 
success. 


PERRY  SAYRE. 

Action  is  the  keynote  of  the  character  of 
all  who  achieve  success  on  this  planet  of 
ours — action  subtilly  planned  and  carefully 
carried  out.  The  successful  life  story  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  case  in  point,  be- 
ing one  of  a  determined  struggle  for  a  definite 
purpose. 

He  is  now  comfortably  established  on  his 


farm  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres,  which 
he  has  wrested  from  a  resisting  nature  and 
improved  year  by  year,  and  which  through 
his  efforts  is  now  as  good  land  as  Richland 
county  contains. 

He  was  born  in  November,  1857,  a  short 
distance  from  Waverly,  in  Ross  county, 
Ohio,  and  was  the  son  of  David  O.  and 
Frances  Sayre.  His  mother,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Lee,  belonged  to  an  old  Virginia 
family.  His  father  came  at  an  early  age 
from  Virginia  with  his  parents,  who  set- 
tled on  a  farm  in  Ross  county.  Here  he  as- 
sisted his  parents  on  the  farm  until  his  mar- 
riage with  Perry's  mother,  at  which  time  he 
purchased  a  farm  of  forty  acres  in  the  same 
county.  There  Perry  was  born  and  there 
his  life  was  spent  until  the  family,  including 
the  grandparents,  who  also  wished  to  come 
further  afield,  migrated  to  Illinois.  As  no 
railroad  communication  was  established  at 
the  time  the  itinerary  was  made  overland, 
the  tedious  journey  was  not  performed  with- 
out a  mishap,  however,  for  in  the  accidental 
breakdown  of  a  light  wagon  Grandmother 
Sayre  sustained  injuries  from  which  she 
never  completely  recovered.  The  two  fam- 
ilies finally  landed  in  Jasper  county,  Illinois, 
where  they  bought  farms  and  settled  in  the 
vicinity  of  Newton,  Perry  being  then  in  his 
seventh  year.  Shortly  afterwards  his  grand- 
father and  grandmother  passed  away,  the 
space  of  three  or  four  weeks  only  separating 
their  demise.  They  were  buried  near  New- 
ton. In  the  spring  of  1865 — the  following 
year — his  parents  sold  their  property  and  re- 
moved once  more.  Claremont  township, 
Richland  county,  was  the  destination  on 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


391 


this  occasion.  Here  the  parental  farm  con- 
sisted of  forty  acres  which  continued  to  in- 
crease until  it  comprised  one  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  acres.  The  land  they  settled 
was  mostly  unimproved.  At  first  the  build- 
ings thereon  consisted  of  a  small  log  house 
and  stable,  and  only  eight  acres  had  been 
cleared  for  cultivation.  Clearing  the  land, 
making  important  improvements  and  build- 
ing a  substantial  homestead  were  the  occu- 
pations of  the  following  years,  a  period  in 
which  the  youthful  Perry  underwent  a 
strenuous  apprenticeship. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  is  the  third 
member  of  a  family  of  four  children.  The 
other  members  living  are  Ellen  and  Henry 
Clinton.  Another  brother,  named  Harrison, 
died  a  few  years  ago.  On  February  5,  1900, 
his  father  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-two. 
The  family  burial  lot  at  Antioch  contains 
the  remains  of  his  father  and  brother.  His 
mother  is  still  alive,  being  in  her  seventy- 
fourth  year  and  enjoying  good  health. 

Perry  had  two  uncles  who  saw  active  ser- 
vice in  the  Civil  war,  each  one  sacrificing 
his  life  for  the  Union  cause.  Their  fate 
was  very  sad.  One  languished  as  a  prisoner 
of  war  in  Salisbury  prison,  where  he  was 
allowed  to  starve  to  death ;  the  other  was 
killed  in  battle.  Both  served  in  Ohio  regi- 
ments, and  in  General  Grant's  division. 

We  have  already  touched  upon  his  moth- 
er's antecedents.  She  was  born  in  1834, 
and  like  her  husband,  came  to  Ohio  from 
Virginia  with  her  parents  in  early  life.  Her 
mother  died  in  1885  and  her  father  in  1890. 
She  was  the  fourth  eldest  of  a  family  of 


nine  children — three  boys  and  six  girls.  Her 
eldest  brother  also  is  a  Civil  war  veteran. 

Perry  remained  with  his  parents  on  the 
farm  up  to  the  time  of  his  marriage  to 
Amanda  E.  Chaplain  on  September  9,  1882, 
when  he  moved  onto  the  farm  he  now  occu- 
pies. The  property  had  then  a  very  prim- 
itive appearance.  It  boasted  a  log  cabin  and 
the  land  around  was  almost  totally  uncleared. 
The  soil  was  marshy  and  in  the  springtime 
it  closely  resembled  a  frog-pond.  Then  it 
was  that  Perry  Sayre  performed  by  far  the 
most  strenuous  work  of  his  life.  He  cleared, 
drained  and  ditched  the  land.  In  time  he 
was  repaid  for  his  efforts.  It  became  as 
good  a  farm  as  any  in  the  vicinity.  An  in- 
stance of  his  industriousness  at  this  period 
may  not  be  amiss.  In  wintertime  when  farm 
work  was  at  a  standstill  he  cut  and  made 
railroad  ties  and  fence  posts,  etc.,  selling  the 
posts  at  three  cents  and  the  ties  at  twenty- 
eight  cents  a  piece.  In  the  course  of  time 
he  built  a  substantial  frame  structure  where- 
in he  still  lives.  Each  year  has  seen  im- 
provements, which  go  to  make  his  the  home 
of  a  prosperous  farmer. 

His  family  life  has  been  happy.  Two  of 
his  children  have  grown  to  maturity,  the 
only  other  dying  in  early  life.  His  two  sons, 
Clarence  and  Roy,  live  in  St.  Louis,  where 
they  are  skilled  workmen,  and  a  constant 
source  of  comfort  and  satisfaction  to  their 
parents  on  the  farm  in  Illinois. 

Mrs.  Perry  Sayre  was  the  daughter  of 
Perry  and  Ellen  Chaplin,  Ohio  folk,  who 
came  to  Illinois  in  the  year  1851.  Her  mother 
died  some  years  ago.  but  her  father  still 


392 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORV    OF 


survives  at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  She  is 
the  fifth  in  order  of  succession  of  a  family 
of  ten  children,  six  of  whom  grew  to  matu- 
rity. In  the  regular  order  her  living  sisters 
and  brothers  are:  Otis  O.,  Milton  F., 
Nanna  B.,  Ellen  and  Curtis. 

Outside  of  agricultural  pursuits,  Mr. 
Sayre  is  a  good  business  man.  As  a  boy  he 
attended  the  Claremont  common  schools,  at- 
tending whenever  possible  until  his  twen- 
tieth year,  and  receiving  all  the  education 
that  the  institution  could  give  him. 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  the  first  Presi- 
dent for  whom  he  voted.  Though  not  ag- 
gressive in  politics  he  takes  a  passing  inter- 
est in  the  game,  and  when  election  time 
comes  he  is  always  found  solidly  Repub- 
lican. In  the  spring  elections  of  1908 — 
pressure  being  brought  to  bear  upon  him  to 
come  forward  as  a  candidate.  He  did  so 
and  came  within  a  vote  of  being  elected 
Township  Supervisor  of  Claremont.  Strange 
to  say  he  was  himself  responsible  for  his 
opponent's  victory.  He  chivalrously  re- 
corded his  vote  for  him,  thereby  placing  him 
in  office  by  the  slender  margin  of  one.  Perry 
Sayre  and  his  wife  have  been  ever  active 
in  Methodist  church  affairs. 


LEWIS  COMBS. 

Eighty  years  have  dissolved  in  the  mists 
of  time  since  the  venerable  subject  of  this 
sketch  first  saw  the  light  of  day  and  they 
have  been  years  of  failures  and  triumphs, 


victories  and  defeats,  sorrows  and  joys,  but 
withal,  satisfactory  as  most  lives  of  honest 
endeavor  as  his  has  been. 

Lewis  Combs  was  born  in  Dubois 
county,  Indiana,  November  20,  1828,  the 
son  of  John  Combs,  of  Tennessee.  His 
mother's  name  was  Delila  Vancouver,  a  na- 
tive of  Scott  county,  Indiana.  John  Combs 
went  with  his  parents  when  a  boy  to  Du- 
bois county,  Indiana,  where  they  were  pio- 
neers. They  secured  wild  land  which  they 
cleared,  made  a  comfortable  home  and 
on  which  they  died.  John  Combs  lived 
to  about  1842.  He  came  by  wagon,  bring- 
ing seven  head  of  horses  to  Walnut  Prairie, 
Clark  county,  Illinois,  and  later  to  Marion 
county,  settling  in  Meacham  township  on 
Scritchfield  Prairie,  where  he  stayed  two 
years  and  went  back  to  Indiana,  remaining 
there  one  year  when  he  returned  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  remained  for  six 
years.  Then  he  went  to  Missouri  where 
he  remained  for  two  years,  moving  then  to 
Arkansas,  where  he  died.  His  wife  died  in 
Indiana.  They  were  the  parents  of  six 
children,  as  follows:  Lewis,  our  subject; 
Starling ;  Wesley,  Smith,  Minerva  Lytle ; 
the  last  four  named  are  all  deceased. 

Lewis  Combs,  our  subject,  had  no  chance 
to  go  to  school  and  learn  to  read  and  write. 
He  remained  with  his  father  until  twenty 
years  old  when  he  began  working  out  at 
various  places.  He  first  bought  forty  acres 
of  land  in  Omega  township,  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  in  1864.  He  sold  this  the  following 
year  and  located  where  he  now  lives  in  sec- 
tion 35,  Meacham  township,  then  known  as 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


393 


Miletus  township.  He  served  as  postmaster 
for  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  He  was 
married  three  times,  first  to  Martha 
Schritchfield,  a  native  of  Indiana.  His  sec- 
ond wife  was  Isabelle  Simonds,  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  and  his  third  wife  was  Caroline 
Melton,  a  widow  of  Christopher  Melton  and 
a  daughter  of  Charles  and  Rebecca  Lock- 
hart.  The  latter  was  a  native  of  Orange 
county,  Indiana.  The  subject's  wife  was 
born  in  Clay  county,  Illinois,  in  1841.  Her 
parents  located  in  Oskaloosa,  Illinois,  and 
in  1860  went  to  Arkansas.  Her  husband 
in  1862  enlisted  and  was  taken  sick  at 
Helena,  Arkansas,  and  died  at  St.  Louis  in 
a  hospital  in  October,  1862.  The  family 
came  to  Clay  county,  Illinois,  and  the 
mother  died  in  March,  1895.  Three  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  namely:  Martha, 
who  died  in  April,  1862;  Caroline,  the  wife 
of  our  subject;  May,  who  died  April  10, 
1863.  Our  subject  has  six  children  by  his 
first  wife,  namely:  Frances,  widow  of 
Thomas  Garner,  and  she  lives  near  Salem, 
Illinois;  Louisa  married  Austin  Hanks,  of 
Omega  township ;  Logan  is  a  farmer  in 
Meacham  township;  Julia  is  the  wife  of 
Lorenzo  Phillips,  of  Omega  township ;  Aus- 
tin is  a  farmer  in  Clay  county,  Illinois; 
Samuel,  the  sixth  child,  is  deceased.  The 
subject  had  four  children  by  his  second 
wife,  namely:  Nellie,  the  wife  of  Frank 
Dravance,  of  Effingham  county,  Illinois ; 
Ella  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Smith,  living 
near  Salem,  Illinois;  Lee  is  a  farmer  in 
Omega  township;  Edgar  died  when  young. 
Two  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 


ject and  his  third  wife,  namely :  Mae,  who 
is  the  wife  of  Jesse  Payon,  a  teacher  of 
Marion  county;  Bessie  is  the  wife  of  Loyd 
Hanks,  of  Meacham  township.  Mrs.  Combs 
had  eight  children  by  her  first  husband, 
six  of  whom  are  still  living,  namely :  Louisa, 
who  married  Allen  Smith,  of  Clay  county, 
Illinois;  Belle  is  deceased;  Emma  married 
Edward  Threewit,  of  Meacham  township; 
Lockhart,  of  Sharpsburg,  Illinois ;  Martha  is 
the  wife  of  Walter  King,  of  Meacham  town- 
ship; Franklin  is  living  in  McCoupin  county, 
Illinois,  and  he  is  engaged  as  engineer  in 
the  coal  mines;  James  is  deceased;  Ellen  is 
also  deceased. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  purchased 
eighty  acres  of  land  where  he  now  lives  and 
first  started  to  make  a  home.  He  kept  add- 
ing to  this  by  thrift  and  economy  until  he 
now  has  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and  sixteen 
acres,  in  Meacham  and  Omega  townships 
and  where  he  carries  on  a  general  farming 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  stamp  him  as  one 
of  the  leading  farmers  of  the  township.  He 
has  always  been  a  stock  dealer  and  is  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  best  judges  of  stock 
in  the  county.  His  farm  has  always  been 
kept  to  a  high  standard  of  excellence  and 
the  soil  has  been  so  skillfully  manipulated 
by  the  proper  rotation  of  crops  until  it  is 
as  rich  today  as  when  he  first  took  posses- 
sion of  it. 

Mr.  Combs  has  always  been  a  loyal 
Democrat  but  he  has  never  aspired  to  office, 
being  content  to  devote  his  time  to  his  work 
of  the  farm.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are 
faithful  members  of  the  Christian  church. 


394 


BIOCKAPIIICAL    AND    REMIXISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


WILLIAM  HENRY  WILSON. 

The  ancestors  of  the  Illinois  family  of 
this  name  were  early  pioneers  of  Ohio,  set- 
tled in  Licking  county.  In  1851  the  gran- 
parents  of  our  subject  removed  to  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota,  and  entered  four  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  of  government  land  in  Anoka 
county.  The  grandmother,  whose  failing 
health  had  caused  the  removal  to  the  north- 
west, died  there  in  1852,  but  her  husband 
long  survived  her,  his  death  occurring  in 
West  Virginia  in  1883,  when  he  was  more 
than  eighty  years  old.  He  left  a  son,  Wil- 
liam O.  B.  Wilson,  who  remained  with  his 
parents  on  the  Ohio  farm  until  1850,  when 
he  married  Mary  Margaret  Seymour,  when 
they  settled  on  a  rented  farm  and  worked  it 
until  1853.  Deciding  then  that  they  could 
improve  their  fortunes  by  going  farther 
west,  they  emigrated  to  Illinois  in  wagons 
and  encountered  the  usal  hardships  of  trav- 
eling overland.  Purchasing  eighty  acres  of 
land  in  German  township,  Richland  county, 
some  years  were  spent  in  its  improvement. 
Later,  forty  acres  additional  of  timber  was 
bought,  and  from  this  the  rails  were  cut  and 
split  for  building  fences  and  necessary  dwell- 
ing and  out  houses.  In  1861,  Mr.  Wilson 
enlisted  in  Company  E,  Eleventh  Regiment 
Missouri  Volunteer  Infantry,  commanded 
by  Captain  Levinson,  of  Olney,  Illinois. 
After  serving  a  year  an  attack  of  erysipelas 
compelled  him  to  return  home  on  a  furlough. 
After  returning  to  the  army  at  the  end  of 
sixty  days  there  was  a  relapse,  necessitating 
his  removal  to  the  hospital  at  Cape  Girard- 


eau,  Missouri,  where  he  died  and  was  bur- 
ied February,  1862.  His  wife  died  June 
24,  1861,  shortly  before  his  enlistment  in 
the  Union  army.  They  had  four  children, 
of  whom  only  two  grew  to  maturity. 

William  H.  Wilson,  one  of  the  survivors 
of  the  family,  was  born  in  Licking  county, 
Ohio,  March  18,  1853,  and  was  conse- 
quently about  nine  years  old  when  he  be- 
came an  orphan  at  the  death  of  his  father. 
He  went  to  live  with  his  mother's  parents, 
who  had  come  to  Illinois  in  1852,  and  set- 
tled on  a  rented  farm  in  Richland  county.  In 
1859  they  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land  in 
Lawrence  county  and  it  was  here  that  their 
orphaned  grandchild  joined  them.  The  grand- 
mother died  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years 
and  her  husband  survived  until  1872.  when 
he  passed  away  at  the  age  of  seventy  years. 
This  venerable  couple  were  buried  in  Wag- 
oner cemetery  by  the  side  of  their  daughter. 
At  the  death  of  his  grandfather,  Mr.  Wilson 
was  nineteen  years  old  and  removed  to  Allen 
county,  Kansas,  but  after  a  few  months 
went  back  to  Illinois.  In  1874  he  again  took 
up  his  abode  in  Kansas,  but  eventually  re- 
turned to  his  old  home,  residing  a  while  in 
Lawrence  county,  but  eventually  taking  up 
his  permanent  residence  in  Richland.  He 
has  prospered  in  his  undertakings  as  the  re- 
sult of  hard  work  and  good  management. 
He  owns  eighty  acres  of  well  improved  land 
as  good  as  the  best  in  Claremont  township 
besides  thirty-five  acres  in  Minnesota,  in- 
herited from  his  grandfather. 

March  i8th,  Mr.  Wilson  was  married  to 
Phoebe  Miller,  who  was  born  in  Carroll 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


395 


county,  Ohio,  January  18,  1856.  Her  par- 
ents were  Jacob  and  Phoebe  (Lewis)  Miller, 
natives  of  Ohio,  who  came  to  Illinois  in 
1 864,  and  settled  in  Richland  county,  where 
the  latter  died  December  6,  1891,  and  her 
husband  November  27,  1894,  aged  seventy- 
six  years.  They  had  nine  children,  all  of 
whom  are  still  living,  Mrs.  Wilson  being  the 
sixth  in  order  of  birth.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wil- 
son have  five  children :  Charles,  Clifford, 
Clyde,  Cloy  and  Cora.  The  first  two  men- 
tioned are  married  and  both  are  prosperous 
farmers  in  Claremont  township.  The  other 
three  children,  one  son  and  two  daughters, 
still  remain  with  their  parents.  Mr.  Wilson 
is  a  member  of  Amity  Lodge,  Court  of 
Honor,  in  German  township.  Though  not 
a  member  he  attends  services  at  the  Meth- 
odist church  and  is  interested  in  all  good 
works  undertaken  by  the  denomination.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  takes  an  act- 
ive interest  in  all  local  campaigns.  His  first 
Presidential  vote  was  cast  for  Rutherford 
B.  Hayes  in  1876,  when  he  was  twenty-three 
years  old.  Mr.  Wilson  has  a  comfortable 
home  and  an  excellent  farm  which  he  has 
made  by  dint  of  much  toil  and  trials  that 
come  to  fanners. 


HENRY  WILLIAM   SEE,   SR. 

Our  subject  is  the  representative  of  an 
honored  pioneer  family  of  Marion  county, 
so  that  a  consideration  of  his  genealogical 
and  personal  history  becomes  doubly  inter- 


esting and  doubly  apropos  in  connection 
with  the  prescribed  province  of  this  publi- 
cation. Mr.  See  is  one  of  the  prominent 
farmers  of  Kinmundy  township,  having  a 
finely  improved  landed  estate  of  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-four  acres  and  he  is  carrying 
forward  his  operations  with  that  energy, 
foresight  and  careful  discrimination  which 
ever  betoken  the  appreciative  and  model 
yeoman. 

Henry  William  See,  Sr.,  is  a  native  of 
Marion  county,  where  he  has  been  satisfied 
to  spend  his  entire  life,  having  been  born 
April  30,  1849,  in  Kinmundy  township,  the 
son  of  Michael  See,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Allman  May  i,  1848,  and  to  this  union  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  born,  the  mother 
dying  when  the  son  was  seven  months  old. 

Our  subject  received  his  early  education 
in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  county 
where  he  applied  himself  in  a  careful  man- 
ner to  his  studies.  He  spent  his  boyhood  on 
his  father's  farm  assisting  with  the  work 
about  the  place  until  he  reached  maturity 
when  he  was  married  to  Mary  Alice  Black- 
burn June  29,  1869,  in  Hillsboro,  Mont- 
gomery county,  Illinois,  the  ceremony  which 
made  them  one  having  been  performed  by 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace.  The  family  from 
which  Mrs.  See  came  were,  many  of  them, 
known  as  eminent  lawyers,  doctors  arid 
preachers.  On  her  mother's  side  of  the 
house  many  of  the  family  were  Baptist 
ministers.  Mary  Alice  was  born  March  16, 
1849,  in  Medora,  Macoupin  county,  Illinois. 
Her  father  was  George  P.  Blackburn,  who 
was  born  in  Huntsville,  Alabama,  May  24, 


396 


ISIOCRAI'll  ICAI.     AM)     KKMIMSCKNT     HISTORY     OF 


1826,  and  who  was  married  February  14, 
1848,  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  to  Emily  E. 
Farrow,  who  was  born  in  Mount  Sterling, 
Kentucky,  December  9,  1830.  Seven  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them,  five  girls  and  two 
boys,  all  of  whom  lived  to  be  grown  and  all 
married,  the  subject's  wife  being  the  oldest 
of  the  number. 

Our  subject  and  wife  are  the  parents  of 
eight  children,  named  in  order  of  their  birth 
as  follows:  Harry  M.,  deceased;  Ollie  E., 
who  married  James  Lasater;  they  live  in 
Redlands,  California,  and  are  the  parents  of 
six  children,  an  equal  number  of  boys  and 
girls.  Ernest  B.,  the  subject's  third  child, 
is  deceased;  Sabyon  G.  is  also  deceased; 
Mabel  I.  married  J.  R.  Kelly,  a  Baptist  min- 
ister of  Highland,  Illinois,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  four  sons;  Emma  A.  married 
Dellis  Malone  and  is  the  mother  of  one  son. 
She  lives  in  Taibin,  New  Mexico;  Michael 
J.  and  Richard  E.  are  both  deceased.  These 
children  have  received  good  educations  and 
are  fairly  well  situated  in  life.  The  subject 
has  eleven  grandchildren,  all  living  but  one 
girl. 

Mr.  See  has  devoted  his  life  to  agricul- 
tural pursuits,  of  which  he  has  made  an 
eminent  success,  now  owning  a  fine  farm. 
No  small  part  of  his  income  from  year  to 
year  is  the  result  of  the  successful  handling 
of  stock,  he  being  an  extensive  breeder  of 
Polled-Angus  cattle,  and  good  horses.  His 
farm  is  also  well  stocked  with  many  fine 
varieties  of  chickens,  among  the  principal 
breeds  being  the  Black  Langshan,  which  has 
often  taken  prizes  at  fairs  and  poultry 


shows.  Mr.  See  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
best  farmers  in  Kinmundy  township  as  the 
general  thrifty  appearance  of  his  place 
would  indicate.  He  is  always  at  work  and 
never  neglects  anything  about  his  place  that 
needs  his  attention. 

Mr.  See  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political 
relations  and  takes  considerable  interest  in 
political  affairs,  always  casting  his  ballot  for 
the  man  whom  he  believes  to  be  the  best 
fitted  morally  and  intellectually  for  the  of- 
fice sought.  He  and  his  family  are  Mis- 
sionary Baptists  as  was  also  his  ancestors, 
among  whom  was  one  minister.  The  Sees 
are  regarded  as  people  of  the  highest  in- 
tegrity and  are  known  as  substantial  citi- 
zens wherever  they  reside.  Our  subject's 
well  improved  property  is  a  monument  to 
his  thrift  and  well  directed  efforts.  He  is  a 
man  of  earnest  purpose  and  upright  life. 


JAMES  AUSTIN  RICKEY. 

Mr.  Richey  is  the  owner  of  one  of  "the 
banner"  farms  of  his  county,  and  there  are 
very  few  indeed  among  his  friends  and 
neighbors  who  envy  him  the  success  which 
his  honest  efforts  and  steady  onward  plod- 
ding has  brought  him. 

James  Austin  Richey,  of  German  town- 
ship, Richland  county,  Illinois,  was  born 
August  10,  1848,  in  Meigs  county,  Ohio, 
near  Pomeroy,  the  county  seat.  He  was 
the  son  of  Thomas  L.  and  Elizabeth 
(Frank)  Richey.  His  father,  who  was  born 
May  5,  1810,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania; 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


397 


his  mother,  who  was  born  March  2,  1808, 
was  a  native  of  Germany.  Grandfather 
Richey  was  a  native  of  Ireland.  Thomas  L. 
Richey  came  from  Pennsylvania  to  Meigs 
county,  Ohio,  with  his  parents  and  re- 
mained with  them  on  the  family  farm  until 
they  died,  his  father  dying  first,  and  his 
mother  survived  for  several  years.  Thomas 
L.  Richey  then  worked  for  a  man  who  was 
engaged  in  running  produce  boats  down 
the  Ohio  river.  He  later  worked  on  steam- 
boats running  from  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
to  New  Orleans,  continuing  in  this  employ- 
ment for  several  years.  In  Meigs  county, 
Ohio,  about  the  year  1834,  he  married  Eliza- 
beth Frank.  At  this  time  he  bought  forty 
acres  of  land  which  he  improved  and  sold, 
and  with  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  he  bought 
an  eighty  acre  farm  nearby,  on  which  he  re- 
mained until  he  sold  out  in  1855,  and  started 
with  his  wife  and  four  children  for  Illinois. 
They  took  the  riverboat  at  Racine,  Ohio, 
down  the  Ohio  river,  landing  in  Evansv'ille, 
Indiana,  in  the  fall  of  1855.  Thomas  L. 
Richey  then  made  a  prospecting  trip  to  Illi- 
nois, where  he  bought  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  in  German  township,  Richland 
county,  then  returned  to  Evansville  and 
brought  his  family  to  their  n^w  home,  ar- 
riving in  November,  1855.  /About  thirty 
acres  of  the  land  was  already  cleared  and  a 
combination  log  and  frame  house  stood  in 
the  clearing.  This  land  had  first  been  en- 
tered by  Joseph  Basden,  his  deed  from  the 
government  being  written  on  a  piece  of 
sheepskin.  It  was  from  Mr.  Basden  that  the 
father  of  our  subject  bought  the  farm. 


At  the  time  of  the  family  migration  to 
Illinois  James  Austin  Richey  was  but  seven 
years  old.  As  soon  as  he  was  large  enough 
to  work  his  services  were  enlisted  in  the 
hard  work  of  the  clearing  and  farming  pro- 
cesses. In  those  far  off  pioneer  days  great 
herds  of  deer  roamed  the  woods  and  prairies 
and  flocks  of  wild  turkey  and  much  wild 
game  of  all  kinds  were  abundant.  He 
worked  hard  and  faithfully  assisted  his  par- 
ents until  their  deaths,  his  father  dying  in 
the  fall  of  1874,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  His 
mother  died  in  January,  1877,  aged  sixty- 
six  years.  Both  are  buried  in  Lone  Tree 
cemetery  in  Prairieton,  Lawrence  county. 
They  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  only 
four  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  James  Aus- 
tin being  the  youngest  in  order  of  birth. 
John  Andrew  and  Sarah  Matilda  are  de- 
ceased. Mary  died  some  years  ago ;  the 
two  other  children  dying  in  infancy.  James 
Austin  Richey,  the  only  living  member  of 
his  family,  was  married  to  Mary  W.  Richey 
on  the  1 4th  of  October,  1879.  Mary  Richey 
was  born  in  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  on  the 
1 9th  of  February,  1857.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Hugh  David  and  Cyrena 
(Nease)  Richey,  both  natives  of  Ohio.  Her 
grandparents  on  both  sides  are  now  dead 
and  are  buried  in  Meigs  county,  Ohio.  Her 
parents  were  married  in  April,  1856,  and 
lived  in  Syracuse,  Ohio,  until  they  came  to 
Illinois  in  the  same  year,  where  they  re- 
mained but  a  few  months.  Her  father  had 
bought  a  farm  in  Richland  county  and  his 
son,  David,  had  come  to  live  upon  it.  After 
a  few  months  the  family  returned  to  Ohio, 


398 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    KKM  I  X1SCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


where  Mary  W.  Richey  was  born.  They 
remained  in  Ohio  till  1864,  when  they  again 
returned  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Richland 
county,  where  they  remained  on  a  farm  in 
Claremont  township  until  1881,  when  a 
change  was  made  to  Flora,  Illinois.  Here 
Mrs.  Richey's  father  died  on  January  30, 
1904,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years,  and 
was  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Flora.  His 
widow  still  survives  him  and  lives  in  Flora, 
reaching  the  age  of  seventy-two  years  on 
September  30,  1908.  Mrs.  Richey's  parents 
had  four  children  born  to  them.  Her  brothers 
Arthur  and  William  E.,  are  still  living  and  a 
sister,  Ida,  died  when  eighteen  months  old. 

James  Austin  Richey  and  his  wife  at  the 
time  of  their  marriage  settled  on  the  farm 
in  which  they  still  live.  Previous  to  his 
marriage  he  built  the  present  substantial 
house  at  the  cost  of  one  thousand  dollars. 
Other  good  improvements  on  the  farm  were 
also  made.  Upon  the  death  of  a  sister,  James 
Austin  Richey,  together  with  the  members 
of  his  family,  moved  to  Arkansas,  where  the 
family  lived  for  about  two  years  and  a  half 
in  Green  county.  After  the  death  of  his 
elder  brother  in  Illinois,  the  subject  of  our 
sketch  and  the  members  of  his  family  re- 
turned to  Richland  county  in  the  year  1905. 
During  his  farming  career  in  German  town- 
ship he  has  been  successful  and  is. now  the 
possessor  of  a  farm  which  embraces  two 
hundred  and  forty  acres. 

Three  boys  and  two  girls  constitute  the 
family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richey ;  all  are  now 
grown  up,  the  youngest  being  fourteen  years 
old.  In  the  regular  order  their  names  are: 
Thomas  E.,  who  is  married  to  Clara  B.  Al- 


sey,  and  they  live  on  a  farm  in  German 
township ;  Clem  D.  is  the  husband  of  Mamie 
Young;  they  reside  on  a  farm  in  German 
township.  Bessie  Blanche,  Cerena  Maude 
and  William  Earl,  all  three  reside  at  home 
with  their  parents  and  are  single. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  attended  several 
winter  terms  of  the  free  common  school  in 
Amity  school  district.  When  sixteen  years 
of  age  he  had  to  devote  himself  entirely  to 
farm  life  and  thus  his  education  was  not  of 
a  very  complete  nature.  He  obtained  a  good 
general  training,  however,  becoming  pro- 
ficient in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic  and 
spelling. 

James  Austin  Richey's  father  and  elder 
brother,  John,  served  through  the  Civil  war, 
his  father  having  enlisted  December  i,  1861, 
and  his  brother  in  1862.  Father  Richey 
joined  the-  Sixty-third  Illinois  Regiment, 
Company  A,  under  Captain  Glaze  (after- 
wards promoted  to  colonel,  Captain  Mc- 
Clure  taking  charge  of  the  company). 
Thomas  L.  Richey  was  soon  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  sergeant  and  went  to  the  sea 
on  the  march  with  Sherman.  On  the  I3th 
of  July,  1864,  he  was  mustered  out  of  ser- 
vice, obtaining  surgeon's  certificate  of  total 
disability,  his  term  of  service  having  covered 
two  years  and  eight  months.  John  Richey 
served  but  a  little  over  a  year,  being  dis- 
charged in  St.  Louis  in  the  spring  of  1863, 
from  the  hospital  there  on  account  of  his 
broken  health.  He  was  attacked  with  the 
measles  at  Memphis,  Tennessee,  brought 
about  by  the  hardships  entailed  and  lack  of 
shelter. 

James  Austin  Richey  has  served  as  School 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


399 


Director  in  the  home    distfijfil    for    twelve 


years,  while  his  wife  served'  in  the  capacity 
of  post  mistress  at  Amity  post-office  in  Ger- 
man township,  for  over  three  years.  He 
also  served  as  Road  Supervisor  for  two 
terms  in  German  township.  He  has  a  good 
record  as  a  resident  of  German  township, 
having  lived  for  fifty-two  consecutive  years 
in  the  same  school  district.  He  was  in  the 
township  when  the  first  school-house  was 
built  in  the  year  1855. 

In  the  arena  of  party  politics,  James  Aus- 
tin Richey  is  a  strong  Republican,  having 
always  voted  a  straight  national  and  state 
ticket.  His  first  vote  went  to  Lincoln  to 
help  him  into  office  for  a  second  term.  He 
has  never  taken  a  very  active  part  in  local 
politics  as  he  has  always  strenuously  object- 
ed to  be  foisted  into  public  office. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richey  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  German  town- 
ship, where  they  have  always  held  member- 
ship with  the  exception  of  the  two  years 
spent  in  Arkansas,  when  membership  was 
transfered  to  the  church  there.  The  Richeys 
have  always  been  active  in  church  work  and 
church  duties. 


JOHN  SMITH. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  early  in  life 
realized  the  fact  that  success  never  smiles 
upon  the  idler  or  dreamer  and  he  has  ac- 
cordingly followed  such  an  aphorism,  de- 
voting his  life  to  ardent  toil  along  lines  that 


cannot  but  insure  success.  The  prosperity 
which  he  enjoys  has  been  the  result  of  energy 
rightly  applied  and  has  been  won  by  com- 
mendable qualities. 

John  Smith,  one  of  the  progressive 
farmers  of  Tonti  township,  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  was  born  in  this  locality  October  7, 
1838,  the  son  of  Britton  and  Mahala  (Fos- 
ter) Smith.  Great-grandfather  Smith  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  having 
taken  part  in  many  of  the  famous  battles 
and  strenuous  campaigns  of  the  same.  This 
old  family  finally  settled  in  North  Carolina, 
where  Britton  Smith  was  born  in  1811,  on 
November  7.  He  came  to  Tennessee  and 
then  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1829, 
among  the  pioneers  and  overcome  the  ob- 
stacles always  to  be  encountered  in  such  a 
country,  however,  he  remained  here  only 
about  a  year  when  he  returned  to  Tennes- 
see, but  soon  returned  to  Illinois  bringing 
his  father,  having  been  enthusiastic  of  the 
prospects  in  the  new  country,  believing  that 
the  future  was  filled  with  great  possibilities. 
The  entire  family  made  the  trip  from  Ten- 
nessee as  soon  as  they  could  arrange  to  do 
so  and  they  set  to  work  at  once  making  a 
home  here,  where  their  labors  were  richly 
rewarded  by  mother  nature,  who  seldom 
fails  in  just  compensation  for  labor 
expended  in  her  domain. 

Our  subject's  father  was  united  in  mar- 
riage in  1836  to  Mahala  Foster  and  settled 
in  section  28,  in  Tonti  township.  His  wife 
was  the  daughter  of  the  well  known  Hon. 
Hardy  Foster,  who  was  an  early  settler 
in  this  county,  having  come  here  from 


400 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OK 


Georgia,  becoming  popular  and  a  leader 
in  political  affairs,  having  represented 
this  district  in  the  legislature.  Fos- 
ter township  was  named  in  honor  of  this 
pioneer.  Britton  Smith  at  one  time  owned 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  in  this  county, 
being  one  of  the  best  known  farmers  in  this 
locality  and  he  also  took  much  interest  in 
local  politics,  having  served  as  Deputy 
Sheriff  of  Marion  county  for  about  seven- 
teen years,  during  which  time  he  rendered 
much  valuable  service  to  the  public.  He 
was  a  Democrat  in  his  political  faith.  From 
time  to  time  he  held  several  township 
offices. 

John  Smith,  our  subject,  was  born  here 
and  worked  upon  the  farm,  having  a  poor 
chance  to  receive  an  education.  However,  he 
applied  himself  as  best  he  could  and  has 
since  broadened  his  intellectual  horizon  by 
general  reading  and  travel. 

When  twenty-one  years  old  Mr.  Smith 
went  to  Texas,  where  he  remained  a  short 
time.  In  1862  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Flotiller  Nichols,  who  passed  away 
fourteen  months  after  her  marriage,  and  on 
October  2,  1868,  Mr.  Smith  married  Eliza- 
beth Smith,  who  was  reared  in  this  part  of 
Illinois,  and  who  was  called  to  her  rest  in 
November,  1877.  Two  children  were  born 
to  the  subject,  one  of  whom,  Charles  B.,  is 
living  in  this  county.  His  date  of  birth  oc- 
curred in  1873.  Our  subject  was  again 
married,  his  third  wife  being  Lenora  E. 
Coe,  who  is  also  now  deceased.  He  was 
married  a  fourth  time  to  Martha  C.  (Mea- 
don)  Lawson,  who  has  also  been  called  to 


her  rest.  Four  children  were  born  to  in. 
Smith  by  his  third  wife,  three  of  whom  art 
living.  Our  subject  has  devoted  his  life 
principally  to  farming  with  the  result  that 
he  has  achieved  definite  success  in  this  field 
of  endeavor,  for  he  has  great  ability  in  ag- 
ricultural lines  and  is  a  hard  worker.  He 
at  present  owns  eighty-one  acres  of  land  in 
this  township,  which  have  been  developed 
into  an  excellent  farm,  being  very  produc- 
tive and  yields  excellent  crops  from  year  to 
year.  He  has  an  excellent  residence,  well 
furnished  and  all  the  necessary  equipments 
for  carrying  on  successful  farming  in  a 
general  way.  Although  Mr.  Smith  has  now 
retired  from  the  farm,  he  still  oversees  its 
management. 

Our  subject  is  a  faithful  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  South,  being 
one  of  the  Stewards  of  the  local  church,  and 
is  at  this  writing  (1908)  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school.  Fraternally  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  at  Patoka,  Lodge  No.  860.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat  and  takes  a  lively  in- 
terest in  local  political  affairs,  having  served 
as  Township  Assessor,  also  as  Township 
Clerk,  and  Township  Treasurer,  which 
office  he  still  holds,  having  had  charge  of 
the  same  since  1885.  This  would  indicate 
that  he  has  given  entire  satisfaction  in  the 
dispensation  of  all  his  public  duties,  and  is 
held  in  strictest  confidence  by  his  constitu- 
ents else  he  would  not  have  been  entrusted 
with  so  many  important  public  offices,  nor 
retained  so  long. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES.    ILLINOIS. 


-401 


JOHN  BECK. 

The  history  of  Mr.  Beck  has  for  many 
years  been  entwined  with  that  of  German 
township,  Richland  county,  in  which  he 
lives,  where  he  has  always  been  regarded 
as  a  valuable  and  influential  citizen  and  one 
who  possesses  all  the  higher  qualities  of  the 
successful  farmer. 

John  Beck  was  born  in  Stark  county, 
Ohio,  on  the  3<Dth  of  July,  1841,  and  was 
the  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (Phillips) 
Beck.  Both  were  natives  of  Pennsylvania, 
the  former  having  been  born  on  the  28th 
of  January,  1797,  and  Elizabeth  Phillips  in 
April,  1806.  Jacob  remained  at  home  with 
his  parents  on  the  farm  in  the  Keystone 
state  until  his  twenty-eight  year,  when  his 
marriage  took  place  in  1825.  For  about 
four  years  he  and  his  wife  remained  in 
Pennsylvania  and  then  removed  to  Stark 
county,  Ohio,  where  Jacob  bought  about 
forty  acres  of  land,  on  which  they  lived  for 
some  time,  until  the  discovery  was  made 
that  the  title  was  worthless  and  they  were 
forced  to  give  up  the  place.  This,  needless 
to  say,  was  a  great  loss  to  them.  They  then 
lived  in  different  parts  of  Stark  county  for 
sometime  afterwards,  but  did  not  purchase 
any  land  and,  finally,  in  the  early  fall  of 
1842  they  set  out  overland  in  wagons  for 
Illinois.  The  trip  covered  four  weeks  and  in 
October  they  landed  in  Richland  county,  Illi- 
nois. Jacob  Beck  found  himself  there  with 
a  wife  and  one  boy,  John,  aged  one  and  a  half 
years,  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
in  money,  an  old  blind  mare  and  a  one-horse 
26 


wagon,  in  which  they  had  journeyed  from 
Ohio.  (For  further  information  on  John 
Beck's  parents,  see  biography  of  Daniel  Beck, 
of  Claremont  township,  in  another  part  of 
this  volume.) 

John  Beck  made  his  home  with  his  parents 
until  his  mother's  death  in  April,  1872.  Our 
subject  for  some  time  afterwards  lived  with 
his  father.  During  this  time  he  had  acquired 
a  half  interest  with  his  brother  Henry  in 
forty  acres  of  timber  land  in  German  town- 
ship. Some  time  later  he  sold  this  half  inter- 
est to  William  Miller  for  three  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  with  which  he  acquired  a  saw- 
mill. He  later  sold  the  mill  to  J.  J.  Goss.  On 
the  8th  of  October,  1874,  he  married  Eliza- 
beth Sager,  who  was  born  on  the  I7th  of 
March,  1855,  i°  Northampton  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. She  was  the  daughter  of  Reu- 
ben and  Elizabeth  (Snider)  Sager,  also  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Beck's  mother 
died  when  she  was  but  four  years  old  and 
she  went  to  live  with  an  elder  sister.  When 
about  nine  years  old  she  came  with  her  father 
from  Pennsylvania  to  Richland  county,  Illi- 
nois, in  the  fall  of  1864.  She  and  her  father 
remained  with  a  brother.  Peter  Sager,  senior, 
until  his  marriage  to  Leah  Crumb,  the  widow 
of  Isaac  Crumb.  Our  subject's  wife  then 
remained  with  a  cousin,  Daniel  Sager,  for 
about  three  years  and  then  worked  for  neigh- 
bors. She  continued  in  occupations  of  this 
kind  until  her  marriage.  Her  father  after- 
wards died  and  is  buried  in  Goss  cemetery  in 
German  township;  his  age  at  the  time  of  his 
decease  was  fifty-six.  Mrs.  Beck  was  a 
member  of  a  family  of  eleven  children,  nine 


402 


IIIOC.KAIMIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


of  whom  grew  up  and  six  are  now  living. 
Upon  his  marriage,  John  Beck  and  his  wife 
rented  a  farm  in  Crawford  county  in  the 
year  1875,  and  on  account  of  unfavorable  cir- 
cumstances removed  that  same  fall  to  Rich- 
land  county.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he 
traded  for  the  saw-mill  referred  to  before. 
He  then  moved  into  Decker  township  and 
later  bought  twenty  acres  in  Preston  town- 
ship which  he  afterwards  sold  and  returned 
once  more  to  German  township.  In  January 
of  1882  he  moved  to  his  present  farm  which 
then  consisted  of  forty  acres.  Since  that 
time  he  has  built  the  house  and  barn  now 
standing  and  otherwise  changed  the  face  of 
the  land  and  brought  it  to  its  present  ad- 
mirable state  of  cultivation. 

John  Beck  was  the  sixth  of  ten  children 
born  to  his  parents,  seven  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity.  His  father  died  in  April  of  1881, 
aged  eighty-four  years,  and  was  buried  in 
Goss  cemetery.  John  was  not  able  to  obtain 
an  extended  education  in  his  young  days. 
However,  he  attended  the  subscription  school 
and  went  for  several  terms  to  the  free  school 
in  Richland  county,  learning  to  read,  write 
and  spell,  also  obtaining  a  knowledge  of 
arithmetic.  To  John  Beck  and  wife  six 
children  were  born ;  three  girls  and  two  boys 
grew  up;  one  child  died  in  infancy.  In  regu- 
lar order  they  were :  Dorothy  Viola  is  the 
wife  of  George  W.  Gerber,  a  carpenter  of 
Claremont  township;  Sidney  Paul  married 
Maggie  Byrd  and  resides  on  a  farm  in  Shelby 
county;  Bertha  May  is  the  wife  of  E.  W. 
Craig,  a  farmer  of  German  township ;  Clara 
Agatha  and  Frederick  Stephen  are  both  sin- 


gle and  live  with  their  parents  on  the  farm. 
All  are  fairly  prosperous. 

In  politics  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a 
Democrat  and  has  for  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  taken  an  interest  in  local  politics.  He 
has  been  for  six  years  Commissioner  of  High- 
ways in  German  township,  and  School  Di- 
rector for  the  long  period  of  twenty-one 
years.  Active  as  he  has  been  in  the  pub- 
lic life  of  his  community,  he  has  never 
aspired  for  a  political  office  of  any  kind. 
He  and  his  wife  and  family  are  all 
members  of  the  the  St.  James  Lutheran 
church  in  Claremont  township.  He  is 
himself  one  of  the  original  founders  and 
builders  of  that  church.  He  has  served  as 
church  treasurer  for  about  twenty  years,  as 
a  deacon  for  several  terms,  and  as  a  teacher 
of  the  Sunday  school  class  for  the  past  thir- 
ty-five years,  and  is  now  an  elder.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  he  has  ever  been  active  in  all 
things  pertaining  to  his  church.  In  the  town- 
ship in  which  he  has  lived  the  best  part  of 
his  life  .he  is  favorably  looked  upon  as  an- 
upright  and  honest  man  and  as  an  industrious 
farmer  whose  success  is  well  deserved. 


REV.  WILLIAM  JACKSON  SIMER. 

This  sterling  and  honored  citizen  of 
Omega  township,  Marion  county,  is  the 
owner  of  one  of  the  best  farms  in  this  com- 
munity and  is  a  local  minister  of  the  Gospel 
of  much  popularity,  having  for  many  years 
performed  a  grand  service  among  the  people 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


403 


whom  he  has  elected  to  serve,  burying  the 
friends  who  pass  over  the  mystic  river,  mar- 
rying the  young,  beginning  life's  more  seri- 
ous walks,  and  in  many  ways  assisting  in 
ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  public  at 
large  and  his  character  has  from  his  youth 
up  been  unblemished  by  shadow  of  wrong, 
so  that  the  community  regards  him  as  one 
of  its  most  valuable  citizens. 

William  Jackson  Simer  is  a  native  of 
Marion  county,  having  been  born  here  Sep- 
tember 9,  1849,  and  is  therefore  fifty-nine 
years  old  at  this  writing  (1908).  His 
father's  name  was  Jason  R.  Simer,  a  Ten- 
nesseean,  who  came  to  Illinois  when  fifteen 
years  of  age  and  worked  by  the  month  until 
he  was  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years  to  Amelia  Gaston,  who  was  born  near 
the  Marion  County  Home  and  who  was 
called  to  her  rest  in  1866,  at  the  age  of 
forty  years.  Jason  R.  Simer  married  a  sec- 
ond time  to  Ruth  Carpenter  in  the  year 
1870.  Seven  children  were  born  to  him  by 
his  first  wife,  our  subject  being  one  of  the 
number;  and  three  children  were  born  of 
the  second  union. 

Our  subject  worked  out  among  the  neigh- 
bors .until  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age, 
having  attended  the  local  schools  in  Jef- 
ferson county,  later  the  Huff  school,  in  the 
meantime  during  the  winter  months,  and 
received  a  good  foundation  for  an  education 
by  diligently  applying  himself  to  his  studies, 
and  he  has  now  become  a  well  read  man  by 
constant  home  study  and  personal  observa- 
tion. When  twenty-five  years  old  he  be- 
gan to  make  public  addresses  on  local  po- 
litical issues  and  so  well  did  he  speak  that 


when  his  name  was  announced  to  appear  on 
a  program  he  was  always  insured  a  large 
and  interested  audience,  and  his  powers  as 
an  orator  and  his  ability  as  a  political 
worker  were  soon  recognized  by  party  lead- 
ers and  he  was  invited  to  speak  in  other 
communities. 

Our  subject  has  always  been  more  or  less 
interested  in  farming  pursuits  and  he  early 
in  life  gave  marked  evidence  of  being  a  man 
of  affairs,  and  he  began  to  work  for  him- 
self when  seventeen  years  old.  He  now 
owns  a  fine  farm  of  two  hundred  and  three 
acres,  forty  acres  being  in  timber,  the  rest 
being  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

Rev.  Mr.  Simer  has  always  been  an  ac- 
tive church  worker  and  Sunday  school 
worker,  especially  so  since  1880,  and  he  is 
now  filling  the  pulpit  each  Lord's  day  at 
Level  Grove,  Smith's  Grove,  Bethel  in  Clay 
county,  and  at  Brubaker,  giving  a  fourth  of 
his  time  to  each  charge,  all  of  which  he  has 
built  up  and  greatly  strengthened. 

Our  subject  has  been  twice  married,  his 
first  wife's  name  being  Sarah  E.  Easley, 
to  whom  seven  children  were  born,  four  of 
whom  are  living,  the  family  being  com- 
posed of  six  sons  and  one  daughter.  His 
second  wife  was  Mary  Alice  Farson,  to 
whom  two  children  were  born,  both  living. 
Their  names  are  Clay  and  Frank.  The 
names  of  his  children  by  his  first  wife  fol- 
low :  The  first  child  died  in  early  infancy  ; 
Leroy,  who  married  Goldin  Allen,  and  who 
had  three  children,  two  living,  a  son  and  a 
daughter;  Hershel,  who  married  Jennie 
Tate  and  who  has  four  children,  two  sons 
and  two  daughters;  Charley,  who  married 


404 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Ama  Hultz;  Hugh,  who  married  Minnie 
Jennings,  and  who  has  one  son ;  Margaretta 
and  Rollie. 

Mr.  Simer  takes  a  great  interest  in  public 
affairs  and  is  serving  his  third  term  as  Su- 
pervisor of  Omega  township  in  a  manner 
that  reflects  much  credit  upon  his  ability  and 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 
He  is  greatly  interested  in  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation, and  he  has  taught  six  successful 
terms  of  school  in  his  own  neighborhood, 
gaining  considerable  praise  as  an  able  in- 
structor and  his  services  were  in  great  de- 
mand. He  is  a  very  versatile  man  on  almost 
any  topic  and  he  is  ever  ready  for  any  good 
work.  He  has  a  large,  well  arranged  and 
carefully  selected  library,  consisting  of  the 
best  books  of  modern  and  early  days  on  a 
wide  range  of  themes  among  which  much  of 
his  time  is  spent.  He  has  always  been  a 
close  student  of  the  Bible,  having  an  ardent 
desire  to  know  and  comprehend  the  same, 
being  anxious  to  know  and  do  the  will  of 
the  Heavenly  Father,  and  to  follow  His 
teachings  at  all  times.  In  matters  affecting 
the  general  welfare  Rev.  Simer  has  been 
most  active  and  influential. 


JACOB  EYER. 

The  well  known  farmer,  Jacob  Eyer,  of 
German  township,  Richland  county,  Illinois, 
is  the  son  of  one  of  this  county's  earliest  set- 
tlers. He  was  bom  on  May  10,  1829,  near 
Rhinebier,  Germany,  on  a  farm.  At  the 


age  of  six  years  he  was  brought  by  his  par- 
ents to  the  United  States,  crossing  the  broad 
Atlantic  is  a  sail-boat  which  served  to  carry 
both  passengers  and  freight.  His  father 
brought  a  large  amount  of  property  with  him 
including  a  wagon  made  in  Germany.  The 
voyage  lasted  six  weeks  and  encountered  the 
usual  experience  of  the  travelers  in  early 
clays.  They  landed  in  New  York  harbor  in 
the  spring  of  1837,  and  came  to  Ohio,  where, 
in  Stark  county,  the  Eyers  settled  upon  forty 
acres.  Father  Eyer  built  a  log  house,  but 
sold  the  place  two  years  after,  the  family 
then  starting  in  wagons  overland  for  Illinois,, 
several  other  families  accompanying  them. 
They  forded  the  Wabash  river  at  Palestine,, 
and  the  Eyer  family  settled  in  what  is  now 
German  township,  Richland  county.  Pre- 
viously Jacob  Eyer's  father  had  entered  Il- 
linois and  entered  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  timber  land  they  settled  on. 
In  those  early  days  Richland  county  went  by 
its  old  title  of  Lawrence  county.  For  the 
land  the  elder  Eyer  had  paid  the  government 
price  of  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  an 
acre  and  also  one  hundred  dollars  to  a  man 
named  King,  who  held  a  squatter's  claim  on 
the  place.  This  sale  was  negotiated  before 
the  family  migration  to  Illinois  took  place. 
The  family  settled  in  German  township  in 
the  fall  of  1839,  two  years  before  Richland 
county  was  laid  out,  the  members  of  the  fam- 
ily moving  into  the  lob  cabin  vacated  by  King 
and  started  to  improve  the  land.  A  large 
log  house  was  built,  the  timber  was  cleared, 
and  the  place  was  put  into  a  good  state  of 
cultivation.  Our  subject's  father  died  in 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


405 


1850,  having  passed  the  age  of  fifty  years, 
his  mother  surviving  for  many  years,  died 
in  1891,  aged  ninety-one.  Both  are  buried 
in  the  old  Lutheran  church  cemetery  in  Ol- 
ney  township.  The  elder  Eyer  reared  eight 
children,  of  whom  Jacob  was  the  third  in 
order  of  birth. 

Jacob  Eyer  remained  with  his  parents  un- 
til his  twenty-first  year,  when  he  hired  out 
during  the  summer  and  in  winter  time  made 
his  home  on  the  farm  with  his  mother.  On 
the  3d  of  April,  1855,  he  married  Catherine 
Eyer,  who  was  born  in  the  same  part  of  Ger- 
many as  the  subject,  on  the  26th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1831.  the  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mar- 
garet Eyer,  both  of  whom  lived  and  died  in 
Germany.  Catherine  Eyer  came  to  this 
country  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  and  land- 
ed at  New  Orleans.  She  ascended  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  to  Evansville,  Indiana,  going 
thence  to  Richland  county,  Illinois.  About 
one  year  afterwards  she  married  the  subject 
of  our  sketch.  She  was  the  younger  of  two 
children  born  to  her  parents.  After  their 
marriage  Jacob  Eyer  and  his  wife  remained 
at  the  family  home  with  the  former's 
mother  for  six  months.  About  this  time 
he  built  a  log  house  upon  forty  acres  he 
had  previously  entered,  paying  the  price  of 
one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre. 
They  settled  on  the  place  and  for  seven 
years  worked  hard;  then  they  became  able 
to  buy  more  land  in  the  township  and  built 
the  large  frame  house  they  now  live  in. 
Since  that  period  much  land  has  been  ac- 
quired and  Jacob  Eyer  now  is  the  owner  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  fine  farm 


land,  all  of  which  is  in  German  township, 
well  improved,  all  but  ten  acres  of  the  farm 
being  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jacob  Eyer  are  the  parents 
of  nine  children,  of  whom  three  died  in 
childhood ;  the  living  members  of  their  fam- 
ily are;  John  is  single  and  remains  at  home 
with  his  parents.  Phillip,  who  is  also 
single,  has  interested  himself  in  drilling 
wells  and  resides  in  the  state  of  Washing- 
ton. Joseph  married  Vatie  Scherer,  and  re- 
sides in  Dwight,  Illinois,  engaged  in  the 
hardware  business.  He  has  four  children. 
Lizzie  is  the  wife  of  John  Metzger,  a  sales- 
man for  a  Chicago  wholesale  drug  house. 
They  are  the  parents  of  two  children  and 
reside  in  Hewe,  Illinois.  Christian,  Rena, 
George,  Frederick  and  Daniel  are  deceased. 

Jacob  Eyer  attended  about  three  terms 
of  subscription  school.  In  his  school  days 
teachers  were  hired  for  terms  of  three 
months  and  were  paid  at  the  rate  of  eight 
dollars  per  month.  He  learned  to  read  and 
write  English,  and  also  spell.  The  schools 
were  of  the  usual  primitive  character  of 
such  institutions  in  the  Middle  West  in 
those  days.  His  education  was  limited  as 
there  was  necessary  work  to  be  done  on  the 
family  farmstead.  He  had  two  younger 
brothers,  John  and  Phillip,  who  served 
through  the  Civil  war.  Both  joined  the 
Sixtieth  Illinois  Regiment  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Coconaur.  John  came 
home  from  the  conflict  on  sick  furlough 
and  died  soon  after.  Phillip  died  in  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  and  is  buried  there. 

In  politics  Jacob  Eyer  is  a  Democrat,  for- 


4o6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    A XI)    RKM  I  X ISCKNT    HISTORY    OF 


merly  taking  quite  an  active  interest  in 
township  and  county  affairs.  He  has  served 
as  school  director  for  many  years,  and  has 
been  a  Road  Overseer.  He  helped  the 
cause  of  education  by  generously  giving  the 
•district  the  land,  and  by  helping  to  build 
the  brick  school-house  which  now  stands  on 
his  farm  in  German  township.  He  worked 
for  two  years  helping  to  survey  and  build 
the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad,  now  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio,  which  was  finished  in 
1855.  It  went  at  that  time  as  far  west  as 
St.  Louis.  Our  subject  and  his  wife  and 
family  are  all  members  of  the  St.  James 
Lutheran  church  in  Claremont  township. 
He  was  for  many  years  an  elder  of  the 
church.  He  is  also  known  as  one  of  the 
first  organizers  and  a  builder  of  the  old  log 
church  erected  in  Olney  township.  He  and 
his  wife  and  family  are  very  active*  in 
church  circles. 


SAMUEL  G.  COPPLE. 

Mr.  Copple  is  one  of  the  leading  business 
men  in  Omega  township,  Marion  county, 
having  successfully  managed  a  store  and 
carried  on  other  lines  of  business  in  a  man- 
ner that  shows  him  to  be  a  man  of  unusual 
business  ability,  but  having  the  honored  an- 
cestry behind  him  of  which  he  can  boast, 
we  do  not  wonder  that  he  is  a  man  of  rare 
force  of  character,  for  in  the  genealogical 
history  in  both  the  paternal  and  maternal 
lines,  there  is  much  data  signally  germane 
to  a  compilation  of  this  sort. 


Samuel  G.  Copple  was  born  in  Washing- 
ton county,  Indiana,  April  24,  1849,  the 
son  of  Abraham  and  Rozan  (Hanger)  Cop- 
ple, the  former  having  been  born  in  Indiana 
April  2,  1827,  and  was  the  father  of  nine 
children,  seven  girls  and  two  boys,  three  of 
whom  lived  to  maturity,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  being  the  oldest  in  order  of  birth. 
Abraham  Copple  left  Indiana  in  1875,  and 
came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  where  he 
farmed  on  a  parcel  of  land  which  he  pur- 
chased, and  also  rented  additional  land.  He 
was  called  from  his  earthly  labors  in  Omega, 
this  county,  February  17,  1892.  He  mar- 
ried Rosannah  Hauger  September  21,  1847, 
and  they  first  moved  to  Sullivan  county,  In- 
diana, then  to  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
where  Abraham  lived  for  over  thirteen 
years.  His  three  surviving  children  are: 
Samuel  G.,  our  subject;  Alice  M.,  and  Ma- 
hala  M.,  who  is  now  deceased. 

The  early  education  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  gained  in  the  district  schools  of 
his  native  county,  which  were  taught  from 
two  to  three  months  each  year  during  the 
winter,  in  log  school-houses,  the  windows 
of  which  were  made  of  greased  paper  for 
panes.  He  was  compelled  to  walk  four 
miles  to  school.  During  the  remainder  of 
the  year  he  worked  on  his  father's,  farm. 
When  he  had  reached  maturity  he  married 
Mary  C.  Sill,  the  daughter  of  Commodore 
and  Sarah  (Beard)  Sill,  of  Jackson  county, 
Illinois,  and  she,  too,  received  her  education 
in  the  district  schools  of  the  country  which 
she  attended  three  months  out  of  the  year. 
Sarah  Beard  was  bom  in  Tennessee,  No- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


40/ 


vember  6,  1820,  and  died  at  the  home  of 
her  daughter,  Mary  C,  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty-eight  years.  Commodore  Sill  was 
born  in  1822  and  lived  to  be  past  fifty. 
They  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  five 
boys  and  four  girls,  of  whom  four  are  now 
living,  namely :  Marguerite  J.  Sellers,  whose 
home  is  in  Sandoval,  Marion  county ;  Ace- 
nith  A.  Walker,  of  Jackson  county,  this 
state;  Ransom  M.  Sill,  living  at  Blue 
Mound,  Marion  county;  Mary  C.  Copple, 
living  at  Omega,  this  county;  Alice  Sill 
lives  in  Blue  Mound,  also ;  Mahala  Solomon 
died  and  was  buried  in  Texas.  The  father 
of  the  subject's  wife  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, from  which  state  he  moved  to  Indi- 
ana, then  to  Illinois,  where  he  bought  a 
farm  in  Marion  county. 

Our  subject  and  wife  have  only  one  child, 
a  son,  named  Charles  E.,  who  is  married  to 
Etta  Kline;  they  have  one  son. 

Mr.  Copple  is  the  owner  of  sixty  acres 
of  good  land,  which  is  highly  improved  and 
lies  in  and  near  Omega.  It  is  a  valuable 
and  most  desirable  farm.  He  has  been  in 
the  general  merchandise  business  for  over 
twenty  years  at  Omega,  and  he  has  built  up 
an  excellent  trade  on  general  lines,  handling 
a  fine  quality  of  goods  and  giving  his  nu- 
merous customers  the  best  goods  possible 
for  the  money,  so  that  he  seldom  loses  a 
customer,  all  of  whom  he  treats  with  uni- 
form courtesy.  His  store  is  a  credit  to  the 
community  and  would  be  conspicuous  in  a 
much  larger  place.  He  also  manages  in  a 
most  successful  manner  the  hotel  at  Omega, 
which  has  become  known  to  the  traveling 
public  as  a  comfortable  place  for  transients, 


where  generous  treatment  is  always  accord- 
ed the  friend  or  stranger  alike.  Our  sub- 
ject also  conducts  an  up-to-date  feed  barn, 
and  manages  a  telephone  line,  and  he  is  re- 
garded by  everyone  as  an  enterprising  and 
accommodating  gentleman.  Although  these 
various  lines  of  business  occupy  most  of 
his  time,  he  does  not  neglect  his  duty  to  his 
county  or  state,  but  his  support  can  always 
be  depended  on  in  the  promotion  of  good 
government  and  honesty  in  politics.  Re- 
ligiously his  parents  were  members  of  the 
Christian  church  and  he  has  followed  in 
their  footsteps.  Mrs.  Copple  is  a  member  of 
the  same,  as  was  her  mother.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Copple  set  a  worthy  example  in  all  religious 
and  mortal  matters  before  their  children  and 
the  community  where  they  live. 


CATHERINE  BOATMAN. 

The  part  women  played  in  assisting  the 
early  settlers  can  not  be  underestimated.  By 
nature  not  as  robust  physically  as  their  male 
companions,  hardships  and  privations  leaned 
more  heavily  upon  them,  but  the  women  of 
that  day  who  came  with  their  husbands  and 
families  into  the  loneliness  of  what  was  then 
the  wilderness  were  equal  to  the  occasion. 
They  helped  to  dispel  the  gloom,  the  sense  of 
hopelessness  which  occasionally  fell  upon  the 
settlers  in  their  relentless  labor. 

A  woman  of  such  caliber  was  the  subject 
of  our  present  sketch,  the  hardships  and  ad- 
ventures of  whose  early  career  would  prove 
material  for  a  volume. 


4o8 


5IOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Catherine  Boatman  (nee  Hanes,)  of  Ger- 
man township,  Richland  county,  Illinois,  was 
born  September  9,  1827,  in  York  county, 
Pennsylvania,  the  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Susanna  (Phillips)  Hanes.  Her  grandmoth- 
er Phillips  being  the  daughter  of  Eva  Eliza- 
beth Reame  and  John  Phillips,  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty-seven  years.  They  were  all  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania.  Catherine  Boatman's 
mother  was  born  in  York  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  her  father  in  Philadelphia.  Her 
father  remained  in  Philadelphia  until  seven- 
teen years  of  age  with  his  parents;  he  then 
went  out  on  a  farm  and  also  taught  school  un- 
til his  marriage  to  Susanna  Phillips,  which 
was  solemnized  on  August  13,  1822,  in  Lit- 
tle Rock  church,  York  county,  Pennsylvania. 
They  farmed  in  that  state  until  1830,  when 
they  decided  to  move  to  Stark  county,  Ohio. 
Catherine,  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  being 
then  three  years  old.  Some  time  after  they 
again  moved  to  Portage  county,  Ohio,  re- 
maining there  three  years,  when  they  re- 
turned to  Stark  county,  which  was  their  abid- 
ing place  for  nine  years.  Then  they  decided 
to  migrate  to  Illinois.  Together  with  Uncle 
Peter  Sager,  his  wife  and  three  children : 
grandfather  John  Phillips  and  his  wife :  Ja- 
cob Beck,  his  wife  and  family ;  and  their  own 
children,  three  families  in  all,  consisting  of 
twenty-two  people,  they  started  on  October 
1 8,  1842,  on  an  eventful  overland  journey 
fraught  with  much  danger  and  hardship. 
They  arrived  in  Richland  county,  Illinois, 
on  November  18,  1842,  a  month  later,  after 
encountering  a  snow-storm  and  many  of  the 
customary  hardships.  As  an  instance  of  en- 
durance on  the  part  of  the  subject  of  this 


sketch,  it  is  recorded  that  she  walked  almost 
the  entire  way  from  Ohio  with  the  exception 
of  about  fifty  miles.  Of  the  twenty-two  par- 
ticipants of  that  journey,  but  four  survive. 
They  are  Mrs.  Sallie  Goss,  Mrs.  Cassie  Goss, 
Miss  Susan  Beck  and  John  Beck. 

When  Catherine  Boatman  first  landed  in 
Richland  county,  her  family  first  lived  with 
Uncle  Dave  Phillips  for  a  time,  after  which 
they  moved  to  what  was  known  as  the  Tegue 
farm,  where  they  lived  one  year,  at  the  end 
of  which  her  father  entered  forty  acres  in 
section  21,  German  township,  paying  one 
dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre.  The 
farm  at  the  time  of  his  purchase  was  all  tim- 
ber. He  first  made  a  small  clearing  on  which 
he  built  a  hewn  log  cabin  which  still 
stands,  and  into  which  he  moved  his 
family.  During  their  first  winter  there 
the  necessary  cooking  operations  were  per- 
formed in  the  stump  of  a  huge  tree,  which 
stood  close  by  the  door  of  the  cabin. 

Daniel  Hanes  continued  to  clear  his  land 
and  to  sow  and  plant  wheat  and  corn  as  fast 
as  he  could  get  the  soil  in  condition.  In  the 
course  of  time  he  built  a  frame  addition  to  the 
the  log  house,  in  which  abode  they  lived  un- 
til their  death.  Catherine's  mother  died  April 
21,  1864,  aged  sixty-five.  Her  father  sur- 
vived about  four  years,  dying  August  9, 
1868,  at  age  of  seventy.  Both  are  buried  in 
Goss  graveyard,  where  grandfather  Phillips 
is  also  laid.  Daniel  Hane's  parents  both  died 
in  Portage  count}',  Ohio.  He  had  three  chil- 
dren: John,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
two  ;  Cassie,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
nine,  and  Catherine,  who  was  the  youngest. 
He  also  took  charge  of  and  raised  his  broth- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


409 


er's  son,  George  Hanes  by  name,  who  is  now 
dead. 

Catherine  remained  on  the  farm  with  her 
parents  untilher  marriage  to  John  Boatman, 
on  November  n,  1847,  in  Richland  county. 
Her  husband  was  born  in  Columbiana  county, 
Ohio,  July  12,  1817,  the  son  of  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  (Goss)  Boatman,  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania. His  grandfather  Boatman  was  a 
native  of  France  and  died  at  the  advanced 
age  of  one  hundred  and  three  years,  his 
grandfather  Goss  also  died  at  the  ripe  old 
age  of  ninety-six.  John  Boatman's  parents 
were  married  in  Columbiana  county,  Ohio, 
having  both  come  there  with  their  parents 
from  Pennsylvania.  He  came  to  Richland 
county  from  Akron,  Ohio,  with  his  brother 
George,  the  pair  walking  every  step  of  the 
way  with  a  package  of  clothes  on  their  backs 
and  a  gun  on  each  one's  shoulder.  After  en- 
countering adventures  and  privations  on  the 
way  they  arrived  in  Richland  county  in 
April,  1847.  George  Boatman  bought  land 
on  which  he  settled  and  on  which  he  died  in 
1884.  John  bought  forty  acres  from  Jacob 
May  in  German  township,  for  which  he  paid 
him  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars.  It 
was  timbered  land  and  he  set  to  work  and 
cleared,  cultivated,  and  built  a  house  upon  it. 
He  later  annexed  some  forty  acres  of  ad- 
joining land  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
owned  a  well  cultivated  property  of  eighty 
acres  in  area.  He  died  September  13,  1896. 
aged  seventy-nine  years,  two  months  and 
one  day.  His  parents,  subsequent  to  his  ar- 
rival in  Illinois,  moved  to  the  state  where 
they  remained  a  year,  thence  moving  to  Mich- 


igan where  they  died.  Catherine  Boatman 
and  her  husband  had  thirteen  children  born 
to  them,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  There 
were  seven  boys  and  six  girls.  In  regular  or- 
der they  were:  Mary,  wife  of  Stephen  D. 
Best,  is  a  widow  and  lives  at  home  with 
her  mother;  Elizabeth  is  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Scherer,  of  Preston  township;  David  mar- 
ried Delithe  English  and  lives  in  South 
Bend,  Indiana;  Lydia,  the  wife  of  Louis 
Schulte,  lives  in  Claremont  township;  Susie 
is  the  wife  of  Joseph  Wilson,  of  Preston 
township ;  Simon,  who  is  single,  lives  on  the 
homestead;  Isaac  lives  in  German  township 
and  is  married  to  Emma  Fritz ;  Maggie  is  the 
wife  of  James  Henby,  of  Preston  town- 
ship; William  P.  married  Mellie  Feet,  and 
they  live  in  South  Bend,  Indiana:  Stephen 
married  Rella  Krieg  and  lives  at  South 
Whitley,  Indiana;  John  lives  at  home.  He- 
married  Julia  Wachtel,  deceased;  Milton  is 
married  to  Lucy  Sager  and  lives  at  home; 
they  have  one  child,  Elsie  Catherine  Boat- 
man. Catherine  Boatman  died  February  i, 
1909,  aged  eighty-one  years,  four  months  and 
twenty-two  days.  Mrs.  Boatman  was  buried 
February  3,  1909,  and  the  funeral  sermon 
was  preached  by  her  nephew,  Rev.  Isaiah 
Boatman,  of  Eaton  Rapids,  Michigan. 
She  reared  twelve  children,  all  of  whom 
are  still  living.  She  had  thirty-three  grand- 
children and  twenty-five  great-grandchil- 
dren ;  the  eldest  grandchild,  David  I.  Scher- 
er, being  thirty-seven  years  old  and  the 
youngest.  Elsie  Catherine  Boatman,  was 
born  July  21,  1908. 

Catherine  Boatman  went  to  the  subscrip- 


4io 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    KK.M  I.\  ISCKNT    HISTORY    OF 


tion  schools  in  Ohio  in  her  young  days,  where 
she  did  not  go  very  high.  She  learned  to 
read,  write  and  spell,  that  being  the  extent  of 
her  education.  She  could  not  find  time  to 
be  a  regular  attendant.  She  and  her  family 
were  among  the  earliest  settlers  in  Richland 
county.  She  could  well  lay  claim  to  being  its 
"grand  old  woman."  In  hex  early  days  the 
country  possessed  is  quota  of  wild  and  fero- 
cious animals,  and  the  picturesque  figure  of 
the  Indian  had  not  faded  from  the  vicinity. 

Always  a  strictly  religious  woman,  she  was 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church  since  she 
was  sixteen  years  of  age,  having  been  one  of 
the  first  to  enter  the  St.  James  Lutheran 
church  in  Claremont  township.  Her  com- 
munion class  which  numbered  twenty-two 
communed  in  the  old  log  church  many, 
many  years  ago.  Her  companions  of  the 
class  are  now  all  dead  with  the  exception  of 
two :  Michael  Eyer  and  Chris.  B.  Balmer. 

For  years  Catherine  Boatman's  home  life 
was  happy;  quiet  and  peaceful — a  fitting  close 
to  a  useful  life.  Her  name  is  a  household 
word  in  Richland  county,  with  whose  history- 
it  has  been  closely  entwined  from  the  earliest 
vears. 


H.  S.  McBRIDE. 

In  enlisting  men  of  enterprise  and  integ- 
rity in  furthering  its  general  business  ac- 
tivities, is  mainly  due  the  precedence  and 
prosperity  enjoyed  by  Marion  county,  and 
the  firm  of  which  the  gentleman  whose 
name  initiates  this  paragraph  is  a  member, 


is  recognized  as  one  of  the  representative 
druggists  of  the  county,  being  engaged  in 
business  in  Centralia  and  enjoying  an  ex- 
tensive wholesale  and  retail  trade. 

H.  S.  McBride  was  born  in  Decatur,  Il- 
linois. September  5,  1869,  the  son  of  Dr. 
Alexander  and  Mary  E.  (Jones)  McBride, 
the  father  of  the  subject  having  been  born 
in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  June  21,  1821.  His 
wife  was  born  in  Urbana,  Ohio,  April  18, 
1835,  and  they  were  married  in  the  Buckeye 
state  and  came  to  Illinois  in  1866,  locating 
in  Decatur.  They  became  the  parents  of 
three  children,  two  of  whom  are  living,  H. 
S.,  our  subject,  and  Frank  A.,  who  was 
born  in  1875  in  Decatur. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  began  his  edu- 
cation at  Decatur,  where  he  attended  school 
for  two  years.  He  was  then  sent  to  Car- 
thage, Missouri,  remaining  in  school  there 
until  1887,  where  he  made  an  excellent  rec- 
ord, and  after  completing  his  education,  he 
returned  to  Decatur  and  worked  as  a  drug 
clerk  for  one  year  in  the  employ  of  A.  J. 
Stoner.  He  then  went  to  St.  Louis  and 
worked  for  the  P.  G.  Alexander  Drug  Com- 
pany for  two  years  and  while  there  took  a 
course  in  pharmacy  in  the  St.  Louis  School 
of  Pharmacy.  From  there  he  went  to  Webb 
City,  Missouri,  to  work  for  the  McClelland 
Drug  Company  in  whose  employ  he  re- 
mained for  about  two  years,  when  he  moved 
to  Mattoon,  Illinois,  remaining  there  until 
1898,  clerking  for  the  Killner  Drug  Com- 
pany. He  gave  entire  satisfaction  in  all 
these  positions  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  had 


RICJ1LAXD,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


411 


an  intimate  knowledge  of  drugs  and  was 
courteous  to  customers. 

Our  subject  was  one  of  the  patriotic  cit- 
izens of  the  great  Sucker  state,  who  felt  it 
his  duty  to  assist  the  cause  of  humanity 
when  Cuba  was  being  oppressed  by  the  tyr- 
rany  of  Spain,  and  when  the  Spanish-Amer- 
ican war  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  Company 
A,  Fourth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  un- 
der Capt.  Joseph  P.  Barricklom  and  re- 
mained in  service  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
having  been  mustered  out  of  service  at  Au- 
gusta, Georgia.  He  served  at  Springfield, 
Illinois,  as  first  sergeant  and  was  promoted 
to  second  lieutenant  at  Camp  Cuba  Libre, 
Jacksonville,  Florida,  September,  1898. 

In  1900  Mr.  McBride  moved  to  Centralia 
and  clerked  for  Will  J.  Blythe  for  two 
years,  then  for  L.  H.  Reed  for  four  years. 
He  then  opened  the  Red  Cross  Pharmacy 
at  204  East  Broadway,  an  incorporated  in- 
stitution under  the  state  laws  of  Illinois,  the 
company  consisting  of  C.  D.  Tufts,  presi- 
dent; C.  E.  McMahon,  vice-president;  H.  S. 
McBride,  secretary  and  manager;  F.  Pullen, 
treasurer.  The  room  occupied  is  twenty- 
four  by  one  hundred  feet.  It  is  large,  airy 
and  commodious.  A  general  wholesale  and 
retail  drug  business  is  carried  on  among 
physicians  and  surgeons,  covering  a  radius 
of  forty  miles.  The  house  carries  a  large, 
complete  and  carefully  selected  stock,  and 
the  fixtures  and  equipment  are  modern,  well 
arranged  and  up-to-date  in  every  particular, 
and  a  very  liberal  trade  is  enjoyed. 

H.  S.  McBride  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Ida  A.  Mattock  on  September  8,  1895. 


She  war  reared  at  Mattoon,  Illinois,  and  is 
the  daughter  of  W.  D.  and  Temperance 
(Hackett)  Mattock.  Four  interesting  chil- 
dren constituted  the  Mattock  family,  three 
girls  and  one  boy,  Ida  A,  being  the  oldest. 
Mr.  McBride  is  recognized  as  a  first  class 
pharmacist  by  all  who  have  had  occasion  to 
investigate  his  work.  He  is  registered  in 
Illinois,  Missouri  and  Florida,  and  he  stands 
at  the  front  of  Centralia's  business  men. 
Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  No.  493, 
of  Centralia.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat 
and  follows  the  teachings  of  his  parents  in 
religious  matters,  affiliating  with  the  Epis- 
copal church. 


SAMUEL  H.  GRAHAM. 

One  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  Marion 
county  is  the  gentleman  to  a  review  of 
whose  life  work  we  now  call  the  attention  of 
the  reader.  Mr.  Graham  is  a  man  who, 
while  advancing  his  own  interests  does  not 
lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  it  is  his  duty  to 
lend  his  influence  in  furthering  the  interests 
of  his  community. 

Samuel  H.  Graham  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  Indiana,  in  1855,  the  son  of  John 
and  Sarah  Elizabeth  (Oldharrt)  Graham. 
Grandfather  Graham  was  born  in  Penn- 
sylvania. He  came  to  Butler  county,  Ohio, 
and  then  to  Rush  county,  Indiana,  where 
he  died,  after  a  busy  and  useful  life  as  a 
farmer.  He  had  a  large  family.  Grand- 


412 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    KKMIN ISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


father  Oldham  was  an  early  settler  in 
Marion  county,  Indiana,  where  he  had  a 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  He 
also  raised  a  large  family,  some  of  his  sons 
becoming  soldiers  in  various  Indiana  regi- 
ments. The  father  of  the  subject  was  born 
in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  and  moved  to  Rush 
county,  Indiana,  when  ten  years  of  age, 
having  been  reared  to  manhood  in  that 
county.  He  then  went  to  Fayette  county, 
rented  a  farm  and  later  moved  to  Marion 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  bought  eighty 
acres  on  which  he  lived  for  three  years,  and 
it  was  while  living  there  that  our  subject 
was  born.  He  then  sold  this  farm  and 
moved  to  Franklin  county,  Indiana,  where 
he  lived  for  twenty  years  and  then  came  to 
Clay  county,  Illinois,  where  he  bought  a 
farm  on  which  he  spent  the  balance  of  his 
life,  dying  April  i,  1888,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
four  years,  his  wife  having  preceded  him 
to  the  narrow  house  on  August  9,  1881, 
while  on  a  visit  in  Indiana.  She  was  fifty- 
two  years  old.  Fourteen  children  were 
bom  to  this  family,  six  boys  and  eight  girls, 
eleven  of  them  reaching  maturity.  The 
subject's  father  affiliated  with  the  Baptist 
church  and  his  mother  was  a  Methodist. 
John  Graham  was  a  Democrat,  and  was 
School  Director,  and  always  supported  the 
schools. 

Samuel  H.  Graham,  our  subject,  attended 
the  public  schools  in  Indiana,  remaining  in 
the  common  schools  until  he  was  twenty 
years  old,  attending  high  school  at  Harts- 
ville,  and  later  the  University  at  Valparaiso. 
He  applied  himself  diligently  and  became 


a  well  educated  man  and  commenced  teach- 
ing on  June  7,  1876,  which  he  continued 
for  twenty-five  years  and  in  all  these  years 
he  never  taught  in  more  than  eight  different 
districts.  However,  his  services  were  much 
sought  after,  his  reputation  as  an  able  in- 
structor having  been  widely  known.  After 
his  career  as  a  teacher,  Mr.  Graham  for  a 
short  time  engaged  in  agricultural  business 
in  Fayette  county,  Indiana,  but  moved  to 
Clay  county,  Illinois,  when  yet  a  single  man 
and  resided  with  his  father  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death  in  1888,  then  moved  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1890.  He  had  been  living 
in  Clay  county,  this  state,  since  1881,  and 
then  came  onto  the  farm  which  he  had  pre- 
viously bought  and  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided, his  present  highly  improved  farm 
consisting  of  ninety-nine  acres.  He  was 
administrator  on  his  father's  estate  in  Clay 
county.  Our  subject  carries  on  farming  of 
a  general  nature  and  handles  some  good 
stock. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  on 
May  n,  1890,  with  Eunice  K.  Wilkinson, 
a  native  of  Iowa,  and  the  daughter  of  Ste- 
phen and  Lois  (Maak)  Wilkinson,  natives 
of  Ohio,  who  moved  to  Iowa,  and  then  back 
to  Ohio,  later  to  Indiana  and  then  to  Van 
Wert,  Ohio.  Mrs.  Wilkinson  died  in  Ham- 
ilton county,  Ohio,  and  Mr.  Wilkinson  at 
Van  Wert.  There  were  fifteen  children  in 
this  family,  seven  of  them  living  to 
maturity. 

Five  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Graham  as  follows:  Elsie  Floy,  born 
in  1891,  and  died  the  following  July:  Wai- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


413 


ter  T.,  who  was  bom  in  1892,  is  living  at 
home  with  his  parents;  Earl,  who  was  born 
in  1894,  is  also  a  member  of  the  family 
circle;  Harold  was  bom  in  1897;  Roy  Syl- 
vester was  born  in  1901. 

Mr.  Graham  in  his  farternal  relations  is 
a  member  of  the  Woodmen  and  the  Royal 
Neighbors.  He  has  been  Auditor,  serving 
with  much  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  all  concerned.  In  politics  he 
is  a  Democrat  and  has  been  County  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  since  April,  1908;  also 
has  been  Supervisor  of  his  township  and 
has  been  Town  Clerk  for  eight  or  nine 
years;  also  Town  Collector,  School  Direc- 
tor for  fifteen  years.  He  still  holds  the  po- 
sitions of  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  and 
School  Director  and  Supervisor.  He  was  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  for  four  years,  and  a 
delegate  to  the  state,  judicial  and  county 
conventions.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Review  of  the  county.  In  religion 
our  subject  subscribes  to  the  Baptist  faith, 
while  his  wife  affiliates  with  the  Methodists. 


JOSEPH  KOCHER. 

Mr.  Kocher,  of  German  township.  Rich- 
land  county,  is  an  industrious  farmer  who 
owes  his  birth  and  kindred  to  the  romantic 
county  in  Europe  through  which  the  river 
Rhine  flows.  He  is  German  by  birth  and 
descent.  By  adoption  he  is  an  American  cit- 
izen, sturdy  and  industrious,  whose  life  of 
forty-three  years  in  Richland  county  has  won 


him  the  respect  and  friendship  of  his  neigh- 
bors. He  was  born  on  the  ijth  of  April,  1836, 
near  Strasburg,  Germany,  and  was  the  son  of 
Martin  and  Catherine  (Orrick)  Kocher. 
Martin  Kocher  worked  in  Germany  as  a 
blacksmith  and  married  Catherine  Orrick 
sometime  about  the  year  1831.  They,  with 
their  family,  left  their  native  Germany  on  the 
2d  of  November,  1852,  and  sailed  for  the 
United  States,  landing  at  New  Orleans  on 
the  3d  of  March,  1853,  after  a  voyage  across 
the  ocean  of  seventy-five  days'  duration,  dur- 
ing which  they  encountered  all  the  privatins 
which  ocean  traveling  at  that  time  engen- 
dered. From  New  Orleans  they  took  a 
steamer  up  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers 
to  Cincinnati.  From  there  they  went  through 
Akron  and  settled  in  Summit  county,  Ohio, 
where  our  subject's  father  and  brothers 
worked  in  the  coal  mines. 

On  May  31,  1859,  in  Stark  county,  Ohio, 
Joseph  Kocher  married  Elizabeth  Weiler, 
the  daughter  of  Matthew  and  Teresa  (Getz) 
Weiler.  Mrs.  Kocher  was  born  in  the  county 
in  which  she  was  married  on  the  28th  of  July, 
1840.  Her  parents,  natives  of  Germany, 
died  when  she  was  but  fourteen  years  old. 
They  were  buried  in  Canton,  Ohio.  Our 
subject's  wife  lived  with  an  elder  sister  until 
her  marriage. 

Joseph  Kocher  had  bought  twenty  acres 
previous  to  his  marriage  and  afterwards 
bought  eleven  acres  more  upon  which  was  a 
log  house  and  into  which  he  and  his  wife 
moved  and  lived  for  six  years.  During  this 
time  he  farmed  this  place  in  Ohio  and  also 
worked  in  the  coal  mines.  In  March,  1865. 


KIOGRAPIIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


they  moved  to  Illinois,  coming  by  railroad, 
This  was  just  three  weeks  before  the  fatal 
tragedy  which  ended  the  life  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Our  subject  having  sold  his  place 
in  Ohio,  he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  timber 
land  in  German  township,  Richland  county, 
and  paid  seventeen  dollars  an  acre  for  the 
same.  A  rude,  small  log  shanty  stood  upon 
the  land  which  he  changed  without  outside 
help  into  the  substantial  structure  in  which 
he  and  his  wife  now  live.  He  built  barns 
and  cleared  and  cultivated  the  land.  In 
after  years  he  added  to  the  property, 
and  today  he  owns  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  in  one  of  the  best  districts 
of  German  township,  all  of  which,  with 
the  exception  of  about  fifteen  acres,  is 
under  cultivation.  Five  or  six  years  after 
Joseph  Kocher's  arrival  in  Illinois  his  father 
and  mother  also  moved  to  Richland  county, 
and  bought  ninety  acres  of  good  land  in  the 
same  township,  and  upon  which  they  after- 
wards died.  His  mother  died  in  1883,  hav- 
ing passed  her  eighty-third  year;  his  father 
died  in  May,  1892,  aged  eighty-two  years 
and  ten  months.  Both  were  buried  in  old 
St.  Joseph's  cemetery  in  German  township, 
situated  on  Ginder  farm.  Our  subject  was 
the  second  child  born  to  his  parents,  who 
had  six  children  in  all,  one  of  whom  died  in 
Germany. 

Joseph  Kocher  and  his  wife  experienced 
many  hardships  and  privations  in  their  early 
days  in  Richland  county.  Game  and  wild 
animals  were  very  much  in  evidence,  par- 
ticularly wolves  and  bears.  In  early  times 
the  prairie-grass  grew  to  the  height  of  ten 


or  fifteen  feet.  To  get  started  in  Richland 
county  he  worked  hard  on  the  farm  and  at 
times  during  the  first  winter  worked  in  the 
coal  mines  at  Washington,  Indiana.  He  and 
his  wife  are  the  parents  of  eleven  children. 
One  died  at  two  years  of  age  and  two  more 
have  died.  In  regular  order  the  children 
were  named :  Andy,  who  married  Catherine 
Hahn,  is  deceased;  William  married  Anna 
Rennier ;  Mary  is  ,the  wife  of  Leo  Hahn,  and 
Catherine  of  Joseph  Hahn ;  Simon  married 
Helen  Kramer,  of  Indiana,  (deceased)  is 
now  married  to  Friedrika  Shuttie.  Rosa 
Elizabeth  is  single  and  makes  her  home  with 
her  parents.  Martin  married  Mary  Doll  and 
lives  in  the  vicinity  of  Vincennes;  Frances  is 
deceased ;  Aloyese  married  Anna  Shuttle- 
bauer,  and  Leo,  who  married  Ida  Rennier. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Democrat  of  the 
Douglas  pattern.  He  served  six  years  as  a 
school  director  and  was  elected  for  another 
term,  but  would  not  serve.  He  has  never 
sought  office  as  he  preferred  to  devote  the 
greater  part  of  his  time  to  his  agricultural 
interests.  In  his  young  days  Joseph  Kocher 
attended  school  in  Germany  until  his  four- 
teenth year  and  was  well  equipped  for  life's 
batttle.  Later  he  attended  English  school, 
but  his  education  in  the  English  language 
was  mostly  gained  through  his  own  efforts. 
He  and  his  wife,  as  well  as  their  family,  are 
members  of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  church 
in  German  township  and  have  always  been  ac- 
tive in  church  work  and  duties.  He  held  one 
term  as  trustee  of  the  church. 

Joseph  Kocher's  land  has  the  reputation 
of  containing  oil  springs  of  value,  and  this 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


415 


feature  is  sure  to  greatly  enhance  the  value 
of  the  property  and  bring  forth  great  re- 
turns in  the  future. 


WILLAM  H.   GRAY. 

An  enumeration  of  the  enterprising  men 
of  Marion  county,  Illinois,  who  have  won 
recognition  and  success  for  themselves  and 
at  the  same  time  have  conferred  honor  upon 
the  community  would  be  incomplete  were 
there  failure  to  make  mention  of  the  popu- 
lar gentleman  whose  name  initiates  this  re- 
view. He  holds  worthy  prestige  in  business 
circles,  and  has  always  been  distinctively  a 
man  of  affairs  and  wields  a  wide  influence 
among  those  with  whom  his  lot  has  been 
cast,  having  won  definite  success  and  shown 
what  a  man  with  lofty  principles,  honesty 
of  purpose  and  determination  can  win  while 
yet  young  in  years.  In  both  banking  and 
agricultural  circles  Mr.  Gray  stands  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  men  who  honor  these 
callings  in  this  county  and  because  of  his 
industry,  integrity  and  courtesy  he  is  a  man 
to  whom  the  future  holds  much  of  promise 
and  reward. 

William  Harvey  Gray  was  born  in 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1876,  the  son 
of  James  Robert  and  Nancy  Illinois  Gray 
(nee  Boothe).  James  Harvey  Gray,  grand- 
father of  our  subject,  was  born  in  Maury 
county,  Tennessee,  and  was  brought  to  this 
county  by  his  parents  when  four  years  of 
age.  His  father,  James  Gray,  was  the  son 


of  William  Gray,  the  great-great-grand- 
father of  our  subject.  William  Gray  was 
born  in  North  Carolina  and  moved  to 
Maury  county,  Tennessee.  He  married  a 
young  lady  by  the  name  of  McNabb  in  the 
year  of  1 776.  Five  sons  were  born  to  them, 
James,  Joseph,  William,  John  and  Samuel. 
William  Gray  was  a  soldier  in  the  American 
Revolution  and  was  also  in  the  Indian  wars 
of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  He  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation.  He  had  one  brother 
by  the  name  of  James  Gray.  William  Gray 
died  when  about  the  age  of  eighty-three. 

James  Gray,  great-grandfather  of  our 
subject,  was  born  in  Maury  county,  Ten- 
nessee, June  20,  1789.  He  married  Martha 
Denton  in  the  year  1808  and  moved  to 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1828,  and  settled 
the  old  homestead  on  section  10,  being  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  the  county.  They  had 
four  sons,  Joseph,  William  Harrison, 
James  Harvey  and  Isaac  Denton.  James 
Gray  was  called  into  the  United  States'  ser- 
vice by  the  Governor's  proclamation  dated 
April  19,  1832.  He  enlisted  as  second  lieu- 
tenant of  Spy  Battalion,  First  Brigade  of 
the  Illinois  Mounted  Volunteers.  He  had 
one  horse  shot  from  under  him  and  was  on 
furlough  August  n,  1832,  and  honorably 
discharged  August  i6th,  having  served  un- 
der Capt.  William  N.  Dobbins.  He  also 
served  in  the  Creek  and  Indian  war  and  the 
Black  Hawk  war.  He  was  a  powerful  man 
physically,  having  measured  six  feet  two 
inches  and  weighing  two  hundred  ten 
pounds.  He  was  the  first  Justice  of  the 
Peace  in  Kinmundy  township,  which  office 


4i6 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


he  held  until  his  death.  He  also  sowed  the 
first  timothy  seed  in  this  township  in  1843. 
He  and  his  brother  Joseph  furnished  to 
the  settlers  the  first  sawed  lumber,  which 
they  sawed  with  a  whipsaw.  He  also 
taught  school  in  a  cabin  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  early  preachers  of  the  Baptist  and  Cum- 
berland Presbyterian  denominations  held 
meeting  in  his  home.  He  died  suddenly  by 
an  accident  on  October  3,  1835,  leaving  a 
widow  and  family  of  eight  children. 

His  widow,  Martha  Gray,  entered  eighty 
acres  of  land  February  13,  1837,  where 
they  started  their  improvements.  It  was  the 
west  half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
10,  Kinmundy  township.  The  following 
fall  she  entered  forty  acres  more  in  the 
same  section.  She  was  born  in  April,  1786, 
and  departed  this  life  May  27,  1844. 

James  Harvey  Gray,  the  grandfather  of 
our  subject,  was  born  in  Maury  county, 
Tennessee,  April  25,  1825,  and  as  stated 
above  came  to  this  county  when  four  years 
old.  He  began  life's  struggle  at  the  age 
of  ten  by  first  making  a  crop  for  his  mother. 
Full  of  ambition,  grit  and  energy  he  was 
successful  from  the  start,  though  so  young. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen,  it  may  be  said,  he 
commenced  life  for  himself,  purchasing  a 
yoke  of  cattle  and  a  horse  on  credit.  He 
remained,  however,  on  the  old  place  putting 
in  crops  until  ready  to  invest  in  a  piece  of 
land,  which  he  did  at  the  age  of  twenty-six 
by  making  a  purchase  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  partly  paying  therefor  with 
money  borrowed.  From  that  time  his  ca- 
reer was  onward.  He  rapidly  accumulated 


property  by  his  just  and  upright  dealings, 
adding  acre  to  acre  until  he  could  look  over 
twelve  hundred  acres  of  land,  all  of  which 
was  in  one  body,  and  call  it  his  own.  He 
also  had  other  valuable  property.  He  was 
a  man  of  powerful  mental  ability  and  men 
would  go  to  him  for  advice  and  he  was 
always  glad  to  aid  his  fellowman.  Mr. 
Gray  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  and 
seven  months  was  married  November  28, 
1844,  to  Susanna  Jane  Hanna,  who  was 
born  October  18,  1824,  and  departed  this 
life  December  24,  1862.  To  this  union 
five  children  were  born.  A  second  marriage 
was  contracted  with  Margaret  Lucinda 
Hanna  in  1863.  This  lady,  to  whom  three 
children  were  born,  died  in  1871.  In  the 
year  of  1872  Mr.  Gray  united  in  marriage 
with  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Boothe,  widow  of  Col. 
James  W.  Boothe,  who  commanded  the 
Fortieth  Illinois  Infantry  during  the  Civil 
war.  Before  this  he  was  first  lieutenant  in 
the  Mexican  war  and  was  at  the  battle  of 
Vera  Cruz  and  Cerro  Gordo.  Mr.  Gray  did 
not  enjoy  the  advantages  of  an  education, 
being  too  early  deprived  of  a  father  and 
compelled,  being  the  eldest  son  at  home,  to 
care  for  the  family.  He  was  a  natural 
mathematician  and  could  calculate  mentally 
the  amount  of  anything  almost  instantly. 
He  was  six  feet  tall,  stood  erect  and  was 
well  formed.  His  temperament  was  bilious, 
nervous  and  sanguine.  He  was  fitted  for  the 
execution  and  power  to  endure  both  mental 
and  physical  labor.  Mr.  Gray  was  one  of 
the  original  stockholders  of  the  Farmers' 
and  Merchants'  Bank  of  Kinmundy,  which 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


417 


was  organized  in  January,  1870,  soon  after- 
wards became  president,  which  position  he 
held  during  his  life.  It  was  known  as  a 
co-partnership  or  private  bank.  The  stock 
was  held  by  himself,  his  widow  and  T.  W. 
Raymond,  cashier,  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
Mr.  Raymond  died  shortly  after  Mr.  Gray. 
The  bank  was  closed  by  Mrs.  Gray,  the  only 
surviving  stockholder,  through  the  subject 
of  our  sketch.  Mr.  Gray  was  a  man  that 
enjoyed  his  home  life  and  visitors  were  sure 
of  receiving  a  warm  welcome  at  his  fire- 
side. He  belonged  to  Kinmundy  Lodge 
No.  398,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, also  a  member  of  Rosedale  Lodge  No. 
354,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
In  his  religious  views  he  was  a  Cumberland 
Presbyterian.  In  politics,  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat of  the  old  Jeffersonian  school.  He  lived 
on  the  old  homestead  seventy-two  years, 
outliving  all  of  his  children.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-six  years  and  six  months  on 
October  25,  1901. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Gray,  widow  of  James  H. 
Gray  and  grandmother  of  our  subject,  was 
born  May  13,  1827,  in  Indiana,  later  corn- 
to  Illinois  in  February,  1858,  locating  in 
Kinmundy.  Daniel  Clark,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  Gray  and  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  lived 
to  be  over  seventy  years  old.  Her  mother 
lived  to  be  about  ninety-six  years  of  age. 
Mrs.  Gray  was  first  married  to  James  W. 
Boothe  May  i,  1851.  To  this  union  five 
children  were  born.  Mr.  Boothe  was  born 
October  9,  1820,  and  died  February  17, 
1863.  Mrs.  Gray  married  James  H.  Gray 
in  1872.  At  this  writing  Mrs.  Gray  is  hale 
27 


and  hearty  and  her  mind  is  clear,  quick  and 
active.  Since  1901  she  has  made  two  trips 
to  the  Pacific  coast  and  is  now  past  the 
eighty-first  mile-stone  in  her  journey 
through  life.  As  time  passes  swiftly  she 
pieces  quilts  and  makes  fancy  pillows  so  as 
not  to  have  any  idle  moments  in  her  life.  In 
her  religious  views  she  is  a  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  and  is  a  member  of  that 
church. 

James  Robert  Gray,  father  of  our  sub- 
ject, was  born  July  2,  1854,  on  the  old 
homestead.  He  married  Nancy  Illinois. 
Boothe  August  19,  1875.  Two  sons  were 
born  to  them,  William  Harvey,  our  subject, 
and  James  Lemon,  who  died  when  about 
six  months  old.  James  R.  Gray  departed 
this  life  September  8,  1880,  after  a  use- 
ful and  active  career  filled  with  good  deeds. 

William  Harvey  Gray  was  born  April  12, 
1876,  as  indicated  in  a  preceding  paragraph. 
He  attended  the  district  school  near  the  old 
homestead,  later  attending  the  public 
school  in  Kinmundy,  and  from  there  to  St. 
Louis,  where  he  completed  a  thorough 
course  in  banking  and  general  business  in 
the  Bryant  and  Stratton  Business  College. 
After  graduating  from  this  institution  he 
went  to  Raymond,  Illinois,  and  engaged  in 
the  general  mercantile  business  for  two 
years,  when  he  sold  out  on  account  of  his 
grandfather's  death  and  the  death  of  Mr. 
Haymond,  returning  to  Kinmundy  to  set- 
tle up  the  business  of  the  Farmers'  and  Mer- 
chants' Bank,  of  which,  at  that  time  as 
stated  before,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Gray  was  the 
sole  surviving  partner.  He  settled  up  the 


4i8 


I'.IOCKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


affairs  of  that  institution,  paying  the  de- 
positors in  full  in  less  than  sixty  days  from 
the  time  the  bank  was  closed  on  December 
4,  1901.  He  then  was  a  main  factor  in  or- 
ganizing The  Haymond  State  Bank,  becom- 
ing cashier  of  the  same  and  holding  that 
position  until  its  consolidation  with  the 
First  National  Bank  on  August  15,  1906. 
During  this  time  he  assisted  in  the  settling 
up  of  his  grandfather's  large  estate.  After 
the  consolidation  of  the  banks  our  subject 
resigned,  taking  the  active  management  of 
his  real  estate  properties  which  were  ex- 
tensive. He  now  owns  two  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  of  the  old  homestead  property 
which  has  never  left  the  control  of  the 
Gray  family  from  the  time  the  grandfather 
bought  it.  In  all  he  owns  one  thousand 
acres  of  improved  land,  mostly  prairie.  He 
rents  this  out,  reserving  the  control  of  the 
method  of  cultivation  so  that  the  soil  may 
be  kept  in  good  productive  condition.  The 
fences  are  mostly  of  wire,  the  fields  drain 
naturally  and  general  farming  is  successfully 
carried  on.  Mr.  Gray  is  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Kinmundy  Building  and  Loan  As- 
sociation, having  been  first  elected  in  1902, 
being  elected  treasurer  in  1907  and  presi- 
dent in  1908.  He  was  married  on  March 
20,  1900,  to  Mrs.  Winifred  Grady  (nee 
Shultz),  of  Olney,  Illinois.  She  is  the  rep- 
resentative of  a  well  known  and  influential 
family  of  that  place.  Mrs.  Grady's  father, 
Charles  Shultz,  came  to  America  from  Ger- 
many when  fourteen  years  of  age,  settling 
first  in  New  York  City,  later  coming  to 
Olney,  Illinois,  where  he  now  lives  engaged 


in  general  merchandise  business.  Mr. 
Shultz  was  married  in  Olney  to  Sarah  Eliza- 
beth Gaddy  and  ten  children  were  born  to 
this  union,  Mrs.  Gray,  our  subject's  wife, 
being  the  seventh  in  order  of  birth.  The 
commodious  and  well  furnished  home  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gray  has  been  blessed  with 
the  presence  of  three  bright  and  interesting 
children,  Elizabeth,  Anna  Winifred  and 
James  Harvey.  One  singular,  interesting 
and  enjoyable  feature  in  the  life  of  our 
subject  is  that  for  fifteen  years  there  were 
four  generations  living  under  one  roof,  and 
for  the  past  eight  years,  and  at  the  present 
time,  there  are  four  generations  living.  Our 
subject  is  the  only  one  left  to  perpetuate 
the  name  of  his  grandfather,  James  H. 
Gray.  He  is  a  member  of  Kinmundy 
Lodge  No.  398,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons;  Salem  Chapter  No.  64,  Royal 
Arch  Masons;  Cyrene  Commandery  No. 
23,  Knights  Templar,  Centralia,  Illinois; 
Oriental  Consistory,  S.  P.  R.  S.,  and  Me- 
dina Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles 
of  Mystic  Shrine,  Chicago,  Illinois.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  being  a  trustee  in  the  same  and  was 
treasurer  of  the  building  committee  when 
the  new  structure  was  erected  in  1905.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  while  he 
has  never  aspired  to  positions  of  public 
.trust  at  the  hands  of  his  fellow  voters,  in 
matters  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  his 
township,  county  and  state  he  is  greatly 
interested  and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
general  progress  has  been  far-reaching  and 
beneficial.  Mr.  Grav's  name  is  associated 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


419 


with  progress  in  the  county  of  his  birth 
and  among  those  in  whose  midst  he  has 
always  lived  he  is  held  in  the  highest  es- 
teem by  reason  of  an  upright  life  and  of 
fidelity  to  principles  which  in  every  land  and 
clime  command  respect. 


REMINISCENT    SKETCH    OF    RICH- 
LAND  COUNTY. 

BY    BRYANT     HIGGINS. 

THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  COMPANY  D,  EIGHTH 
ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. 

These  were  the  first  soldiers  to  leave 
Richland  county,  for  the  Civil  war:  Com- 
pany D,  was  organized  by  Bryant  Higgins 
and  John  Lynch.  Fort  Sumpter  was  stormed 
Friday,  April  12,  1861 .  Higgins  and  Lynch 
sat  up  until  midnight  April  14,  1861,  to  get 
a  copy  of  a  little  paper  printed  in  St.  Louis 
in  the  evening,  to  see  if  the  President  had 
issued  his  proclamation  for  troops.  On 
getting  the  paper  we  went  up  Walnut  street 
to  a  printing  office  managed  by  a  deaf  and 
dumb  man,  named  Spurgeon.  After  knock- 
ing on  the  door  and  getting  no  response, 
we  went  around  to  the  back  of  the  office, 
pushed  up  a  window  and  crawled  in  and 
struck  a  light,  but  finding  the  printer  absent 
(it  being  Sunday  night,  April  14,  1861), 
we  began  trying  to  get  into  form,  matter  for 
handbills,  with  big  wooden  type.  About  that 
time  the  printer  came  in  about  I  o'clock  on 


Monday  morning,  April  I5th.  We  showed 
him  the  paper,  and  it  did  not  take  him  long 
to  get  the  matter  in  form  and  ready  for  the 
press.  Higgins  worked  the  roller  to  ink 
the  type  and  Lynch  made  a  pot  of  paste. 
Lynch  then  wrote  an  enlistment  paper  and 
signed  it.  He  was  the  first  commissioned 
officer  to  enlist  in  this  company;  then  I 
signed  it,  being  the  first  private  soldier  to 
enlist  in  the  company,  of  which  act  I  am  ex- 
ceedingly proud.  We  went  to  the  court- 
house and  rang  the  bell,  woke  up  Reuben 
Kinney,  sexton  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  he  rang  the  church  bell.  We 
posted  our  bills  and  by  that  time  the  whole 
town  was  up  and  men,  regardless  of  political 
affiliations,  signed  the  paper.  By  this  time 
it  was  after  daylight,  and  Lynch  and  my- 
self started  to  the  old  Olney  House  for 
breakfast.  We  met  Arch  Spring,  who 
signed  the  paper,  being  the  sixty-third  on 
the  list  in  less  than  two  hours.  When  we 
reached  the  hotel,  William  Harrah,  of  Vin- 
cennes,  Indiana,  who  had  just  came  in,  said : 
"Boys,  if  you  want  to  get  your  company  in, 
one  of  you  must  go  to  Springfield  at  once, 
because  when  I  came  through  Lawrence- 
ville  I  saw  old  Dan  Grass  (an  old  Mexican 
soldier)  drilling  a  company  with  a  lantern." 
In  those  days  a  train  left  here  for  St.  Louis 
at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Lynch  took 
the  train  for  Springfield  and  I  kept  on  tak- 
ing enlistments.  When  Lynch  reached  St. 
Louis  and  changed  cars  for  Springfield,  a 
well  dressed  man  with  a  silk  hat  and  other 
clothes  to  correspond,  took  a  seat  beside  him 
and  the  following  conversation  took  place: 


420 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


"Where  are  you  going,  young  man?" 

"Going  to  Springfield." 

"What  for?" 

"To  tender  the  governor  the  services  of 
a  company  to  help  put  down  this  rebellion." 

"That  is  about  what  I  thought;  now 
young  man,  go  home  and  attend  to  your 
own  business." 

Lynch  being  a  very  positive  man,  an- 
swered : 

"Who  the  hell  are  you,  anyway?" 

"Look  out,  there,  young  man ;  do  you  see 
that  big  warehouse  across  the  river?" 

"Yes." 

"See  that  name,  'D.  A.  January?'  " 

"Yes." 

"See  those  two  steamboats  tied  there?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,  young  man,  that  is  my  warehouse 
and  those  are  my  boats;  now  go  home  and 
mind  your  own  business." 

"Now,  look  here,  I  will  tell  you  some- 
thing," replied  Lynch.  "We  will  bring  some 
cannon  down  here  and  just  shoot  hell  out 
of  you,  your  warehouse  and  your  boats." 

By  this  time  the  train  reached  Alton  and 
the  man  of  the  warehouse  and  boats  left 
the  train.  Lynch  went  on  to  Springfield, 
reported  to  the  governor,  who  was  much 
pleased  with  the  patriotism  of  Richland 
county,  Company  D  being  the  first  to  ten- 
der its  services  as  a  company  except  an  or- 
ganized company  of  militia  in  the  city  of 
Springfield.  Lynch  came  back  at  once.  In 
the  meantime  I  had  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-three names  on  the  roll.  Then  it  became 
necessary  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  get 


that  many  men  to  Springfield.  There  was  a 
meeting  called  at  once  at  the  court-house,  to 
provide  means  of  transportation.  In  less 
than  half  an  hour  the  money  was  raised.  It 
took  nearly  one  thousand  dollars  to  pay  the 
fare  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  men 
that  far  in  those  days. 

THE   LEAVE   TAKING. 

We  marched  from  Elliott's  hall  to  the 
depot,  lined  up  for  the  people  to  bid  us 
good-bye.  The  whole  county  I  think  was 
there  at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Rev.  John 
Crozier  presented  every  man  with  a  copy 
of  the  New  Testament.  Our  best  girls  of 
course  were  there.  I  remember  Jake  Mush- 
rush,  who  was  like  myself  at  that  time,  about 
as  long  as  a  bean  pole  and  about  as  big 
around.  His  girl  was  rather  short.  When 
she  came  to  him  she  took  hold  of  his  hand 
in  both  of  hers  and  said,  "Good-bye  Jake, 
good-bye,  Jake,  good-bye."  Jake  was  look- 
ing over  the  top  of  her  head;  finally  he 
dropped  her  hand  and  kissed  her  good-bye. 
Poor  Jake  was  fighting  a  harder  battle  than 
he  ever  fought  afterwards.  The  stores  in 
Olney  did  not  open  that  day.  The  people 
sat  and  stood  around  on  the  streets  all  day, 
so  I  was  told,  and  did  not  leave  town  until 
about  night.  You  may  think  strange  I  re- 
ceived no  office.  Lynch  and  I  had  our  plans 
laid  higher  up,  and  as  Lynch  has  passed 
away  and  they  were  only  known  to  us,  it 
is  not  meet  to  divulge  or  tell  them  now ;  they 
miscarried. 

We  went  to  Springfield  and  were  there 
sworn  into  the  service,  given  a  musket,  and 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


421 


forty  rounds  of  ammunition  were  loaded  on  a 
long  train  of  freight  cars  and  started  for 
Cairo,  Illinois.  When  we  arrived  there 
were  no  tents  nor  accommodations  of  any 
kind.  We  went  into  camp  at  the  junction 
of  the  two  levees.  By  this  time  there  came 
a  battery  of  artillery  from  Chicago  and  Ben- 
jamin M.  Prentiss  took  command  of  all  the 
troops  there.  The  camp  now  began  to  look 
like  war,  sure  enough.  Orders  were  issued 
to  the  troops  to  let  no  more  boats  go  down 
the  river.  I  think  I  am  safe  in  saying  this 
was  the  first  blockade  of  the  war.  Shortly 
after  the  order  by  General  Prentiss,  there 
came  a  boat  down,  the  artillery  men  fired  a 
blank  charge.  The  boat  kept  on  as  though 
nothing  unusual  was  at  hand;  they  then 
fired  a  shot,  skipping  across  the  water  in 
front.  Still  the  boat  kept  on ;  then  they  fired 
two  guns  for  damage.  About  a  wagon-load 
of  the  upper  part  of  the  boat  flew  off  and 
she  began  to  whistle,  came  to  the  landing, 
and  we  took  possession  of  her,  I  being  one 
of  the  privates  and  William  Bower  was  an- 
other; and  the  strange  part  of  it  was  that 
this  was  one  of  the  boats  shown  to  Lynch 
about  ten  days  before.  She  was  loaded  with 
munitions  of  war:  twelve  hundred  stands 
of  arms,  hundreds  of  kegs  of  powder,  tons 
of  pig-lead  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
percussion  caps. 

FIRST  ACT  OF  CONFISCATION. 

I  have  no  doubt  but  this  was  the  first  act 
of  confiscation  of  the  war.  When  we  were 
unloading  the  boat  I  remember  hearing  this 


conversation  between  Colonel  Oglesby  and 
General  Prentiss: 

Oglesby  said :  "General,  is  there  any  law 
for  this?"  Prentiss:  "Damn  the  law;  take 
the  goods ;  they  are  contraband,  then  look  for 
the  law."  At  that  time  we  were  not  as  fa- 
miliar with  the  word  "contraband"  as  we 
were  afterward. 

We  were  then  sent  into  Johnson  county, 
Illinois,  to  guard  a  railroad  bridge  on  the  Il- 
linois Central,  across  Big  Muddy  river.  We 
then  returned  to  Cairo  and  after  doing  camp 
duty  we  were  duly  discharged  from  the  three 
months'  service,  I  going  into  the  infantry 
again  and  Lynch  into  the  cavalry.  Lynch,  af- 
ter serving  one  month  as  captain  of  the  com- 
pany, resigned  and  served  the  other  two 
months  in  the  ranks  as  a  private.  In  the 
cavalry,  after  passing  the  different  grades  in 
promotion,  he  reached  the  office  of  colonel  of 
the  Sixth  Illinois  Cavalry.  Lynch  has 
passed  into  the  other  life.  He  was  a  very 
positive  man,  very  strict  military  disciplina- 
rian. He  commanded,  and  no  mistake,  while 
on  duty.  At  the  battle  of  Nashville  he  com- 
manded five  regiments  of  cavalry.  He  was 
ordered  by  General  Thomas  (Old  Pap)  to 
take  and  hold  a  certain  point.  He  took  it, 
but  that  brought  him  in  range  of  a  Confeder- 
ate fort,  which  opened  on  him  at  once.  He 
ordered  his  men  to  dismount,  draw  sabres, 
and  ordered  the  buglers  to  sound  the  charge. 
Away  went  the  five  regiments  (less  the  horse 
holders)  on  foot;  took  the  fort,  turned  the 
guns  on  the  retreating  enemy  and  turned  the 
entire  Confederate  wing,  changed  the  entire 
alignment  of  the  two  armies.  Shortly  after 


422 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


the  Confederate  rout  was  complete.  After 
the  battle  was  over  Thomas  sent  for  him 
and  they  had  this  conversation : 

"General  Thomas,  my  name  is  Lynch — 
you  sent  for  me." 

"Thomas  replied:  "Are  you  Colonel 
Lynch,  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry  ?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Where  is  your  uniform,  Colonel?" 

"I  never  owned  one." 

"Are  you  the  man  that  took  that  rebel  fort 
with  cavalrymen  on  foot?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"What  did  you  order  a  charge  of  cavalry 
on  foot  for?" 

"That  damned  rebel  fort  was  shelling  hell 
out  of  my  men,  and  I  did  not  propose  to 
stand  there  and  take  it  and  not  fight  back." 

"Don't  you  know  that  nowhere  on  record 
is  mention  made  of  cavalry  charging  on 
foot?" 

"Well,  you  can  now  put  it  on  record." 

And  so  ended  the  conversation.  Of  that 
one  hundred  and  twenty-three  men,  Andrew 
J.  Robinson  was  the  first  man  killed.  He 
met  his  fate  at  Fort  Donelson.  Some  were 
killed  at  Pittsburgh  Landing;  some  in  front 
of  Corinth ;  some  at  Corinth  on  October  4th 
and  5th,  1862;  some  at  Raymond  and  Dai- 
ton  ;  some  at  Champion  Hill,  at  Big  Beach, 
at  Vicksburg,  in  front  of  Atlanta  and  on  the 
March  to  the  Sea.  There  is  left  of  the  one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  only  about  four- 
teen. 

During  the  war  the  writer  was  at  home 
a  short  time  on  business.  Olney  was  then  the 
headquarters  for  drafting  men  of  this  dis- 


trict. There  were  some  very  dissatisfied  men 
here  and  in  adjoining  counties,  and  other 
counties  not  adjoining.  They  organized  a 
raid  to  destroy  the  enrolling  papers  for  the 
draft.  The  command  of  that  expedition  was 
given  to  a  man  by  the  name  of  Isaac  Gibson, 
who  now  (November  10,  1908)  lives  in  St. 
Louis  county,  Missouri,  or  did  a  few  months 
ago.  The  citizens  were  informed  of  the 
raid,  and  hastily  arming  themselves,  put 
themselves  under  my  command.  The  first 
thing  to  do  was  to  preserve  the  enrollment 
papers.  Myself  and  some  others  put  the  pa- 
pers into  wheat  sacks  and  into  a  buggy  and 
were  driven  by  Jacob  May  out  of  the  county. 
Mr.  May  long  ago  passed  away.  At  that 
time  there  was  a  high  picket  fence  around 
the  old  wooden  court-house.  We  made  the 
court-house  our  headquarters.  William  T. 
Shelby  brought  out  the  old  flag  I  carried 
away  from  Olney  in  1861  over  the  first  com- 
pany that  left.  I  took  it  and  climbed  up 
into  the  cupola,  knocked  out  a  slat  in  the 
blind  and  let  the  flag  float.  I  put  pickets 
out  on  the  roads  leading  to  town,  and  gave 
them  military  instruction  how  to  proceed. 

GIBSON    AND   HIS  GANG. 

In  a  few  nights  here  came  Gibson  and  his 
bushwhackers.  At  a  given  signal,  firing  of 
the  anvil,  all  the  pickets  were  to  come  in 
quick.  Gibson  and  his  gang  surrounded  the 
court-house,  but  when  he  sized  up  the  crowd 
I  had  inside  that  picket  fence,  he  found  I 
had  about  two  to  his  one,  and  he  was  like 
the  officer  who  led  his  men  up  the  hill  and 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


423 


then  led  them  clown  again.  He  withdrew 
his  forces.  We  heard  no  more  of  him.  We 
guarded  the  enrolling  office  until  the  govern- 
ment sent  five  companies  of  cavalry  here, 
and  this  ended  the  war  in  Olney  as  far  as  I 
was  concerned.  I  went  back  to  where  there 
was  trouble  for  sure.  In  the  process  of 
time.  I,  like  others,  was  mustered  out  of  the 
service  of  my  country.  I  saw  many  hard- 
ships and  much  hard  fighting,  but  if  I  was 
of  the  proper  age,  and  the  same  circum- 
stances presented  themselves,  I  would  enlist 
again,  knowing  as  I  know  just  what  it  is  to 
be  a  soldier. 

The  writer  has  a  letter  from  the  War 
Department  in  which,  among  other  things, 
this  language  is  used :  "You  were  certainly  a 
good  soldier  for  the  records  show  you  were 
fifteen  months  in  active  hard  field  service 
before  you  took  a  dose  of  medicine ;  you  was 
never  in  a  hospital  nor  absent  from  duty." 

In  closing  this  military  sketch,  I  wish  to 
say,  not  boastfully,  but  in  all  sincerity,  I 
tried  under  all  conditions  and  all  circum- 
stances to  serve  my  country  honestly  and 
faithfully  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  Now 
I  am  living  here  in  the  place  of  my  early 
manhood,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of 
our  labor.  My  wife  and  I  have  reached  a 
reasonable,  and  I  hope,  an  honorable  old 
age.  Let  us  say  to  all  our  friends  and  neigh- 
bors :  We  wish  you  well,  and  may  the  good 
Lord  smooth  the  rough  places  in  your  life's 
uneven  journey. 

OLNEY  IN  ITS  INFANCY. 

Richland  county  was  part  of  Clay  and 
Lawrence  counties.  At  the  organization  of 


the  county,  there  was  no  town  here,  what 
is  now  Main  and  Walnut  streets  and  Whit- 
tle avenue,  was  a  cross-road,  called  Lilley's 
crossing.  The  land  was  owned  by  Thomas 
Lilley  and  Hiram  G.  Barney,  who  proposed 
to  give  ten  acres  of  land  each,  to  be  laid  out 
in  lots  and  sold  at  public  sale,  the  money  thus 
raised  to  be  used  to  build  a  court-house  and 
jail.  The  lots  were  laid  out  and  platted  by  A. 
T.  David,  a  surveyor,  the  2Oth  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1841. 

Commencing  on  the  north  side  of  Main 
street,  opposite  Coen's  Hotel,  was  the  first 
lot  west,  and  occupied  by  a  saloon,  owned 
and  kept  by  Louis  Sawyer,  the  first  Sheriff 
of  the  county.  The  next  was  the  residence 
of  G.  F.  Powers,  the  next  was  a  building 
occupied  by  the  American  Fur  Company, 
where  they  dressed  the  pelts,  put  them  into 
bundles  and  shipped  them  direct  to  Leipsic. 
Germany.  The  next  was  the  residence  of 
Joseph  Harmon,  the  next  was  John  Von 
Gunten's  Bakery,  the  first  regular  bakery  in 
Olney.  Old  man  Ross,  an  old  Revolutionary 
soldier,  baked  gingerbread  before  Olney  was 
laid  out.  Mr.  Von  Gunten  made  "spruce" 
beer  out  of  persimmons  and  some  other  truck 
unknown  to  the  writer.  The  next  was  thf 
residence  of  William  Alkire,  the  next  was  a 
little  building  in  which  Dr.  Ridgeway  after- 
ward had  a  "drug  store"  and  his  office,  next 
came  the  hotel,  kept  by  Thomas  Lilley,  next 
was  a  one-story  building,  planked  up  and 
clown,  in  which  K.  D.  Horrall  learned  the 
tinner's  trade,  next  was  the  drug  store  and 
office  of  Dr.  Haynie,  next  was  the  store  of 
Henry  Spring.  Redman's  store  is  now  on 
that  site.  Where  Schultz's  store  is  lived 


424 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Jonas  Notestine,  a  tanner  by  trade,  where 
Elliott's  Hall  and  Hyatt's  Opera  House  now 
stand  lived  John  H.  Gunn ;  where  the  Metro- 
pole  is  now  lived  Dr.  Graig;  where  Landen- 
berger's  buildings  are  now,  "Uncle"  Jimmy 
Briscoe  conducted  a  small  saloon  and  the 
post-office  in  the  same  building,  next  was  the 
store  of  Newell  and  Darling ;  next  was  the 
store  of  A.  L.  and  R.  Byers,  next  was  their 
warehouse,  over  the  front  of  which  was 
painted : 

Iron,  Nails,  Stores,  Plows,  Flour,  Salt,  Ba~ 
con,  Castings  and  Whisky. 

Castings  here  mentioned  were  skillets  and 
lids,  pots  and  other  cast-iron  utensils  for 
cooking  by  the  old  fire-place.  The  next  was 
their  pork-house,  about  thirty  feet  wide  by 
one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  long,  the  next 
was  the  residence  of  John  Garret,  then  a  two- 
story  building  occupied  below  by  P.  Shaw 
as  a  book  store  and  watchmaker's  shop, 
the  first  in  Olney.  In  the  upper  story  was 
the  "Olney  Dollar  Weekly  Gazette"  office, 
which  was  owned,  edited  and  printed  by  J. 
J.  Bunting,  Milo  Powers  and  James  Nabb, 
The  next  was  Tom  Nettletor's  store.  Where 
the  Sanitarium  now  stands  lived  Frank 
Heap,  and  the  old  Union  Hotel  was  located 
on  a  part  of  the  ground.  Next  was  the  resi- 
dence of  Thomas  Ratcliff  and  his  good  wife. 
Where  Dan  Geatheart  now  lives  lived  Wil- 
liam Newell;  next  was  a  long  (about 
one  hundred  feet)  low  building,  in  which 
lived  many  families.  It  was  called  "Hugel 
Row,"  after  the  owner;  next  was  the  resi- 


dence of  William  Kidd,  and  that  is  as  far  east 
as  the  town  was  platted  at  that  time  and  from 
Walnut  street  east  only  one  tier  of  lots  deep. 
On  the  south  side  of  Main  street,  opposite 
Mr.  Kidd,  lived  "Uncle"  Jimmy  Briscoe,  in 
a  big-two-story  house  (going  west),  next 
was  the  residence  of  Michael  Stauffer,  also 
his  tailor  shop,  the  first  tailor  in  Olney. 
Next  was  Mrs.  Heifner,  the  first  milliner  in 
Olney. 

WHEN    BLEACHED   BONNETS    WERE    WORN. 

In  those  days  the  ladies  wore  white  Leg- 
horn bonnets,  which  had  to  be  "bleached" 
every  spring  and  rebuilt.  The  bleaching 
process  was  performed  by  burning  sulphur 
and  sending  the  fumes  through  the  straw  by 
a  process  unknown  to  the  writer,  but  if  you 
were  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
"kiln"  when  it  was  opened  you  would  think 
there  was  a  fresh  crack  in  the  roof  of  hell. 
The  next  was  the  residence  of  Mr.  Benclel.  a 
very  highly  educated  man ;  next  was  the 
building  in  which  the  writer  and  many  oth- 
ers went  to  school  to  Mr.  Bendel.  The  next 
was  a  large  building  where  Frank  Heap 
made  furniture  by  hand.  Then  came  Uri's 
blacksmith  shop,  where  Tom  Ratcliff  learned 
his  trade.  Ashiel  Powers  painted  a  sign, 
for  Mr.  Uri,  of  himself,  nearly  as  large  as 
life  and  perfect  in  every  particular  as  to 
Mr.  Uri.  He  was  represented  as  working 
on  a  plow  on  the  anvil,  and  on  the  opposite 
side,  on  his  hind  legs,  stood  a  big  bear 
with  the  sledge  drawn,  and  around  his 
neck  was  an  iron  collar  fastened  with 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


425 


a  padlock,  a  chain  fastened  to  the  col- 
lar, the  end  of  the  chain  fastened  to 
the  collar,  the  end  of  the  chain  fastened  to 
a  tree  just  behind  the  bear.  Now  this  pic- 
ture, to  the  ordinary  reader  who  was  born 
later  on,  may  not  have  much  meaning,  but 
to  us  old  men  it  means  something. 

Mr.  Powers  was  born  and  reared  in  Ver- 
mont. He  was  a  humane  man.  In  those 
days  a  boy  was  "indentured" — that  is,  bound 
out  to  a  tradesman  for  a  certain  number  of 
years,  the  boss  having  the  right  to  follow 
and  bring  back  the  "indentured,"  and  in  many 
cases  the  poor  boy  was  treated  very,  very 
badly.  The  indentured  to  a  trade  was  called  a 
"cub."  Now  you  can  see  what  Mr.  Pow- 
ers represented  in  his  picture  of  the  bear, 
the  collar,  the  chain  and  the  tree  to  which 
he  was  firmly  fastened.  Mr.  Uri's  treatment 
of  Mr.  Ratcliff  was  good,  which  was  rather 
an  exception.  The  next  was  the  residence 
of  S.  H.  Gunn,  whose  widow  is  living  there 
now ;  the  next  was  Gunn's  store.  On  Satur- 
day, Mr.  Gunn  took  a  tub,  put  in  about  three 
gallons  of  whisky  and  two  gallons  of  mo- 
lasses and  stired  it  up.  He  called  the  mix- 
ture "black  strap."  This  was  free  for  his 
customers. 

The  next  was  a  small  house  in  which  the 
telegraph  office  was  kept.  The  line  was  from 
Baltimore  to  Washington,  to  Pittsburg  to 
Cincinnati  to  Louisville,  to  Vincennes,  then 
along  the  old  state  road  to  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri. Reuben  Gardner,  now  living  in  this 
county,  helped  to  build  this  line.  I  think 
beyond  doubt,  he  is  the  only  man  now  liv- 


ing who  helped  to  put  it  up.    He  is  now  over 
ninety  years  of  age. 

The  next  (where  Cooksey  is  now  was 
a  harness  shop,  owned  by  John  Allen. 
Where  McShane  and  Meunch  is  now,  was 
the  residence  of  John  M.  Wilson,  the  found- 
er of  the  Olney  Republican  in  1848.  The 
next  was  the  residence  of  Ashiel  Powers, 
then  Henry  Springs's  residence.  Where 
Foskett  &  Gafner  are  now  was  the  black- 
smith shop  of  J.  H.  and  Henry  Johns ;  then 
a  small  room  about  twelve  by  sixteen  in 
which  K.  D.  Horrall  began  business  in 
1856;  then  the  harness  shop  of  Henry  Bar- 
ney, then  a  big  low,  one-story  building  in 
which  Louis  Hugel  kept  a  clothing  store, 
the  first  exclusive  store  of  this  kind  in  the 
county,  back  of  which  was  a  building  origin- 
ally built  for  a  stable,  but  was  remodeled 
by  Hugel,  and  into  which  the  "Olney  Dollar 
Weekly  Gazette"  was  moved,  and  there  sold 
to  William  M.  Beck,  and  by  him  moved 
into  another  building,  and  the  name  changed 
to  "The  Olney  Times,"  and  in  1859  Mr. 
Beck  put  at  the  head  of  his  columns,  "For 
President  in  1860,  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Il- 
linois," the  first  paper  to  publicly  an- 
nounce Mr.  Lincoln's  name  for  the  Presi- 
dency. He  was  elected  November  8,  1860. 
Mr.  Beck  passed  into  the  other  life  Decem- 
ber 17,  1860.  The  next  was  the  harness 
shop  of  W.  P.  Laird;  then  a  little  short 
street,  called  "Lilley"  street,  running  from 
Main  to  Market,  one  block :  A.  Dar- 
ling lived  at  the  Market  street  end, 
then  a  building  sidewise  to  the  street 


426 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY   OF 


in  which  G.  F.  Powers  and  Nelson 
Cobley  made  furiture  by  hand.  Where  the 
head  of  Whittle  avenue  is  now,  stood  the 
saloon  of  Andrew  J.  Saulsbury.  Where  the 
first  National  bank  is,  was  the  store  of 
William  Alkire;  then  the  old  wooden  court- 
house, then  the  office  of  Horace  Hayward, 
and  that  was  as  far  west  as  the  town  was 
platted.  South  of  Hayward's  office  lived 
Judge  Alfred  Kitchell,  then  Levi  Notestein. 
Where  the  jail  and  stables  belonging  thereto 
are  now,  was  the  tanyard  of  Jonas  and  Levi 
Notestine,  across  the  vats  of  which  the  wife 
of  the  writer  jumped  in  her  girlhood  days. 
Where  the  four  courts  are  now,  lived  Rob- 
ert B.  Mamey,  the  first  Judge  of  the  Pro- 
bate Court  of  this  county,  and  where  the 
writer  found  his  wife,  now  almost  forty- 
seven  years  ago,  south  of  the  building  and 
loan  office  lived  M.  B.  Snyder,  the  Clerk  of 
the  Circuit  Court,  whose  son,  Samuel,  was 
the  first  boy  baby  born  in  Olney. 

North  on  Walnut,  from  Main  at  York 
street  on  the  west  side,  lived  George  Lutz, 
whose  daughter,  Sarah,  was  the  first  girl 
baby  born  in  Olney.  Next  Jonas  Spanglor, 
next  Jacob  Hofman,  Clerk  of  the  County 
Court.  On  the  east  side  was  a  big  two-story 
house  in  which  lived  many  families.  North 
on  Mulberry  street  from  Main,  lived  Henry 
Spanglor;  north  of  Butler  street  was  the 
old  log  school-house  in  which  the  writer's 
wife  and  many  others  got  their  first  rudi- 
mental  knowledge  of  the  English  language. 
This  house  was  used  as  a  court-house  until 
the  first  one  was  built.  It  was  also  used 
as  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  until  1855, 


when  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
was  built  here.  Of  all  the  people  living  in 
Olney  at  that  time,  there  are  only  about  ten 
persons  living  November,  1908. 

Then  came  the  building  of  the  old  Ohio 
&  Mississip*pi  (now  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Southwestern  Railroad,  and  Olney  took  on 
new  life;  then  the  old  Peoria,  Decatur  & 
Eastern,  now  the  Illinois  Central;  then  the 
Cinncinnati,  Hamilton  &  Dayton  (old  Dan- 
ville &  Olney).  Olney  has  grown  from  a 
small  village  to  a  city  of  about  six  thou- 
sand five  hundred  people. 

EARLY    LAWYERS. 

I  remember  some  of  the  early  lawyers  of 
Olney,  among  whom  was  Lindes  Usher 
Ficklin,  of  Charleston.  Charles  H.  Con- 
stable, of  Mt.  Carmel;  Judge  Wilson,  the 
first  judge  of  this  circuit,  and  Judge  F.  D. 
Preston,  who  was  born  in  old  Fort  Barney, 
in  Wabash  county.  Also  I  was  personally 
known  to  Silas  Bryan,  of  Salem,  Marion 
county.  He  was  the  father  of  William  J. 
Bryan.  There  is  a  good  joke  told  on  Silas. 
He  was  a  very  devout  man,  given  to  much 
prayer.  He  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate 
from  that  district.  I  think  he  was  a  Pres- 
byterian. Mortimer  O'Kean  was  elected  to 
the  State  Senate  from  this  district.  He 
was  a  Catholic.  Salem,  Mr.  Bryan's  home 
town,  was  the  mecca  for  divorces,  it  being 
on  the  stage  line,  and  about  the  center  of 
the  state,  east  and  west,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  a  divorce  a  residence  of  three 
months  was  all  that  was  necessary,  and  the 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


427 


geographical  location  of  Salem  was  fine  for 
all  persons  concerned,  and  that  part  of  the 
law  practice  made  much  bread  and  butter 
for  the  lawyers  of  Salem.  O'Kean  being  a 
Catholic,  he  was  eternally  opposed  to  di- 
vorces, and  about  the  first  thing  he  did  was 
to  introduce  a  bill  requiring  twelve  months' 
residence.  That  was  striking  deep  and  hard 
at  the  flour  barrel  of  the  lawyers  of  Salem. 
When  the  bill  came  up  in  the  Senate  for 
passage,  Silas  made  a  long  speech  against 
it.  As  soon  as  he  was  through,  O'Kean 
arose  in  his  seat,  to  reply.  He  was  a  quick- 
witted Irishman.  He  said:  "Misther  Prisi- 
dint,  I  have  been  for  a  long  time  thrying 
to  find  out  what  church  Brother  Bryan  be- 
longs to ;  now  I  know ;  he  is  a  Mormon,"  and 
sat  down.  Never  before  was  there  such  a 
tumult  in  the  Senate  chamber,  whooping, 
yelling  and  stamping  so  much  so  that  the 
House  members  came  in  to  see  what  the 
fun  was  and  on  finding  out,  joined  in  the 
hurrah.  As  soon  as  the  president  of  the 
Senate  could  get  quiet  enough  to  be  heard, 
he  put  the  bill  on  its  passage  and  there  was 
but  one  vote  against  it,  and  from  that  day 
to  this,  one  year  has  been  the  limit. 

HIGGINS'  PIPE  DREAM. 

From  the  Olney  Times  of  April  9,  1908. 

"In  the  fall  of  '66  or  '67  Bryant  Higgins 
asked  Wilson  and  Hutchinson  for  desk 
room  in  this  office  during  the  winter  which 
request  was  granted.  He  was  then  always 
very  busy,  figuring  and  plotting.  One 
day,  when  no  one  was  in  he  asked  if  we 


wanted  to  know  what  he  had  been  doing, 
and,  expressing  our  curiosity,  he  read 
us  what  we  thought  to  be  the  wildest,  weird- 
est and  most  improbable  scheme  ever  pro- 
posed or  ever  dreamed  of  by  a  sane  man. 
He  proposed  that  the  Russian  government 
should  build  a  railroad  commencing  at 
Orenberg  on  the  Ural  river,  which  is  the 
dividing  line  between  Europe  and  Asia, 
thence  east  to  Harbin,  thence  build  a  branch 
south  to  Pekin,  China.  From  Harbin,  east 
to  Vladivostock,  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  a  dis- 
tance of  six  thousand  miles.  This  road  has 
been  built  exactly  as  mapped  and  planned 
by  Higgins,  except  they  ran  the  southern 
branch  to  Port  Arthur,  which  at  that  time 
was  unknown,  and  they  ferry  Lake  Baikal, 
while  Higgins  mapped  his  road  around  the 
north  shore. 

"To  meet  this  road  he  planned  a  road  to 
start  at  Duluth,  west  to  Seattle,  north  from 
Seattle  to  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  north  of 
the  sixty-seventh  degree,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Yukon  river,  along  the  trail  now  trav- 
eled to  reach  the  Klondike ;  then  across  Beh- 
ring  Strait,  either  by  ferry  or  bridging  into 
Asia.  He  said  this  bridging  should  be 
done  with  concrete  cassions  for  piers  from 
island  to  island,  like  that  now  being  done 
on  the  Florida  coast. 

"He  had  a  chapter  on  isothermal  lines  by 
the  trend  of  which  the  Japan  current  he 
claimed  Alaska  was  destined  to  become 
thickly  populated;  that  strawberries  grew 
and  ripened  on  the  Yukon  bottoms  and  that 
river  did  freeze  until  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  the  mouth.  You  who  are  old 


428 


I1IOGKAPI1ICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


enough  to  remember  if  you  look  back  forty 
years,  can  see  how  wild  I  deemed  this 
when  it  was  first  read  to  me.  After  a  few 
days,  I  said :  'Bryant,  what  are  you  going  to 
do  with  your  scheme  ?'  He  did  not  know. 

"At  that  time  S.  S.  Marshall  was  the 
representative  of  our  district  in  Congress. 
I  proposed  we  should  send  it  to  him  to  see 
what  he  could  do  with  it.  Marshall  sub- 
mitted it  to  the  Russian  minister  at  Wash- 
ington and  that  part  pertaining  to  Russia, 
I  was  informed  was  translated  and  sent  to 
the  government  of  Russia,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  was  the  origin  of  the  Trans-Siberian 
Railroad.  Afterwards  Marshall  gave  the 
papers  to  a  member  of  Congress  from  New 
York.  Shortly  after  Higgins  received  a  long 
letter  from  Charles  Villard,  whom  he  had 
never  heard  of,  and  they  had  quite  a  corre- 
spondence. I  read  that  Charles  Villard  de- 
manded of  his  friends  ten  million  dollars  in 
ten  days ;  no  questions  to  be  asked.  He  got 
the  money  and  out  of  that  grew  the  North- 
ern Pacific,  the  Oregon  Short  Line,  and  later 
the  roads  running  up  into  Alaska  through 
British  Columbia,  and  now  building  to  Behr- 
ing  Strait.  I  had  not  thought  of  this  matter 
for  years  until  lately  I  met  Higgins  and 
asked  him  to  allow  me  to  record  the  ar- 
ticle over  again,  when  he  informed  me  he 
had  sent  the  only  copy  he  had  ever  made 
with  all  his  maps  and  figures  to  Marshall. 

ENTIRE    SCHEME    MAY    BECOME   A    FACT. 

"This  scheme  of  Higgins'  contemplated 
the  building  of  miles  of  railroad  starting  at 
Duluth,  crossing  Behring  Straits,  and  con- 


necting on  the  Asiatic  shore  with  the  Rus- 
sian end,  and  thus  giving  an  all  rail  route 
from  any  point  in  the  United  States  to  any 
point  in  Europe.  Since  then  eleven  thousand 
miles  have  been  built  and  in  a  few  years 
more  Higgins'  dream  will  be  a  reality  by 
the  completion  of  his  entire  proposition, 
even  possibly  of  the  bridging  of  Behring 
Strait. 

"The  best  of  prophets  of  the  future  is  the 
prophet  of  the  past.  So  far  he  has  never 
been  known  as  the  originator  of  the  idea, 
and  it  was  a  mere  accident  that  brought 
it  to  my  mind. 

"E.  S.  WILSON." 

"Since  the  above  was  put  in  print,  one 
thousand  five  hundred  miles  more  of  rail- 
road in  Siberia,  running  northeast  from 
Vladivostock,  has  been  opened  up  for  traffic." 

MAY-DAY  PICNIC  FORTY  YEARS  AGO. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  following  persons  held 
a  May-day  picnic  on  Fox  river,  at  Water- 
town.  (Watertown  has  long  since  faded 
out): 

K.  D.  Horrall  and  Sarah  Baird :  Devius 
Baird  and  Rose  McWilliams,  Clark  Richard 
and  Lizzie  Nesbit.  Arch  Spring  and  Mary 
Spring,  J.  H.  Roberts  and  Manda  Gunn, 
Frank  Powers  and  Sue  Hofman,  S.  P.  Con- 
nor and  Ella  Hofman,  T.  W.  Scott  and  Lib 
Hofman,  Charles  Hollister  and  Lib  Corroth- 
ers.  Dan  Edmiston  and  Hetty  Whitney,  Bry- 
ant Higgins  and  S.  E.  Marney. 

Of  the  above,  Mr.  Baird  married  Rose 
McWilliams,  who  is  now  deceased;  Mr. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


429 


Rickard  married  Miss  Nesbit,  both  deceased ; 
Mr.  Roberts  married  Miss  Gunn,  the  latter 
deceased. 

Arch  Spring  and  Miss  Spring  are  living. 
Mr.  Powers,  now  deceased,  married  Miss 
Hofman.  He  is  dead.  Mr.  Connor  married 
Ella  Hofman.  She  is  dead.  Lib  Hofman 
is  dead.  Charles  Hollister  was  killed  at  Cor- 
inth, October  5,  1862.  K.  D.  Horrall  mar- 
ried Miss  Baird.  Dan  Edmiston  married 
Miss  Whitney.  Both  are  dead.  The  writer 
married  Miss  Marney,  and  of  the  couples 
here  mentioned,  eight  married  and  of  the 
eight,  the  writer  and  his  wife,  K.  D.  Horrall 
and  his  wife,  are  all  that  are  now  living,  who 
were  afterward  married. 


CHARLES  DEAN. 

Americans  are  not  hampered  by  the 
shackles  of  class  distinction  and  it  is  every 
one's  privilege  to  build  the  structure  of  his 
life  as  he  sees  fit.  This  gives  us  what  is 
often  termed  the  self-made  man,  a  good  ex- 
ample of  which  is  found  in  the  subject  of 
our  sketch,  Charles  Dean,  of  Alma  township, 
Marion  county.  Mr.  Dean  is  a  descendant 
of  that  sturdy  type  of  pioneers  that  pushed 
westward  along  the  highway  marked  out  by 
Daniel  Boone  in  the  early  days  of  our 
country's  history.  His  father,  Samuel 
Dean,  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  his 
mother,  Cerena  (Bishop)  Dean,  was  born 
in  Tennessee.  When  he  was  quite  young  his 
mother  died,  leaving  the  father  surviving 
with  several  children.  Thrown  largely  upon 


his  own  resources  thus  early  in  life,  the  boy 
developed  that  spirit  of  self-reliance  and 
energy  that  forms  such  a  marked  character- 
istic of  the  self-made  American. 

In  1875  Mr.  Dean  was  married  to  Sarah 
E.  Rush,  who  was  born  in  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  November  14,  1851.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Rebecca  (Hatfield) 
Rush,  the  latter  still  living  at  the  age  of 
seventy-three  years,  in  1908. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dean  have  become  the  par- 
ents of  three  children,  two  of  whom,  Dollie 
and  Daisy,  died  when  quite  young;  the 
third,  Noah,  is  now  a  practicing  physician 
at  Alma.  As  a  boy  he  showed  a  keen  in- 
terest in  his  studies  and  manifested  consid- 
erable aptitude  for  the  study  of  natural 
phenomena. 

As  he  approached  manhood  he  decided  to 
make  medicine  his  profession,  and  his  suc- 
cess in  this  field  demonstrated  his  fitness  for 
his  chosen  calling.  He  resolved  to  pursue 
his  medical  studies  at  some  school  of  un- 
impeachable reputation,  and  finally  entered 
the  Iowa  State  Medical  College,  Keokuk, 
Iowa.  Here  he  applied  himself  so  vigorous- 
ly that  he  soon  attracted  the  interest  of  the 
instructors  and  won  the  admiration  of  his 
classmates.  His  previous  experience  of 
four  years  as  a  teacher  in  the  Marion  county 
public  schools,  gave  him  a  broad  founda- 
tion for  his  later  efforts  and  he  finished  his 
work  with  a  standing  of  third  in  the  gradu- 
ating class.  Since  establishing  himself  in 
practice  he  has  joined  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Ester  Delassus,  of  Patoka,  a  lady  of  most 
excellent  culture  and  accomplishments. 


,430 


IJIOGKAI'lllfAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


As  a  result  of  his  years  of  hard  and 
steady  work,  Charles  Dean  has  brought  his 
farm  of  eighty  acres  to  a  high  degree  of 
productiveness  and  has  gained  a  wide  repu- 
tation as  a  stockdealer,  rivaling  in  this  re- 
spect the  excellent  reputation  of  his  father 
before  him.  Although  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics, Mr.  Dean  has  never  given  any  atten- 
tion to  questionable  political  methods,  stand- 
ing at  all  times  for  a  square  deal  for  every- 
body concerned.  He  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  denomination  and  are 
held  in  high  esteem  by  both  neighbors  and 
friends. 


WILLIAM  H.  LESEMAN. 

From  many  parts  of  the  world  people 
have  come  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  the 
great  state  of  Illinois,  and  few  have  re- 
gretted their  corning.  Although  the  per- 
centage of  Prussians,  compared  with  the 
number  of  inhabitants  of  that  country  and 
the  number  of  immigrants  from  her  sister 
nations  who  have  settled  in  the  land  of  the 
free,  is  not  large,  those  found  in  this  state 
are  most  progressive  and  they  are  always 
regarded  as  loyal  and  law-abiding  citizens. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  no  exception  to 
the  general  rule. 

William  H.  Leseman  was  born  in  Price 
Ninon,  near  Backonen,  Prussia,  October  10, 
1834,  and  when  ten  years  of  age  was 
brought  to  America  by  his  parents  in  1843, 
first  settling  in  Washington  county,  this 


state,  but  not  finding  conditions  exactly  to 
their  tastes  there,  finally  came  on  to  Marion 
county,  where  they  located  in  August  of 
1884,  and  where  they  soon  became  assim- 
ilated with  the  new  conditions  and  civiliza- 
tion, developing  a  good  farm  from  the  un- 
improved soil  which  they  secured. 

Our  subject  is  the  son  of  Henry  and 
Christina  Leseman,  whose  family  consisted 
of  three  sons  and  an  equal  number  of 
daughters,  William,  our  subject,  having 
been  the  second  in  order  of  birth.  He  is 
the  only  one  of  the  family  now  living. 

After  receiving  what  education  he  could 
in  the  common  schools  of  this  county  and 
working  on  his  father's  farm  until  he  had 
reached  manhood,  our  subject  married 
Catherine  Dewyer  June  18,  1862,  and  soon 
thereafter  began  to  work  for  himself  on  the 
farm.  James  and  Catherine  Dewyer  were 
the  parents  of  our  subject's  wife.  There 
were  eight  children  in  this  family,  an  equal 
number  of  boys  and  girls,  Catherine,  the 
wife  of  the  subject,  being  the  youngest  and 
the  only  one  of  the  children  now  living. 

The  following  children  have  been  born 
to  our  subject  and  wife,  there  being  eight, 
seven  of  whom  are  still  living;  Eddie,  de- 
deased;  Katie,  Henry,  James,  Albert,  Wil- 
liam, Alice  and  Walter. 

Mr.  Leseman  is  the  owner  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  of  very  fertile  land,  lo- 
cated in  Alma  township,  all  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation.  He  carries  on  a  general 
farming  with  that  discretion  and  energy 
that  always  insure  success  and  as  a  result 
of  his  able  management  of  the  place  he 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


431 


reaps  excellent  harvests  from  year  to  year, 
making  a  comfortable  living,  and  laying  up 
an  ample  competency  for  his  old  age.  He 
keeps  his  fields  in  an  excellent  condition, 
carefully  rotating  his  crops  and  thereby  re- 
taining the  original  richness  of  the  soil.  He 
has  a  good  and  comfortable  dwelling  which 
is  nicely  furnished,  and  also  a  good  barn, 
and  considerable  farming  machinery,  and 
good  stock.  All  this  he  has  made  himself 
by  his  own  energy  and  wise  economy. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  loyal  Repub- 
lican and  takes  a  great  interest  in  political 
affairs.  In  his  religious  belief  he  seems  to 
favor  the  Methodist  denomination,  how- 
ever, his  parents  were  always  Lutherans  in 
the  Fatherland.  The  faith  of  the  subject's 
wife's  people  was  that  of  the  Catholic  be- 
lief, however,  they  later  turned  Protestant, 
and  are  now  Methodists.  Our  subject  has 
always  been  known  as  a  man  of  honesty  and 
integrity  and  he  has  many  friends  in  his 
community  as  a  result  of  his  well  regulated 
life. 


STEPHEN  SNUFFIN. 

Mr.  Snuffin  is  well  known  and  respected  in 
German  township,  where  for  many  a  day  he 
has  lived  and  prospered.  He  was  born  on 
November  22.  1846,  in  Union  county,  Ohio, 
being  the  son  of  Levi  and  Cathryne  (Clark) 
Snuffin.  His  father  was  born  and  reared  in 
Ohio  and  his  mother  was  a  native  of  Ken- 
tucky. Their  marriage  took  place  in  Ohio, 
where  thev  lived  on  a  farm  until  1860.  when 


they  came  to  Illinois  and  bought  thirty-seven 
acres  of  land  in  German  township,  for  which 
they  paid  about  ten  dollars  an  acre.  It  was 
prairie  land,  unimproved,  but  well  fenced. 
Levi  Snufiin  built  a  plank  house  upon  the 
land  and  other  buildings,  and  put  the  land 
into  a  state  of  cultivation.  Here  he  remained 
and  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-two,  being  buried 
in  Stolz  cemetery  in  German  township. 
Mother  Snuffin  survived  for  several  years, 
dying  June  20,  1906,  aged  eighty-five  years; 
she  is  also  buried  in  Stoltz  cemetery.  They 
were  the  parents  of  eleven  children,  nine  of 
whom  grew  to  maturity,  the  subject  being 
the  third  in  order  of  birth. 

Stephen  Snuffin  remained  with  his  parents 
until  his  marriage.  When  the  Civil  war 
broke  out  he  was  but  seventeen  years  old,  and, 
filled  with  the  martial  fervor  of  the  time,  he 
stealthily  left  home  one  morning  at  three 
o'clock,  with  the  intention  of  enlisting  at  Ol- 
ney,  but  his  father  put  a  bar  to  his  military 
career  by  reaching  Olney  in  time  to  com- 
pel him  to  return  home.  Stephen's  marriage 
took  place  on  April  14,  1867,  when  he  mar- 
ried Margaret  Stoltz.  She  was  born  No- 
vember 23,  1847,  in  Richland  county.  Illinois, 
being  the  daughter  of  Henry  and  Savilla 
( Peoples)  Stoltz.  Her  father  was  a  native  of 
Illinois,  having  been  also  born  in  Richland 
county.  Her  mother  belonged  to  a  Kentucky 
family,  coming  to  Illinois  with  her  parents 
when  she  was  about  three  years  old.  Her 
mother  and  father,  on  their  marriage,  settled 
on  a  farm  in  German  township,  where  they 
remained  several  years.  They  then  sold  their 
land  and  bought  nineteen  acres  in  another  lo- 


432 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


cation  in  German  township,  which,  at  the 
time  of  their  deaths,  contained  over  one  hun- 
dred acres.  Mrs.  Stoltz  died  in  August,  1872, 
aged  fifty  years.  Henry  Stoltz  died  in  March, 
1900,  aged  seventy-five.  Both  were  buried 
in  Stoltz  cemetery,  German  township.  They 
were  the  parents  of  ten  children.  Mrs.  Snuf- 
fin  being  second  in  order  of  birth.  An  eldei 
brother  served  in  the  Civil  war  in  the  Fifth 
Illinois  Cavalry,  having  died  at  Vicksburg 
from  small-pox  while  in  service. 

Stephen  Snuffin  and  his  wife  at  the  time  of 
their  marriage,  settled  on  a  farm  in  Richland 
county,  and  although  they  have  moved  sev- 
eral times  since  then,  they  have  never  left  the 
county.  During  their  married  life  six  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  them,  two  of  whom 
are  now  dead.  In  the  regular  order  the  chil- 
dren were  named :  Henry  C.  ( deceased )  ; 
Ella  S.,  Alvord,  Edgar  (deceased)  ;  Edwin. 
Samuel  married  Delia  Jeffries,  now  deceased. 
His  wife  is  buried  in  Kirksville,  Illinois,  and 
he  has  no  living  children.  Ella  married  War- 
ren Musgrove.  They  reside  on  a  farm  near 
Electra,  Texas,  and  have  four  children ;  two 
boys  and  two  girls :  Lawrence,  Lex,  Maurice 
and  Ethel.  Alvord  and  Edwin  Snuffin  are  un- 
married. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  received  but  a 
limited  education  in  his  young  days.  He 
attended  the  free  common  schools  in  German 
township,  but  owing  to  the  necessary  work 
to  be  done  on  the  farm  his  attendance  was 
anything  but  regular.  He,  however,  mas- 
tered reading,  writing  and  spelling.  Mrs. 
Stephen  Snuffin  in  her  young  days  had  edu- 
cational difficulties  very  similar  to  that  of  her 


husband  and  therefore  did  not  receive  an  ex- 
tended education. 

In  politics  Stephen  Snuffin  is  an  uncompro- 
mising Republican  and  has  taken  quite  an  ac- 
tive part  in  politics  in  German  township.  He 
served  as  a  county  road  supervisor  for  sev- 
eral terms.  He  never  aspired  to  hold  any  po- 
litical offices  and  has  contented  himself  as  a 
worker  in  the  cause. 

In  the  religious  world,  while  he  and  his 
family  are  not  members  of  any  particular 
church,  they  have  always  attended  the  Meth- 
odist services  and  have  liberally  contributed 
to  the  support  of  the  same  church. 

The  home  life  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snuffin  is 
very  peaceable  and  happy,  the  children  they 
have  reared  being  a  constant  and  unfailing 
source  of  satisfaction  to  them. 


GEORGE  W.  CAMPBELL. 

One  of  Xenia's  most  prosperous  mer- 
chants is  Mr.  Campbell,  who  needs  no  intro- 
duction to  the  people  of  his  township  and 
county.  During  the  years  of  his  residence, 
from  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  when  he, 
with  nothing  more  than  half  a  dollar  in  his 
pocket,  arrived  in  the  township  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  his  progress  has  been  marked  and 
rapid.  A  veteran  of  that  war,  his  life  uncov- 
ers one  of  those  unhappy  family  tragedies 
which  that  crisis  in  our  history  brought  about, 
especially  in  the  states  of  Virginia  nad  Mary- 
land, when  the  spectacle  of  father  and  son 
taking  different  sides  in  the  quarrel  was  seen. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


433 


George  W.  Campbell  fought  and  bled  for 
the  Union,  and  his  career  in  a  business 
sphere  since  that  time  has  been  another  suc- 
cessful struggle. 

He  was  born  in  Virginia  on  August  18, 
1843,  the  son  of  George  Campbell  and 
Amanda  Wilcox,  his  mother,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania.  His  grandparents  on  his  fa- 
ther's side  were  of  Scotch-Irish  descent  and 
came  to  this  country  from  Scotland.  His 
father  migrated  to  Virginia  where  he  mar- 
ried and  followed  the  occupation  of  a  farmer. 
When  the  war  broke  out  the  elder  George 
espoused  the  Southern  cause,  becoming  a 
member  of  the  Eighth  Confederate  Cavalry, 
and,  having  gone  through  the  conflict  died 
at  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  some  years  after.  His 
wife  died  in  1878. 

George  W.  Campbell,  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  war,  was  a  member  of  the  First  Virginia, 
later  the  Ninth  Virginia  Volunteers,  who 
supported  the  Northern  banner,  and  this 
placed  father  and  son  in  different  camps.  On 
account  of  his  fighting  against  the  Confed- 
eracy he  was  harshly  dealt  with  by  his  par- 
ents who  forbid  him  to  return  to  the  paternal 
home.  His  father  was  a  prosperous  farmer 
and  upon  his  death  the  management  of  his 
estate  falling  to  his  wife,  she  disinherited  her 
son  George  W. 

Our  subject  saw  four  years'  service  in  the 
Civil  War,  engaging  in  thirty  battles,  be- 
ing twice  wounded  and  twice  taken  prisoner. 
He  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Sumner- 
ville,  being  shot  in  the  thigh,  and  again  at 
Sugar  Creek,  a  ball  entering  his  foot.  In  this 
last  engagement  the  Union  forces  suffered 
28 


defeat  in  the  morning,  completely  turning 
the  tables  in  the  afternoon  when  they  com- 
pletely routed  the  enemy. 

George  W.  Campbell  came  to  Xenia  almost 
absolutely  penniless,  after  doing  a  man's  part 
to  preserve  the  consolidation  of  his  country, 
in  the  winter  of  1867.  He  obtained  work  as 
a  painter  and  afterwards  learned  carpentry 
and  the  cabinet-making  trade.  About  thir- 
ty-six years  ago  he  started  in  the  undertaking 
and  furniture  business.  Ever  since  he  has 
engaged  in  that  line  his  success  has  been 
marked.  He  met  with  trials  and  setbacks 
during  the  early  period  of  his  business  life 
but  they  were  of  a  temporary  nature  and  nev- 
er obstructed  his  steady  prosperity. 

He  married  on  September  6,1874,  Addie 
Morris,  a  lady  whose  parents  came  from 
Ohio,  bringing  her  with  them  when  she  was 
but  three  years  old.  Mrs.  George  W.  Camp- 
bell bore  her  husband  one  son,  Wrilliam,  who 
has  been  a  constant  source  of  comfort  to  his 
parents  during  their  life.  He  is  a  licensed 
embalmer  and  is  associated  with  his  father  in 
business.  Some  years  ago  he  marred  Ada 
Corson,  of  Xenia.  They  have  two  children. 

Mr.  Campbell  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and 
a  sturdy  adherent  of  the  Democratic  ticket. 
He  has  never  been  ambitious  to  hold  public 
office,  but  he  has  served  for  a  time  as  Mayor 
and  Alderman.  George  W.  Campbell  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  Baptist  church 
and  zealous  in  church  affairs.  He  is,  himself, 
a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  Fra- 
ternity in  Xenia  and  a  leading  member  of  the 
local  branch  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public. 


434 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


George  W.  Campbell,  in  addition  to  his 
large  mercantile  business,  is  a  large  real  es- 
tate owner  in  Xenia,  and  the  owner  of  resi- 
dential as  well  as  business  property.  His 
store  is  a  spacious  one,  being  eighty  feet  by 
thirty-five  feet,  the  business  being  conducted 
on  two  floors. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  is  deservedly 
popular  with  the  people  of  every  creed  and 
class  in  the  community,  and  the  well  merited 
success  he  has  won  during  the  course  of  an 
eventful  life  is  but  his  just  deserts. 


WILLIAM  THOMAS  WILKINSON. 

In  the  subject  of  this  review  we  have  a 
representative  of  one  of  the  most  honored 
pioneer  families  in  Marion  county  and  one 
who  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  pro- 
gressive farmers  of  his  locality,  owning  and 
operating  in  a  most  successful  manner  at 
this  time  three  farms  of  great  value.  He  is 
regarded  by  all  who  know  him  as  being  a 
most  capable  and  energetic  man,  broad 
minded  and  sound  in  his  business  principles. 

William  Thomas  Wilkinson  was  born  in 
Meacham  township,  this  county,  January 
21,  1859,  tne  son  °f  H.  C.  Wilkinson,  who 
was  born  in  Kentucky  in  1825,  and  who 
passed  to  his  rest  at  the  early  age  of  forty- 
six  years,  but  not  until  he  had  stamped  his 
individuality  upon  the  community  where  he 
lived.  He  was  the  father  of  seven  children, 
three  sons  and  four  daughters,  three  of 
whom  are  now  living,  the  subject  being  the 


third  in  order  of  birth.  Our  subject's 
mother's  name  in  her  maidenhood  was  Har- 
riet A.  Nichols.  She  married  H.  C.  Wil- 
kinson in  Marion  county,  Illinois. 

Our  subject  spent  his  early  life  on  the 
home  farm  and  attended  the  district  schools 
where  he  applied  himself  in  an  able  manner 
and  gained  a  fairly  good  education. 

Mr.  Wilkinson  has  devoted  his  life  to 
agricultural  pursuits  and  he  has  been  emi- 
nently successful  in  his  chosen  work,  hav- 
ing by  sheer  force  of  individuality,  business 
acumen  and  persistency  won  his  way  from 
an  humble  beginning  to  a  place  of  promi- 
nence and  comparative  affluence  in  his 
county,  owning  three  farms,  consisting  col- 
lectively of  three  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
acres.  One  hundred  and  forty  acres  is  in 
Meacham  township,  one  hundred  and  forty 
acres  in  Alma  township  and  sixty-eight 
acres  in  Kinmundy  township.  All  these 
farms  are  under  a  high  grade  of  cultivation 
and  yield  the  owner  a  comfortable  compe- 
tency from  year  to  year.  They  all  show  that 
the  owner  is  a  man  of  the  best  modern 
methods  of  agriculture.  On  each  of  these 
is  located  a  good  house  and  out  buildings. 
Mr.  Wilkinson  has  various  kinds  of  good 
stock  on  the  farms. 

Mr.  Wilkinson  married  Prudence  Kenedy 
on  August  17,  1882,  in  Marion  county,  Illi- 
nois. She  is  a  native  of  Washington 
county  and  the  daughter  of  James  P.  and 
Elizabeth  (McBride)  Kenedy,  the  former 
a  native  of  Tennessee  and  the  latter  of  Ran- 
dolph county,  Illinois.  The  wife  of  the  sub- 
ject was  one  of  a  family  of  eleven  children, 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


435 


she  being  the  eighth  in  order  of  birth.  Her 
parents  were  United  Presbyterians  but  she 
worships  with  her  husband,  as  do  all  the 
family,  in  the  Methodist  church,  of  which 
Mr.  Wilkinson  is  a  steward. 

The  following  children  have  been  born 
to  the  subject  and  wife:  Bert  E.  is  a  tele- 
graph operator  in  Wyoming  in  the  employ 
of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad;  Claude  E., 
Jennie  P.,  Charles  H.,  Irene.  Bert  E.  mar- 
ried Alice  Hiddleson,  living  in  Cheyenne, 
Wyoming,  and  they  have  one  child.  Claude 
E.  married  Stella  Danison.  Jennie  P.  mar- 
ried John  R.  Telford,  who  lives  in  Kin- 
mundy  township.  Claude  is  a  teacher  in  the 
county  schools,  and  he  farms  one  of  his 
father's  places.  He  has  a  good  wife  and 
a  nice  home.  He  was  educated  in  the  Kin- 
mundy  high  school. 

Our  subject  is  a  loyal  Democrat,  and  he 
has  faithfully  and  conscientiously  served  his 
community  as  Township  Collecter  and  as 
Road  Commissioner  for  three  terms.  He 
has  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  public 
affairs  and  his  support  can  always  be 
counted  on  in  all  movements  looking  to  the 
general  good  of  the  locality  where  he  lives. 
Considering  the  hardships  and  obstacles  of 
his  early  life  he  deserves  a  great  deal  of 
credit  for  what  he  has  accomplished,  for  his 
father  died  when  he  was  fourteen  years  old 
and  he  and  John  H.,  his  brother,  had  to  help 
their  mother  raise  the  rest  of  the  children. 
This  developed  a  strong  independent  and 
sturdy  manhood  and  a  frugal  and  thrifty 
mentality  which  is  very  largely  re- 
sponsible for  his  subsequent  success  in  life. 


Prosperity  seems  to  have  attended  every 
worthy  effort  he  has  made,  with  the  result 
that  before  the  evening  of  life  advances 
upon  him  he  finds  himself  and  family  very 
comfortably  situated,  and  the  future,  what- 
ever it  may  have  in  store  for  him  and  his, 
inspires  no  shadow  of  fear  in  his  breast. 


JOHN  A.  PEIRCE. 

Who  is  there  who  is  not  proud  of  his  fam- 
ily tree,  be  it  of  ever  so  short  a  growth  ?  A 
great  many  find  a  fascinating  pleasure  in 
looking  back  over  the  vista  of  the  years  with 
their  memories  of  Plymouth  Rock  and  Revo- 
lutionary struggles  to  trace  their  line  of  an- 
cestry through  the  labyrinths  of  history. 
The  family  memory  of  the  subject  of  the 
present  sketch  runs  back  to  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury when  its  originators  emigrated  from 
England,  and  some  members  of  his  family 
hold  an  heirloom  in  the  form  of  a  Bible  print- 
ed in  1608,  the  pages  of  which  have  been 
thumbed  by  succeeding  generations  of  the 
Peirce  family  down  to  the  present  time.  •  John 
A.  Peirce,  the  member  of  the  family  whom 
\ve  wish  to  refer  to  at  present,  however,  is 
not  content  to  allow  the  memory  of  the  past 
to  overshadow  the  future.  As  a  practical  and 
industrious  skilled  mechanic  he  has  upheld 
the  family  tradition  of  progress  and  push, 
and  the  activity  of  his  life  has  won  him  a 
front  place  in  the  industrial  world.  His  busi- 
ness today  is  the  best  equipped  on  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio  Railroad  line  of  any  of  its  kind 
between  St.  Louis  and  Vincennes. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


John  A.  Peirce  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of 
Xenia,  on  March  12,  1843,  his  father  being 
John  Peirce,  a  native  of  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  who  came  west  in  1835,  and  lo- 
cating first  at  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  thence 
coming  to  Clay  county  in  1837.  His  father 
followed  the  occupation  of  farmer  and  print- 
er, being  a  farmer  most  of  the  time.  When 
the  present  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  was 
built,  his  father  owned  forty  acres  of  land 
on  the  site  of  the  present  railroad  station  and 
which  is  part  of  the  original  town  of  Xenia. 
John  Peirce,  Senior,  was  the  first  station- 
agent  of  the  Balitmore  &  Ohio,  filling  the 
position  for  two  years,  becoming  the  agent 
in  June,  1855,  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  people 
running  their  first  train  through  on  the  4th 
of  July  following.  The  subject  of  the  pres- 
ent sketch  has  in  his  possession  a  freight  or- 
der sheet — one  of  the  first  written — issued 
in  his  father's  handwriting.  Upon  leaving 
the  employ  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio,  the  eld- 
er John  Peirce  went  into  the  woolen  mill  in- 
dustry, which  business  was  disposed  of  in 
1863.  The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
our  sketch  was  Thomas  Peirce,  who  is 
thought  to  have  been  a  native  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, the  family  having  come  as  we  have 
already  stated,  from  England,  their  ancestors 
emigrating  to  America  in  1697. 

The  mother  of  John  A.  Peirce  was  born 
Jane  Catherine  Davenport.  Her  people  were 
natives  of  Virginia.  She  died  in  October, 
1855,  having  given  birth  to  three  children, 
of  which  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the 
only  survivor. 

The  education  received  by  John  A.  Peirce 
was  of  the  common  school  variety.  It  took 


place  in  the  old  common  schools  in  Xenia.  At 
eighteen  years  of  age  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany G,  Twenty-first  Illinois  Volunteers  (in- 
fantry) for  service  in  the  Civil  war,  his 
term  of  service  running  over  four  years  and 
eight  months.  During  that  period  he  passed 
through  the  hardest  part  of  the  conflict,  par- 
ticipating in  the  battles  of  Chickamauga,  Sep- 
tember 19-20,  1863  ;  historic  Frederickstown, 
October  21,  1861 ;  Perryville,  Kentucky,  Oc- 
tober 8,  1862;  Stone  River,  December  30-31, 
1862;  Franklin,  Tennessee,  November  30, 
1864;  Nashville,  Tennessee,  December  15-16, 
1864.  He  emerged  from  the  Civil  war  unin- 
jured, and  on  January  25,  1866,  he  obtained 
his  discharge.  He  then  came  back  to  Xenia 
and  went  to  work  as  an  engineer  in  the  wool- 
en mills.  Later  on  he  applied  himself  to  the 
painting  trade  and  also  as  a  tinner.  In  1878 
he  interested  himself  in  machine  shop  work 
and  in  1880  established  himself  in  his  present 
location  in  the  machine  industry.  His  plant 
at  the  present  time  is  equipped  with  all  the 
most  up-to-date  machines  and  appliances  and 
contains  lathes,  shapers,  etc.,  of  the  most 
improved  type.  Mr.  Peirce  is  a  skilled  and 
experienced  machinist  and  superintends  as  far 
as  possible  the  output  of  his  factory. 

His  marriage  took  place  January  12,  1868, 
to  Fidelia  Westmoreland,  who  is  a  native  of 
Illinois.  Mrs.  Peirce  bore  her  husband  five 
children:  Helenora  (deceased)  ;  Mary  Eliz- 
abeth, (deceased);  Nellie,  Mrs.  Amanda 
Jane  Bradley,  of  Xenia,  Illinois ;  Mrs.  Mary 
Stout,  of  Taylorville,  Illinois.  Mrs.  Peirce 
is  still  active  in  life  and  conducts  a  mil- 
linery store  in  Xenia,  on  her  own  behalf. 

John  A.  Peirce  is  a  member  of  the  Metho- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


437 


dist  Episcopal  belief,  being  a  trustee  of  the 
local  church.  Mrs.  Peirce  is  also  of  the  same 
religion  as  her  husband.  In  fraternal  life, 
John  A.  Pierce  belongs  to  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  at  Xenia.  He  was 
a  charter  member  of  the  John  A.  Logan  Post 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  but  has 
now  retired  from  active  participation  in 
same.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He 
contents  himself  in  voting  his  party's  ticket 
at  election  times,  and  does  not  dabble  in  local 
political  affairs.  He  is  progressive  and  in- 
telligent citizen  and  a  man  whose  record  in 
private  as  well  as  in  every-day  life  is  pecu- 
liarly free  from  taint  of  all  that  is  undesirable. 
He  is  known  to  be  a  charitable  and  friendly 
neighbor  and  a  man  whose  success  in  h'fe  is 
looked  upon  with  pleasure  by  his  large  cir- 
cle of  friends  and  by  his  townspeople  in  gen- 
eral. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  DOSER. 

Although  his  journey  along  the  pathway 
of  life  has  been  beset  by  many  obstacles,  and 
he  has  undergone  many  privations,  George 
Washington  Doser,  in  the  sunset  of  his  ca- 
reer, is  living  quietly  at  his  home  in  Pres- 
ton township,  Richland  county,  Illinois,  amid 
most  pleasant  and  congenial  surroundings. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  true  type 
of  what  is  termed  the  self-made  man,  who 
through  his  industry  and  perseverance  accu- 
mulated a  sufficiency  of  this  world's  goods  to 
enable  him  to  enjoy  a  life  of  ease  in  his  de- 
clining years.  In  the  locality  in  which  he 


has  lived  for  almost  a  half  century,  this  ven- 
erable man  is  held  in  high  esteem  for  his 
sterling  worth  and  rugged  honesty. 

Mr.  Doser  was  born  in  Clark  county,  Ohio, 
October  2,  1825.  He  was  the  son  of  Michael 
and  Regna  (Zirkle)  Doser.  Of  his  father 
the  subject  has  very  little  knowledge,  ow- 
ing to  the  separation  of  his  parents  during 
his  early  boyhood.  His  mother  was  born  in 
Virginia  in  1808,  and  her  parents  were  na- 
tives of  the  same  state.  While  a  young  girl, 
her  parents  removed  to  Ohio,  and  she  re- 
mained with  them  until  her  marriage  to  the 
father  of  the  subject.  As  a  result  of  this 
alliance  two  children  were  born,  of  which  the 
subject  was  the  eldest,  the  younger  brother 
dying  in  infancy.  Shortly  thereafter,  owing 
to  an  incompatibility  of  temper,  the  couple 
decided  that  they  were  not  well-mated,  and 
the  marital  bonds  were  dissolved.  When 
Mr.  Doser  was  in  his  sixth  year  his  mother 
again  entered  wedlock,  espousing  Jonathan 
Zirkle,  and  eight  children  were  the  fruit  of 
this  union.  The  subject  remained  with  his 
mother  and  step-father  until  he  was  fifteen, 
when  he  took  up  his  residence  with  his  grand- 
father. He  was  twenty-three  years  old,  No- 
vember 23,  1847,  when  he  married  Eliza 
Welgamuth,  in  Clark  county,  Ohio.  He  and 
his  bride  took  up  their  abode  on  a  rented 
farm,  where  they  remained  until  1864,  when 
they  moved  to  Richland  county,  Illinois,  set- 
tling upon  eighty  acres  of  land,  in  Preston 
township,  for  which  they  paid  fifteen  dollars 
per  acre.  Of  this  land,  sixty  acres  was  prai- 
rie, and  had  never  been  tilled,  while  the  re- 
maining twenty  acres  were  bottom  timber 

!!      I 


438 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


land.  The  only  improvement  on  this  farm 
was  a  frame  house,  and  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  compelled  to  remodel  this  struc- 
ture, and  build  stables,  fences,  etc.  Mr.  Doser 
finally  sold  this  farm,  and  for  the  next  nine 
years  rented  farms.  At  the  end  of  that  pe- 
riod he  had  accumulated  a  competence,  and 
as  the  result  of  a  decision  to  give  up  the  pur- 
suit of  agriculture  he  purchased  property 
in  the  town  of  Dundas,  where  he  and  his  wife 
now  live. 

Six  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Doser,  three  boys  and  three  girls,  namely: 
Socrates,  John,  Albert,  Mary,  Harriet  and 
Anes.  All  of  them  reached  the  years  of 
maturity  but  Socrates,  Mary  and  Anes  have 
passed  to  the  beyond. 

In  the  boyhood  days  of  Mr.  Doser  the  edu- 
cational facilities  were  limited,  and  decidedly 
crude  as  compared  with  the  splendid  sys- 
tem in  vogue  today.  He  attended  about  two 
months  of  what  was  known  as  subscription 
school  before  he  had  attained  his  fifteenth 
year,  using  only  an  elementary  spelling  book 
in  pursuing  his  studies.  Later  he  became 
a  pupil  in  the  free  school  for  the  short  space 
of  three  months  in  three  years,  making  a 
total  of  nine  months.  Here  he  used  an  ele- 
mentary speller  and  reader,  and  absorbed  a 
smattering  of  arithmetic.  Blackboards  were 
unknown  in  those  days.  The  desks  were 
wide  boards  placed  across  wooden  pins,  fas- 
tened in  holes  bored  in  the  walls.  The  seats 
consisted  of  benches,  home-made  with  four 
wooden  pins  for  legs. 

Although  Mr.  Doser  has  never  taken  an 
active  part  in  politics,  he  has  always  affiliated 


with  the  Democratic  party,  having  cast  his 
first  vote  for  President  Van  Buren.  He  has 
served  four  years  as  road  overseer,  but  in 
the  year  1908  was  the  first  time  that  he  re- 
ceived any  remuneration  for  his  services. 

Both  the  subject  and  his  wife  in  the  early 
years  of  their  life  in  Ohio  united  with  the 
Lutheran  church,  and  they  have  been  active 
members  of  this  denomination  ever  since, 
very  seldom  missing  a  service. 


.WILEY  ROSE. 

One  of  the  fascinating  features  of  the 
farming  industry  is  the  opportunity  it  af- 
fords for  individual  effort  and  experiment. 
One  can  not  only  till  the  soil  in  raising  the 
usual  routine  of  crops,  but  he  can  also 
specialize  along  certain  lines  and  thus 
broaden  his  own  knowledge  by  experiment 
and  in  this  way  contribute  to  the  knowledge 
and  advancement  in  such  special  fields. 
We  make  mention  in  this  connection 
of  the  name  of  the  subject  of  this  brief  re- 
view, Wiley  Rose,  a  life-long  resident  of 
this  county.  Mr.  Rose  has  not  only  farmed 
but  has  devoted  special  attention  to  the 
raising  of  poultry  and  has  given  this  subject 
considerable  thought  and  study.  As  a  re- 
sult he  has  become  thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  business  and  is  good  authority  on  the 
various  phases  of  the  industry.  Mr.  Rose 
was  born  on  the  I2th  day  of  September, 
1857,  being  the  son  of  James  and  Peggy 
Ann  (Burkette)  Rose,  who  were  the  parents 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


439 


of  four  children,  our  subject  being  the  third. 
Mr.  Rose  was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  an 
environment  which  is  now  and  always  has 
been  a  most  wholesome  one  for  growing 
youth.  He  received  his  education  in  the 
neighboring  district  schools,  and  as  he  grew 
to  manhood  he  made  up  his  mind  to  make 
farming  his  chief  occupation. 

On  September  7,  1879,  he  was  joined  in 
marriage  to  Serelda  Wooten,  who  was  born 
in  Ohio  in  October,  1861,  being  one  of  a 
family  of  nine  children.  This  union  has 
been  blessed  with  a  family  of  six  children. 
Nora  M.  was  born  on  January  7,  1881,  and 
has  become  the  wife  of  William  Wantland 
and  is  the  mother  of  one  boy;  Gertrude  A. 
was  born  on  the  26th  of  June,  1884,  and 
was  married  to  Frank  Schaffer,  being  the 
mother  of  two  sons;  Pearl  M.  was  born  on 
the  26th  of  March,  1886,  and  was  joined 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Laura  Smith;  Fannie 
B.  was  born  on  the  8th  of  October,  1888, 
and  has  become  the  wife  of  Albert  Smith; 
Elmer  L.  and  Mormon  E.  are  still  at  home, 
the  former  being  born  on  June  23,  1892, 
and  the  latter  on  June  12,  1895. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rose  are  members  of  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  and  are 
held  in  high  esteem  by  the  members  of  the 
congregation.  They  stand  well  in  the  com- 
munity, being  most  accommodating  in  their 
dealings  and  ready  at  all  times  to  lend  a 
helping  hand  to  whoever  opportunity  af- 
fords. Mr.  Rose  has  been  a  lifelong  Demo- 
crat, but  is  most  pronounced  in  his  stand 
for  a  fair  and  honest  discharge  of  all  offi- 
cial duties.  He  maintains  that  service  in 


public  office  is  not  only  a  privilege  but  a 
sacred  obligation,  and  should  not  be  looked 
upon  in  any  other  light,  except  the  one 
calling  for  the  highest  integrity  and  con- 
scientiousness. 


JOSEPH  E.  TULLY. 

The  portly  form  of  Joseph  E.  Tully  is  but 
a  natural  indication  in  one  respect  of  his 
largeness.  He  is  large  in  mind  as  well  as 
body  and  his  business  interests  are  appreci- 
ated not  alone  in  Xenia  and  Clay  county,  but 
also  through  all  that  section  of  the  state  of 
Illinois.  His  standing  in  the  community  is 
of  the  highest  and  as  one  of  Xenia's  leading 
citizens  and  as  president  of  the  Orchard  City 
Bank,  he  has  established  for  himself  the  rep- 
utation of  a  man  of  business  talents  of  the 
highest  order.  He  is  a  citizen  in  whom  the 
most  implicit  confidence  may  be  placed  with- 
out fear  of  betrayal  and  one  in  whose  com- 
position the  elements  of  honesty  is  not  lack- 
ing- 
Joseph  E.  Tully  was  born  in  Marion  coun- 
ty, Illinois,  on  the  3ist  of  December,  1849; 
his  father  was  also  a  native  of  Marion  coun- 
ty, and  a  farmer,  who  moved  to  Clay  county 
about  the  year  1855,  where  he  lived  until 
his  death  which  happened  about  1903.  His 
grandfather  was  Mark  Tully,  who  was  well 
known  in  the  life  of  Marion  county  at  one 
time.  The  family  originally  came  from  Vir- 
ginia, and  Grandfather  Tully  was  at  one  time 
a  farmer,  and  later  a  hotel-keeper  in  Salem. 


440 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCKNT    HISTORY    OF 


Joseph  E.  Tully's  father  served  with  distinc- 
tion in  the  Civil  war,  being  a  soldier  in  the 
Forty-eighth  Illinois  Infantry.  His  mother's 
own  name  was  Sarah  Ellston,  who  belonged 
to  a  family  of  English  extraction.  She  was 
herself  reared  in  Marion  county,  her  death 
occurring  about  1902.  To  his  parents  six 
children  were  born,  five  of  whom  are  now  liv- 
ing, viz:  Joseph  E.,  the  subject  of  our 
sketch;  Mrs.  Ida  Kribs;  Miss  Aggie  Tully; 
Mrs.  Rose  Maxey,  and  Mrs.  Lou  Gaugher. 

The  Tully  family  came  when  the  subject 
of  our  sketch  was  but  six  years  old  to  Clay 
county,  where  they  settled.  Joseph  received 
an  education  in  the  local  common  schools  and 
showed  aptitude  and  ability  whenever  he 
cared  to  study.  When  not  quite  fourteen 
years  old,  about  the  time  of  the  Civil  war, 
his  youthful  patriotism  asserted  itself  and  he 
joined  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-sixth 
Illinois  Volunteers  and  later  affiliated  with 
the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty- fourth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  his  term  of  military  ser- 
vice extending  over  a  period  of  sixteen 
months.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  war  he 
went  into  the  grocery  business  in  Xenia 
and  later  branched  out  extensively  in  the 
mercantile  line.  He  has  now  been  in  busi- 
ness in  Xenia  for  forty  years  and  he  is 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  important 
and  influential  figures  in  its  business  life 
as  well  as  a  substantial  and  prosperous  citi- 
zen. 

In  1870,  on  the  loth  of  October,  his  mar- 
riage with  Fanny  Paine,  who  was  born  in 
New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  took  place.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Joseph  E.  Tully's  married  life 


proved  a  very  happy  one,  and  three  children 
have  been  born  to  them.  The  sons,  James 
M.  Tully  and  W.  P.  Tully,  are  now  grown  to 
manhood  and  are  of  great  assistance  to  their 
father,  both  being  associated  with  him  in  his 
constantly  growing  business.  Their  only 
daughter  is  now  Mrs.  Lois  Holstlaw,  of 
luka,  Illinois. 

In  politics  Joseph  E.  Tully  is  a  consis- 
tent and  loyal  Republican.  He  has  never  as- 
pired much  to  make  a  name  in  local  political 
affairs,  contenting  himself  to  attend  to  the 
business  interests  which  he  has  been  so  suc- 
cessful in  guiding.  However,  he  was  hon- 
ored with  the  postmastership  of  Xenia  for 
the  twelve  years  immediately  following  the 
Civil  war  and  while  that  position  was  en- 
trusted to  him  he  fulfilled  the  duties  of  office 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  people  of 
the  community,  whose  willing  servant  while 
a  public  officeholder  he  ever  proved  himself 
to  be. 

His  keen  business  insight  and  intuition  in 
the  industrial  world  was  not  allowed  to  go 
without  recognition,  and  he  has  been  in- 
stalled as  president  of  the  Orchard  City  Bank, 
which  is  a  stable  and  conservative  institution 
and  the  business  of  which  is  carried  out  in 
harmony  with  the  best  methods  of  the  bank- 
ing world  of  today.  Joseph  Tully  has  given 
time  and  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the  insti- 
tution and  his  advice  and  counsel  have  been 
responsible  for  tiding  it  over  obstacles  in 
the  past.  He  is  also  the  owner  of  an  up-to- 
date  dairy,  equipped  with  all  the  modem 
dairy  appliances,  which  is  a  pleasure  to  in- 
spect. He  has  also  found  time  in  his  busy 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


441 


life  to  superintend  extensive  farming  in- 
terests and  his  success  along  agricultural 
lines  has  admirably  compared  with  his  suc- 
cess in  other  endeavors. 

Joseph  Tully  and  his  wife  are  of  much  im- 
portance in  the  social  life  of  Clay  county 
where  their  genial  and  winning  qualities 
have  made  them  much  sought  after.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church  and  they  have 
not  been  behind  in  helping  onward  the 
good  work  of  religious  progress  in  the  town- 
ship. 

He  is  active  in  fraternal  and  club  life  where 
his  genial  appearance  is  generally  heralded 
by  the  good  humor  and  cheerfulness  which 
he  seems  to  have  a  trick  of  imparting  to  all 
who  come  in  contact  with  him.  He  is  a 
popular  and  prominent  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic Fraternity  and  is  one  of  the  most  widely 
known  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  men  in 
the  vicinity. 


PETER  KERMICLE. 

When  he  gazes  over  his  broad  acres  of  well 
cultivated  land  the  subject  of  this  ketch  is 
justified  in  feeling  that  he  has  achieved  the 
acme  of  his  ambition,  when  in  his  early  life 
he  became  imbued  with  a  determination  to 
some  day  take  front  rank  among  the  agricul- 
turists of  the  Middle  West.  That  Peter  Ker- 
micle  is  a  popular  man  and  stands  high  in 
the  estimation  of  the  people  of  Preston  town- 
ship, Richland  county,  Illinois,  is  attested  by 
the  fact  that  he  has  been  elected  to  public 


office  on  many  occasions,  and  is  at  the  pres- 
ent time  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  that  town- 
ship, having  discharged  the  duties  thereof 
for  the  past  fifteen  years. 

Mr.  Kermicle  was  born  May  28,  1830,  in 
Hardin  county,  Kentucky,  which  afterwards 
became  La  Rue  county,  being  the  second  of 
nine  children  of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Trainor) 
Kermicle.  The  former  was  born  in  Mary- 
land, the  latter  in  Virginia,  January  30,  1800. 
The  father  of  Mr.  Kermicle  moved  to  Ken- 
tucky when  the  son  was  quite  young  and 
settled  on  a  farm  in-  La  Rue  county,  where  he 
died  in  1855.  It  was  not  long  after  the  death 
of  the  father  before  the  family  moved  to 
Richland  county,  and  it  was  a  very  long  and 
tedious  trip,  part  of  the  trip  being  made  by 
wagon  and  water.  Upon  their  arrival  at 
their  destination  they  took  up  their  resi- 
dence with  two  older  brothers,  who  had  pre- 
ceded them  to  Richland  county.  The  moth- 
er of  Peter  Kermicle  died  in  1874. 

Of  the  nine  children  born  to  the  parents  of 
the  subject,  seven  grew  to  the  years  of  ma- 
turity. In  1850  Mr.  Kermicle  removed  to 
Coles  county,  Illinois,  where  he  worked  for 
two  years  for  a  cousin  in  the  capacity  of  farm 
hand,  sharing  crops  one  year,  and  receiving 
ten  dollars  per  month  for  the  other  twelve 
months.  In  1852,  on  a  soldier's  land  warrant, 
he  entered  eighty  acres  of  land  in  Richland 
county,  and  later  entered  eighty  additional 
acres,  paying  therefore  the  sum  of  one  dollar 
and  twenty-five  cents'  per  acre.  On  Decem- 
ber 6,  1852,  he  was  wedded  to  Elizabeth 
Veech,  who  was  born  in  Hardin  county, 
Kentucky.  September  10,  1827,  and  came  to 


442 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Coles  county,  Illinois,  with  an  elder  sister  in 
1.852,  removing  from  there  to  Richland  coun- 
ty two  years  later.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
John  and  Mary  (Kinkade)  Veech,  both  be- 
ing natives  of  Kentucky.  The  wife  of  the 
subject  was  the  youngest  of  nine  children. 
Her  mother  died  in  Kentucky  in  1848,  and 
the  husband  survived  her  but  five  years. 
Three  children  of  this  family  died  in  Ken- 
tucky and  six  in  Illinois.  The  wife  of  Peter 
Kermicle  died  on  the  home  place  in  Preston 
township,  January  i,  1897,  aged  sixty-nine 
years.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  As  the  result  of  this  union  four 
children  were  born,  namely:  John  William, 
Mary  Jane,  Samuel  Warren  and  Lucy  Ann, 
all  of  whom  are  living,  and  are  fairly  pros- 
perous. 

The  subject  contracted  a  second  marriage 
November  17,  1898,  when  he  wedded  Mrs. 
Nancy  Lanter  (nee  Ping),  who  was  born  in 
Jasper  county,  Illinois,  March  4,  1854,  her 
parents  both  dying  while  she  was  still  a 
child.  The  father  of  the  second  wife  of  the 
subject  was  born  in  Kentucky  in  1830,  and 
the  mother  in  Decatur  county,  Indiana,  in 
1835.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Kermicle  went  to 
Jasper  county,  Illinois,  with  his  parents  in 
1840,  where  they  entered  a  large  tract  of 
land,  but  the  Indians  were  so  numerous  and 
troublesome  that  the  family  returned  to  Ken- 
tucky, remaining  there  but  a  short  time  when 
they  returned  to  Illinois,  and  settling  upon 
the  land  that  they  had  originally  taken  up 
in  1840.  The  Indians  having  been  driven 
out  of  that  section  of  the  state,  they  now 
built  a  hewed  log-house,  and  other  buildings 


needed  out  of  hewed  logs.  The  mother  and 
grandfather  continued  to  live  on  this  place 
until  the  fall  of  1867,  when  the  latter  died,, 
the  mother  passing  away  five  years  later. 

Silas  Ping  married  Amanda  Todd  in 
1852,  and  they  settled  on  what  was  known 
as  Ping  Prairie,  ten  miles  east  of  Newton,, 
the  same  being  a  part  of  the  old  homestead 
settled  by  his  parents  in  1840,  forty  acres- 
having  been  given  him  by  his  father.  He 
finally  sold  this  farm,  and  moved  to  Craw- 
ford county,  settling  in  that  locality  that  is 
now  known  as  "Dark  Bend,"  buying  eighty 
acres  of  land.  He  remained  here  two  years, 
and  rented  a  farm  north  of  Willow  Hill, 
where  his  wife  died  February  21,  1865. 
Subsequently  he  married  again,  his  bride 
being  a  widow,  Mrs.  Sarah  Jane  Gibbons 
(nee  Mock),  the  ceremony  being  performed' 
in  Coles  county,  in  November,  1866.  His 
death  occurred  four  weeks  later. 

The  mother  of  the  subject's  second  wife 
was  born  in  Decatur  county,  Indiana,  and 
was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth 
(Callahan)  Todd,  who  were  both  natives  of 
Kentucky,  her  mother  dying  when  she  was 
about  ten  years  of  age,  the  father  remarry- 
ing shortly  after  to  Ruth  Ridlen,  a  native  of 
Indiana.  She  accompanied  her  parents  to 
Willow  Hill,  where  she  married  Silas  Ping. 
She  was  the  third  of  ten  children,  seven  girls 
and  three  boys,  all  of  whom  lived  to  maturity. 
Her  father  died  in  1872  in  Jasper  county  at 
the  age  of  seventy-two  years. 

The  second  wife  of  the  subject  is  the  sec- 
ond of  seven  children,  five  girls  and  two- 
boys.  Her  first  husband,  William  Lanter, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


443 


died  in  1898,  one  boy  being  born  to  them, 
and  he  is  still  living,  Nathan  Samuel  being 
his  name.  He  is  married,  with  a  family  at 
Bone  Gap,  Edwards  county,  Illinois. 

Mr.  Kermicle  is  a  Democrat,  and  takes 
quite  an  interest  in  township  and  county  poli- 
tics. He  has  been  Road  Supervisor,  Road 
Commissioner,  Township  Assessor,  and 
Township  Collector  two  terms  each.  Both 
himself  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Baptist 
church.  The  subject  is  considered  one  of  the 
most  prosperous  men  in  the  township,  and 
there  are  none  in  the  community  to  begrudge 
him  his  success.  He  is  a  self-made  man  in 
every  sense  of  the  term.  Mr.  Kermicle  had  a 
farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  which  he  has  di-1 
vided  among  the  children. 


. GEORGE  W.  STRATTON. 

It  affords  great  pleasure  and  satisfaction 
to  anyone  to  be  able  to  refer  to  his  an- 
cestors as  worthy  representatives  of  noble 
character  or  specific  achievement.  Perhaps 
one  of  the  most  interesting  and  universally 
admired  characteristics  of  many  of  our 
forefathers  was  their  bravery  and  self-sacri- 
fice when  our  Republic  was  in  danger  and 
the  great  willingness  on  their  part  to  stake 
their  all  in  its  defense.  This  is  especially 
true  when  we  find  that  our  line  of  fore- 
fathers includes  members  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary troops.  Viewed  through  the  per- 
spective of  the  years  that  have  gone  by,  we 
are  almost  amazed  at  their  heroic  spirit.  A 


descendant  of  one  of  these  heroes  is  George 
W.  Stratton,  of  Alma  township,  this  county, 

Mr.  Stratton  was  borri  in  Columbia 
county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  last  day  of  the 
year  1832.  As  intimated  above  his  grand- 
father was  an  officer  in  the  Continental 
army  under  Washington,  and  did  valiant 
service  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and  union. 
His  father  was  William  Stratton  and  his 
mother  Mary  Farley.  They  were  devout 
members  of  the  Christian  church.  George 
received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  neighborhood  and  early  be- 
gan work  on  his  own  responsibility.  He 
was  the  second  of  five  children  and  came 
to  Marion  county  irr  1:875:  -He  has  devoted 
the  most  of  his  time  to  farming  and  stock 
raising  and  has  succeeded  in  carrying  out 
his  ideas  and  methods  to  a  most  successful 
issue. 

On  February  16,  1854,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Catherine  M.  Alperman,  and 
this  union  has  resulted  in  the  birth  of  the 
following  children :  Mary  J.,  wife  of  Rob- 
ert Wright,  of  Oklahoma,  and  the  mother 
of  one  child.  She  was  again  married  after 
his  decease;  Elias  B.,  deceased,  married 
Anna  Eaton,  to  whom  were  born  three  chil- 
dren; Alice  E.,  wife  of  Aaron  Hutchinson; 
Philip  R.  married  Marie  Marshall,  and  they 
are  the  parents  of  five  children,  two  of  whom 
are  deceased;  William  Edwin  married  Dor- 
othy Kagy,  and  has  a  family  of  two  chil» 
dren;  Emma,  deceased.  Mrs.  Stratton  was 
one  of  a  family  of  six  children,  she  being 
the  second  in  order  of  birth. 

The  Stratton  farm  of  eighty  acres  is  one 


444 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


of  the  best  kept  and  productive  homesteads 
in  the  neighborhood  and  stands  as  a  tes- 
timonial to  what  hard  work  and  steady, 
intelligent  application  can  accomplish. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stratton  are  members  of 
the  Christian  church  and  are  willing  and 
efficient  workers.  No  one  receives  from 
them  anything  but  kind  and  considerate 
treatment  and  the  social  atmosphere  of  the 
home  is  one  appreciated  by  their  many 
friends  and  neighbors.  Politically  Mr. 
Stratton  is  a  believer  in  Democracy,  and  ad- 
heres to  the  party's  principles,  though  never 
an  aspirant  to  public  preferment. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON   STANDI- 
FORD. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  veteran  of 
the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  as  a  souvenir 
of  one  of  the  many  battles  in  which  he  en- 
gaged with  distinction  carries  in  his  knee  a 
leaden  missile  from  a  Confederate  gun.  He 
displayed  great  valor  in  those  strenuous  days 
of  carnage.  In  Preston  township,  Richland 
county,  Illinois,  where  he  has  lived  for  many 
years  is  well  and  favorably  known. 

Mr.  Standiford  was  born  in  Hardin  coun- 
ty, Kentucky,  September  5,  1846,  the  son 
of  Archibald  B.  and  Eliza  Jane  (Courtright) 
Standiford,  who  were  also  natives  of  that 
state,  as  were  their  parents  before  them.  The 
grandfather  of  the  subject  served  for  seven 
years  in  the  Revolutionary  war  under  George 
Washington,  and  when  the  strife  came  to  an 


end  returned  to  Kentucky  to  engage  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  The  father  of  the  sub- 
ject was  born  in  1804.  He  was  also  a  sol- 
dier, having  served  three  months  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war.  Shortly  after  his  return  to  his 
home  in  Hardin  county,  Kentucky,  he  was 
wedded  to  Eliza  Jane  Courtright,  and  in  the 
year  of  1850  they  started  overland  to  Illinois, 
enduring  many  hardships  before  they  arrived 
at  their  objective  point,  Jasper  county.  Here 
Mr.  Standiford  purchased  eighty  acres  of 
land,  of  which  seventy  acres  were  of  timber, 
while  the  remainder  had  been  cleared.  Their 
dwelling  was  a  rude  log  house,  and  there 
was  also  on  the  land  a  sort  of  makeshift  of 
a  stable.  The  clearing  of  the  timber  land 
was  a  herculean  task,  but  Mr.  Standiford 
finally  succeeded  in  getting  forty  acres 
thereof  under  cultivation.  The  subject  was 
then  four  years  old,  and  the  family  remained 
on  the  place  until  the  death  of  the  father, 
September  16,  1866,  aged  sixty-two  years. 
The  mother  survived  him  by  several  years, 
she  dying  in  Indian  Territory,  August  20, 
1903,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety- 
five.  When  the  subject  became  old 
enough  to  do  hard  work,  he  hired  out 
to  neighboring  farmers,  but  finally  de- 
cided to  return  to  Kentucky.  He  re- 
mained in  that  state  two  years.  His  em- 
ployer owned  a  store  in  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see, and  he  worked  at  that  place  for  about  a 
year,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was  called 
back  to  Jasper  county,  his  father  having  met 
with  an  accident.  He  then  worked  on  the 
farm  until  December,  1862,  when  he  enlisted 
in  the  Forty-sixth  Illinois  Regiment,  Com- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


445 


pany  F,  Col.  John  J.  Jones,  commanding. 
At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  mustered  out 
at  Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana,  January  21, 
1866.  After  drawing  his  pay  at  New  Orleans 
he  returned  home  to  Jasper  county.  The 
subject  received  a  gunshot  wound  in  the  knee 
at  Fort  Blakely,  Alabama.  He  participated 
in  many  battles,  among  them  being  at  Yazoo 
City,  Vicksburg,  Meridian  Hill,  Champion's 
Hill,  Jackson,  seige  of  Richmond,  Spanish 
Fort,  and  Fort  Blakely.  During  these  bat- 
tles his  regiment  was  under  command  of 
General  Sherman.  In  Jamiary,  1865,  he  was 
transferred  under  A.  J.  Smith,  Fourteenth 
Corps,  when  he  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Mo- 
bile, and  then  moved  to  Dolphin  Island  to 
guard  the  gunboats,  after  which  he  went  to 
Baton  Rouge,  where  he  remained  until  he 
was  mustered  out. 

After  the  death  of  the  father  of  Mr.  Stand- 
iford,  in  1866,  the  wife  and  mother  sold  the 
farm,  and  lived  with  her  children  until  her 
death.  The  subject  is  the  third  of  seven  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  grew  to  the  years  of  ma- 
turity, and  married,  two  of  them  now  being 
dead.  After  the  war,  Mr.  Standiford  learned 
the  milling  business,  and  after  five  years 
returned  to  Kentucky,  where  he  married 
Laura  Ann  Smith,  March  14,  1871.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  milling  business,  operating 
large  water  mills  for  the  parents  of  his  wife. 
At  the  end  of  five  years  they  removed  to 
Arkansas,  where  he  purchased  a  farm,  upon 
which  they  remained  for  nine  years,  when 
they  went  to  Macoupin  county,  Illinois,  where 
Mr.  Standiford  took  a  position  in  a  flour 
mill.  His  wife  died  February  26,  1881, 


aged  forty-five  years.  Three  children  had 
been  born  to  the  couple,  two  girls  and  one 
boy,  the  latter  dying  in  infancy.  After  the 
demise  of  his  wife  the  subject  engaged  in 
the  business  of  selling  fruit  trees  in  Southern 
Illinois  and  Missouri,  which  he  continued 
for  fifteen  years.  He  finally  settled  in  No- 
ble, Richland  county,  and  after  a  residence 
there  of  three  years  moved  to  Dundas,  Pres- 
ton township,  where  he  married  Mrs.  Lottie 
McCarty  (nee  Evans),  April  n,  1900,  his 
bride  being  the  widow  of  Robert  S.  McCar- 
ty, and  daughter  of  Miller  and  Elizabeth 
(Hough)  Evans.  She  was  born  in  Ross 
county,  Ohio,  July  17,  1850,  her  father  dying 
when  she  was  eight  years  old.  She  had 
lived  on  the  farm  with  her  mother  until  her 
marriage  to  Robert  S.  McCarty,  October  1 1 , 
1868,  and  as  a  result  of  this  union  there 
were  four  children. 

Although  he  had  but  three  months'  school- 
ing in  Jasper  county,  in  a  log  house  where 
rough  planks  served  for  desks,  and  this  in 
the  days  when  if  a  pupil  could  write  a  fairly 
legible  hand,  he  was  considered  eligible  for 
the  position  of  teacher,  he  accumulated  much 
knowledge  in  after  life,  spending  all  of  his 
leisure  time  while  in  the  army  learning  to 
read  and  write. 

Mr.  Standiford  is  a  Republican  and  cast 
his  first  vote  for  Lincoln.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Post  449, 
Chesterfield,  Illinois.  He  and  his  wife  are 
both  active  members  of  the  Methodist  church 
in  Dundas,  both  of  them  having  been  allied 
with  this  denomination  for  more  than  four 
decades.  They  are  in  comfortable  circum- 


446 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Stances,  owning  a  pretty  home,  and  four  lots 
in  the  town  of  Dundas.  The  subject  draws 
a  small  pension. 


THE  BAR  OF  SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS 
SIXTY-FIVE  YEARS  AGO. 

JAMES  C.  ALLEN. 

At  the  request  of  the  President  and  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  of  the  State  Bar  Associa- 
tion of  Illinois,  I  have  attempted  to  prepare 
a  paper  in  response  to  that  request. 
.  In  1844,  while  residing  in  another  and 
adjoining  state,  I  had  occasion  to  visit  some 
of  the  courts  in  what  at  that  time  was  called 
the  Wabash  Circuit,  and  while  attending 
some  of  their  courts,  formed  definite  im- 
pressions from  what  I  heard  and  saw  of  its 
members  while  on  these  occasional  visits. 
These  impressions  were  much  strengthened 
after  I  became  a  citizen  of  the  state  and  a 
member  of  the  Wabash  Bar,  from  associa- 
tion with  its  members,  in  the  courts  and  in 
social  life. 

My  first  visit  to  an  Illinois  court  was  at 
Palestine,  in  Crawford  county.  I  found  the 
venerable  justice,  William  Wilson,  one  of 
the  Supreme  Judges  of  Illinois,  presiding 
over  the  Circuit  Court,  and  found  at  the  bar 
E.  S.  Janey  and  Augustus  C.  French,  repre- 
senting the  local  bar.  Wickliff  Kitchell,  the 
first  local  member  of  the  bar,  had  a  short 
time  before  that  removed  to  the  western 
part  of  the  state.  O.  B.  Ficklin,  then  of  Mt. 


Carmel;  Justin  Harlan  and  Timothy  R. 
Young,  of  the  Clark  county  bar;  Usher  F. 
Linder,  of  Coles  county,  and  Aaron  Shaw, 
of  Lawrence  County,  were  in  attendance  on 
the  court.  These  men  were  at  that  time  re- 
garded as  good  lawyers  and  some  of  them 
as  very  able  advocates. 

Of  Judge  Wilson,  the  presiding  judge,  I 
can  only  say  that  he  impressed  me  as  a  man 
of  sound  judgment;  well  versed  in  law  as  it 
was  written  in  the  books;  courteous  to  the 
members  of  the  bar;  possessing  the  fine  so- 
cial qualities ;  always  urbane  and  pleasant  in 
his  bearing  toward  others.  He  drove  to  the 
buggy  in  which  he  traveled  the  circuit  a 
white  mule,  to  which  he  was  somewhat  at- 
tached, of  the  good  qualities  of  which  he 
often  talked  to  his  companions  while  passing 
from  one  court  to  another.  Justin  Harlan 
says  that,  while  riding  with  him  from  Paris 
to  Danville,  the  Judge,  in  speaking  of  the 
good  qualities  of  his  white  mule,  said  one  of 
its  qualities  was  never  to  leave  the  beaten 
track  over  which  it  had  once  traveled,  and 
no  matter  what  inducement  or  obstruction 
might  lie  in  the  way,  it  never  required  any 
guidance.  While  thus  discoursing  on  the 
subject,  the  mule,  not  feeling  the  power  of 
the  line  and  tempted  by  the  green  grass  that 
grew  on  the  roadside,  left  the  beaten  track 
and  wandered  some  distance  from  the  road, 
gathering  as  it  went  mouthsful  of  luxuriant 
grass.  When  the  Judge's  attention  was 
called  to  the  fact  he  attributed  its  dereliction 
in  this  regard  to  want  of  proper  food  the 
night  before,  arguing  that  a  man,  however 
honest,  when  hungry  would  sometimes  steal 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


447 


a  meal.  The  Judge,  while  thoroughly 
equipped  as  a  judicial  officer,  was  somewhat 
deficient  in  his  orthography,  and  many  sto- 
ries were  told  by  the  clerks  and  bar  as  to  his 
deficiency  in  this  line  in  making  entries  in 
his  docket. 

Justin  Harlan,  a  native  of  Ohio,  a  sound 
lawyer,  deeply  versed  in  its  elementary 
principles,  while  not  an  orator  in  the  general 
acceptance  of  the  term,  possessed  fine  con- 
versational powers,  and  before  court  or  jury 
was  a  formidable  opponent.  His  sound 
judgment  and  personal  qualities  made  him 
popular  in  the  profession.  After  the  consti- 
tution of  1848  was  adopted  he  was  elected 
to  the  circuit  bench  and  filled  that  position 
for  two  full  terms  with  great  acceptance  to 
the  bar  and  the  people  of  the  Circuit,  and 
only  left  the  bench  when  age  and  increasing 
infirmities  rendered  it,  in  his  opinion,  proper 
to  retire. 

Timothy  R.  Young,  a  native  of  New 
Hampshire,  a  citizen  of  Clark  county,  was 
a  well  educated  lawyer  and  a  man  of  much 
promise  in  his  profession,  but  early  in  life 
he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  his  district, 
and  having  great  taste  for  the  life  of  a 
farmer,  at  the  end  of  his  first  term  in  Con- 
gress he  left  politics  and  the  bar  and  became 
an  "honest  farmer".  He  lived  till  a  good 
old  age,  more  than  four  score  years,  and 
died  respected  and  honored  by  all  who  knew 
him. 

E.  S.  Janey,  a  native  of  Alexandria,  Vir- 
ginia, came  to  Crawford  county  and  settled  at 
Palestine  shortly  after  the  state  was  admitted 
into  the  Union.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  lib- 


eral education;  well  versed  in  the  element- 
ary principles  of  the  law;  was  twice  elected 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  state  from 
Crawford  county.  After  several  years  of 
successful  practice  he  quit  the  profession  and 
turned  his  attention  to  farming. 

Augustus  C.  French,  born  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, came  to  Paris,  Edgar  county,  and 
was  shortly  afterwards  appointed  Register  of 
the  land  office  at  Palestine,  and  made  that 
his  home  until  later  in  life,  when  he  removed 
to  Lebanon  that  he  might  have  the  benefit 
of  the  college  at  that  place  for  the  education 
of  his  children.  Mr.  French  was  more  of  a 
politician  than  lawyer,  and  after  a  second 
term  as  Governor  of  the  state  he -abandoned 
the  practice  of  law,  although  he  possessed 
qualities  that  well  fitted  him  for  the  bar. 

Aaron  Shaw,  a  native  of  the  state  of  New 
York,  came  to  Lawrenceville,  Lawrence 
county,  Illinois,  shortly  after  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county.  He  was  a  fair  lawyer 
in  point  of  ability;  was  appointed  and 
elected  by  the  General  Assembly,  State's  At- 
torney for  the  circuit,  an  office  in  which  he 
exhibited  great  skill  in  the  conduct  of  crimi- 
nal cases.  He  possessed  a  sharp  and  inci- 
sive voice,  and  became  a  "terror  to  evil- 
doers" while  he  held  that  office.  He  was 
twice  elected  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  state  from  his  county ;  one  term 
on  the  circuit  bench,  and  one  term  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  from  his  dis- 
trict. While  State's  Attorney  he  accom- 
plished from  a  jury  a  verdict  of  "guilty" 
without  a  single  witness  upon  the  stand,  a 
fact  which  is  without  parallel  in  modern 


448 


riOGKAl'HICAL    AND    REMIXISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


criminal  jurisprudence.  Upon  a  call  of  the 
people's  witnesses,  no  one  appeared ;  he  then 
called  a  jury  and  read  the  indictment,  and 
stated  that  twenty-three  grand  jurors  had 
sworn  on  their  oaths  that  the  prisoner  was 
guilty  and  asked  what  was  the  use  of  intro- 
ducing further  testimony.  Defendant's 
counsel  had  nothing  to  say ;  the  jury  retired 
and  returned  a  verdict  of  guilty,  very  much 
to  the  astonishment  of  the  court  and  bar.  It 
is  useless  to  say  that  the  verdict  was  prompt- 
ly set  aside  by  the  court.  Mr.  Shaw  had  a 
good  share  of  civil  practice  on  the  circuit. 
He  was  a  good  financier;  accumulated  a 
nice  property  to  leave  to  his  family  when  he 
died.  He  was  cordial  with  his  friends,  but 
rather  unforgiving  toward  his  enemies. 

Orlando  B.  Ficklin,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
came  to  Wabash  county  and  settled  at  Mt. 
Carmel,  where  he  remained  for  several 
years.  Afterwards  he  located  at  Charles- 
ton, Coles  county,  where  he  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  was,  when  I  first 
met  him,  in  the  prime  of  life  and  manhood ; 
a  profound  lawyer  in  the  full  tide  of  pro- 
fessional success  on  the  Wabash  circuit.  He 
was  a  man  of  infinite  humor  and  enjoyed  the 
society  of  the  judges  and  his  associates  at 
the  bar  as  well  as  that  of  his  very  general 
acquaintance  outside  his  profession.  His 
knowledge  of  the  law  and  his  knowledge  of 
human  nature  made  him  a  successful  law- 
yer. He  was  not  only  a  good  lawyer  but  a 
politician  of  considerable  note  in  the  state. 
While  quite  young  he  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature  from  Wabash  county.  He  was 
three  times  elected  to  Congress  from  his  dis- 


trict, and  might  have  remained  there  longer, 
but  his  taste  and  inclination  led  him  back  to 
the  bar.  He  was  plain  in  speech,  logical  in 
argument,  and  at  times,  when  aroused,  he 
exhibited  great  power  over  minds  of  courts 
and  juries.  He  had  a  host  of  friends,  in- 
cluding all  who  knew  him,  except  such  as 
professional  jealousy  might  alienate.  In  the 
later  years  of  his  life  he  consented  to  go  to 
the  Legislature  from  Coles  county,  and 
though  age  was  telling  on  him,  his  last  great 
speech  in  that  body  in  seconding  the  nomi- 
nation of  Gen.  John  C.  Black  for  the  of- 
fice of  United  States  Senator  will  be  long 
remembered  by  those  who  had  the  pleasure 
of  hearing  it.  He  lived  his  four  score  years 
and  died  full  of  honors,  to  the  regret  of  all 
who  had  known  him  in  his  active  and  useful 
life. 

Usher  F.  Linder  was  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
and  a  near  relative  of  the  celebrated  John 
J.  Hardin.  He  came  to  Charleston,  Illinois, 
in  the  thirties,  and  practiced  law  in  the 
Wabash  circuit  and  courts  of  the  state  until 
a  few  years  before  he  died,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Chicago.  He  was  a  lawyer  of  fine 
ability  and  obtained  a  first  class  reputation 
as  such  in  Southern  Illinois.  He  possessed 
two  characteristics  seldom  found  in  the  same 
individual.  He  was  both  a  wit  and  a  hu- 
morist. When  addressing  the  court  on  some 
controverted  question  of  law  he  was  clear, 
logical  and  forcible.  He  was  imaginative, 
and  when  inclined,  was  wonderful  in  tropes 
and  figures;  was  an  adept  in  posing  and 
facial  expression,  could  be  ridiculous  or  sub- 
lime, as  moved  by  the  spirit  within.  He  pos- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


449 


sessed  a  musical  voice  and  could  play  upon 
the  passions  and  emotions  of  a  jury  or  an 
audience  at  his  pleasure.  As  an  orator,  I 
think  he  excelled  any  member  of  the  bar  in 
Eastern  Illinois  in  his  time.  He  was  all  this 
when  his  surroundings  were  agreeable,  but 
he  had  some  failings  that  often  destroyed 
the  effect  of  his  speeches.  O.  B.  Ficklin,  who 
knew  him  as  well,  perhaps,  as  any  other 
man,  once  said  of  him :  "That  if  it  were  not 
for  his  personal  vanity  and  want  of  moral 
courage  he  would  have  been  the  greatest 
man  in  Illinois".  An  attack  upon  either  his 
personal  habits  or  arguments  would  render 
him  for  the  time  being  helpless  and  incap- 
able of  parrying  the  blows.  He  was  a  Whig 
in  politics  while  that  party  was  in  existence, 
then  for  a  time  became  a  Free  Lance,  but 
eventually  allied  himself  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  He  was  twice  elected  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  Illinois  and  was  an 
active  member  in  that  body.  He  died  at  his 
home  in  Chicago  after  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury of  active  professional  life. 

In  the  summer  of  1845  I  had  occasion  to 
visit  Mt.  Carmel  while  the  Circuit  Court  was 
in  session.  I  found  a  young  man  who  had 
located  in  Mt.  Carmel,  a  graduate  of  a 
Maryland  college,  Charles  H.  Constable,  a 
rising  young  lawyer,  who  afterwards  be- 
came an  important  factor  at  the  bar  of 
Southern  Illinois.  He  was  a  young  gentle- 
man of  pleasing  manners  with  a  highly  cul- 
tivated mind  and  fine  social  qualities,  of  sober 
and  industrious  habits,  as  I  judged  from  the 
preparation  of  his  cases  in  that  court.  He 
afterwards  acquired  a  good  reputation  on 
29 


the  circuit  as  a  safe  counselor  and  an  ablq 
advocate.  Modest  and  unassuming  in  his 
demeanor,  he  became  popular  with  his 
brother  lawyers.  In  1849  he  left  Mt.  Car- 
mel and  took  up  his  residence  at  Marshall, 
Clark  county.  He  attended  all  of  the  courts 
of  his  circuit,  as  was  the  custom  of  that  time 
with  members  of  the  bar,  and  in  1859  was 
elected  to  the  Circuit  bench,  where  he  pre- 
sided until  his  death.  -  His  character  for 
honesty  and  integrity  was  unimpeachable, 
and,  possessing  a  judicial  mind,  he  was  a 
very  popular  judge,  but  he  was  stricken 
down  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness  before 
age  came  to  impair  his  powers. 

While  at  the  Wabash  court  I  met  and 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Battice  Webb,  of 
Carmi,  a  Virginian  by  birth,  a  man  then  in 
the  prime  of  life  and  enjoying  in  his  circuit 
a  lucrative  practice.  His  father  had  been  a 
noted  lawyer  of  Southern  Illinois.  I  was  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  that  the  son  had  a  bril- 
liant future  before  him,  judging  from  his 
gentlemanly  bearing  and  his  evidently  pro- 
found knowledge  of  the  law,  but  he  lived 
but  a  short  time  thereafter,  and  died  la- 
mented by  all  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
have  made  his  acquaintance. 

In  the  fall  of  1845  I  had  occasion  to  visit 
Greenup,  then  the  county  seat  of  Cumber- 
land county.  Circuit  Court  was  in  session  in 
a  little  school-house  in  the  south  part  of  the 
village,  Judge  Wilson  still  presiding.  I  met 
Alfred  Kitchell,  a  son  of  Wickliff  Kitchell, 
a  former  Attorney  General  of  the  state.  Al- 
fred Kitchell  was  a  graduate  of  the  law 
school  at  Bloomington,  Indiana.  He  lo- 


450 


mOGKAPHICAL    AX1)    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    O1-" 


cated  at  Olney  shortly  after  the  village  (now 
city)  was  adopted  as  the  county  seat.  He 
had  succeeded  Judge  Aaron  Shaw  as  State's 
Attorney  on  the  circuit.  He  made  a  vigor- 
ous prosecutor.  His  belief  in  the  necessity 
of  enforcing  the  law  and  his  observance  of 
the  ethics  of  the  profession  rendered  him 
popular  with  the  courts  and  the  people.  He 
was  elected  for  a  term  to  the  Circuit  bench, 
.but  refused  a  re-election,  preferring  to  re- 
turn to  the  bar,  having  extensive  property 
interests  in  and  around  Olney.  He  did  much 
for  the  improvement  of  the  county  seat. 
Much  to  the  regret  of  the  people  of  Olney 
and  vicinity,  he  sold  his  possessions  in  that 
place  and  located  at  Knoxville,  Illinois, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  1869, 
much  respected  and  honored. 

At  this  same  term  of  court  I  met  a  law- 
yer from  Springfield,  who  had  been  called 
to  defend  a  man  indicted  for  "an  assault  to 
kill."  When  I  entered  the  court-room  the 
the  evidence  had  just  been  concluded  and 
the  State's  Attorney  was  opening  the  argu- 
ment for  the  prosecution.  After  its  conclu- 
sion a  gentleman  of  angular  build  arose  to 
address  the  jury  on  behalf  of  the  defendant. 
He  had  an  earnest  look  in  his  face,  but  I  was 
not  impressed  with  his  opening  remarks. 
Later  he  seemed  to  gather  up  his  mental 
forces  and  I  listened  with  interest  to  his 
plain,  common  sense  argument.  He  was  not 
eloquent,  but  evidently  knew  how  to  touch 
the  chords  that  move  the  hearts  of  the  av- 
erage juror,  and  when  he  concluded  I  felt 
that  he  was  no  common  man.  Upon  inquir- 
ing I  learned  that  it  was  Abraham  Lincoln, 


whose  fame  afterwards  reached  the  boun- 
daries of  the  civilized  world,  and  who  fell  a 
martyr  to  his  love  of  country  and  of  human 
rights. 

I  have  thus  given  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
prominent  members  of  the  bar  of  the  Wa- 
bash  Circuit  in  1844-5  from  first  impres- 
sions, as  well  as  a  more  extensive  acquaint- 
ance after  I  became  a  member  of  this  bar  in 
1847.  After  this  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  a  number  of  prominent  members  of  the 
bar  throughout  Southern  Illinois,  of  whom 
I  cannot  give  notice  in  this  article  on  ac- 
count of  its  length. 


GEORGE  C.  WILSON. 

The  day  of  the  pioneer  in  this  country  is 
gone,  and  we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  settled 
stability  and  permanency.  Nevertheless,  as 
we  look  about  us,  we  find  a  few  represen- 
tatives of  the  early  days,  who  become  at 
once  the  center  of  interest  because  they 
carry  in  their  minds  recollections  of  our 
hardy  forefathers.  In  this  connection  we 
make  reference  to  one  of  the  sturdy  farm- 
ers of  this  county,  George  C.  Wilson.  This 
gentleman  was  born  in  Pike  county,  Ohio, 
on  November  9,  1840,  being  the  son  of 
Samuel  and  Eliza  (Foster)  Wilson,  the 
former  having  been  born  on  April  15.  1804, 
and  the  latter  on  the  17*  of  May,  1806 
The  other  children  of  the  family  were 
John,  born  August  10,  1828;  Richard,  born 
August  1 8.  1831 ;  Harriet,  born  February 
12,  1833:  Rachel,  born  May  5.  1836:  Sa- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


451 


rah,  born  July  18,  1838;  George,  our  sub- 
ject; Tilton  and  Thornton,  twins,  born 
May  27,  1843;  Margaret,  born  September 
20,  1846. 

In  1842  the  family  removed  to  Illinois, 
where  George  was  married  October  20, 
1864,  to  Mary  J.  Leckrone,  the  daughter 
of  Mathias  and  Julia  (Johnson)  Leckrone, 
the  former  having  been  born  in  Fayette 
county,  Pennsylvania,  June  18,  1815,  and 
the  latter  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  Janu- 
ary 24,  1821.  The  following  list  gives  the 
children  of  the  Leckrone  family :  William, 
born  November  10,  1838;  Mary  J.,  Decem- 
ber, 1840;  John,  May  i,  1843;  Harvey, 
August  29,  1847,  born  in  Illinois;  Sarah, 
January  25,  1852;  George,  July  30.  1861. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  have  become  the 
parents  of  the  following  children:  Theo- 
dore Edgar,  a  teacher,  and  who  is  now  an 
acting  Justice  of  the  Peace,  was  married  to  a 
Miss  Appleman;  Samuel  M.,  married  to 
Myrtle  Maxfield;  Harry  E.  married  Louise 
See,  and  is  now  practicing  medicine  at  Cen- 
tralia,  Illinois;  Frank  O.  married  Carrie 
Coombs  and  is  now  filling  the  pulpit  of  the 
Methodist  church  at  Bunker  Hill;  two 
children,  Harvey  and  Emma,  are  deceased. 

Mr.  Wilson  has  followed  farming  all  his 
life  and  has  been  not  only  successful  but 
progressive  as  well.  He  has  taken  good 
care  of  himself  in  every  way,  never  having 
used  tobacco  or  liquors  in  any  form.  Look- 
ing back  over  the  vista  of  his  years  he  often 
speaks  of  the  little  log  cabin  of  his  early 
days  and  the  pioneer  experiences  of  the 
times.  A  precious  as  well  as  interesting 
family  relic  in  this  home  is  a  chair  made  in 


1846  by  his  father,  who  was  a  tanner.  The 
bottom  is  made  of  calf-skin,  sewed  with 
whang,  and  the  leather  is  as  good  as  new 
today.  Mrs.  Wilson  takes  pleasure  also  in 
bringing  out  a  china  plate  given  to  her  by 
her  mother  upon  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Wil- 
son. Those  were  the  days  of  the  loom  and 
the  spinning  wheel,  and  the  old  wheel  now 
set  aside  as  a  family  treasure  was  kept  busy 
for  many  a  year  by  the  skillful  hands  of 
Mrs.  Wilson  herself.  She  spun  all  the 
clothing  for  the  men,  and  has  today  a  quilt 
of  three  colors,  red,  white  and  blue,  spun 
by  her  own  hands.  There  was  no  need  in 
those  days  for  schools  of  manual  training, 
as  each  household  was  a  school  in  itself, 
and  one  not  excelled  by  the  later  day  insti- 
tutions. No  roads  nor  bridges  were  in  es- 
istence  at  that  time,  and  experiences  with 
all  kinds  of  wild  game  were  quite  common. 
Wild  forests  and  untilled  land  occupied  the 
places  where  the  neighboring  towns  now 
stand,  and  Mr.  Wilson  speaks  of  the  time 
when  he  had  to  go  to  Salem  to  vote.  Doctor 
Wilson,  brother  of  our  subject,  at  one  time 
hauled  his  oats  to  St.  Louis  and  sold  them 
for  fifteen  cents  per  bushel. 

Mr.  Wilson  adheres  to  the  tenets  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  together  with  his 
wife,  affiliates  with  the  Methodist  church. 


GEORGE  MADDEN. 

Mr.  Madden  is  one  of  the  veterans  left  to 
us  who.  in  the  stormy  and  turbulent  days 
of  the  Civil  war,  participated  in  Sherman's 


452 


I1IOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


famous  march  to  the  sea;  and  this  was  but 
an  event  in  the  military  portion  of  his  career. 
At  the  close  of  the  Civil  war,  on  obtaining  a 
creditable  discharge,  he  settled  down  and 
began  his  career  as  a  farmer,  in  which  sphere 
he  has  attained  prosperity  and  no  little  recog- 
nition in  public  life. 

George  Madden,  of  Richland  county,  Pres- 
ton township,  was  born  July  25,  1842,  on  a 
farm  near  Ashland,  Ohio.  He  was  the  son 
of  John  Thomas  and  Mary  (Poff)  Madden, 
Pennsylvanians,  who  came  with  their  par- 
ents to  Ohio  when  quite  young.  John  Thomas 
Madden  was  the  eldest  child  of  his  parents' 
family.  He  remained  with  his  parents  on 
their  Ohio  farm  until  his  marriage  to  Mary, 
the  daughter  of  George  and  Mrs.  Poff,  his 
marriage  occurring  sometime  about  1834.  He 
then  moved  to  several  small  places  near  Ash- 
land, where  he  worked  at  his  trade  of  shoe- 
maker. In  the  fall  of  1844  he  came  to  Illi- 
nois in  search  of  land.  Here  he  settled  upon 
eighty  acres,  or  rather  took  them  as  a  squat- 
ter's claim  and  started  in  to  improve  the 
spot.  However,  another  party  rode  into  Pal- 
estine and  registered  the  land  as  his  hold- 
ing, which  John  T.  Madden  had  failed  to 
do.  He  thereby  lost  the  farm  and  the  im- 
provements made  thereon.  In  the  course  of 
the  three  or  four  following  years  he  bought 
eighty  acres  on  Sugar  Prairie  in  Richland 
county  (Madison  township).  Here  he  re- 
mained and  his  family  came  to  join  him  the 
following  spring.  The  journey,  as  were  all 
the  journeys  of  the  period,  was  made  over- 
land, and  the  usual  trials  and  hardships  at- 
tendant upon  long  land  journeys  encoun- 


tered. The  land  on  Sugar  Prairie  was  in  its 
primitive  condition.  John  T.  Madden  started 
in  to  erect  a  log  house  and  log  stable  and  en- 
closed the  place  with  fences.  At  this  period 
the  elder  brother  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
hauled  all  the  rail  for  fencing  with  a  yoke  of 
cattle.  John  T.  Madden  meanwhile  worked 
at  his  trade  of  shoemaking,  having  his  shop 
on  the  farm,  leaving  his  ons  to  do  the  farm- 
work.  John  T.  Madden  remained  here  until 
the  death  of  his  wife,  which  event  occurred 
in  the  fall  of  1876,  at  the  age  of -sixty-five 
years.  She  is  buried  in  Richland  cemetery. 
In  time  the  farm  was  well  improved,  and 
good  buildings  erected. 

George  Madden  remained  at  home  with 
his  brothers,  helping  his  father  until  his 
twentieth  year,  when  the  Civil  war  broke  out. 
The  military  enthusiasm  of  the  period  seized 
him  and  in  the  fall  of  1861  he  enlisted  in  the 
Sixty-third  Illinois  Regiment,  Company  Lr 
under  the  command  of  Captain  John  Craig. 
He  was  first  sent  to  Jackson,  Tennessee, 
where  he  remained  but  a  short  time,  hurriedly 
breaking  camp  to  march  on  Vicksburg,  but 
the  rebels  had  cut  off  supplies,  and  the  Un- 
ion army  retreated,  returning  to  Memphis, 
Tennessee.  In  Memphis  he  remained  with 
ultory  fighting  and  marching  were  indulged 
the  troops  till  spring,  when  once  more  des- 
in.  He  served  all  through  the  seige  of  Vicks- 
burg, Missionary  Ridge,  Atlanta,  and  other 
engagements,  with  much  bravery.  He  not 
only  followed  the  valiant  Sherman  to  the  sea 
but  marched  with  him  back  to  Washington, 
where  they  got  a  memorable  reception.  He 
also  attended  the  grand  review  of  the  sol- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


453 


dirs  at  Washington  in  1865,  and  was  mus- 
tered out  of  the  service  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, going  from  there  to  Springfield,  Illi- 
nois, where  he  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge about  a  month  later,  on  the  2ist  day 
of  July,  1865,  having  served  three  years 
and  eight  months  of  valiant  military  serv- 
ice. He  had  the  good  fortune  never  to  have 
been  wounded  in  all  that  eventful  time. 

At  this  time  George  Madden  returned  to 
the  family  farmstead  where  he  remained  up 
to  the  time  of  his  marriage.  Later  in  life 
his  father  sold  the  family  farm  and  lived 
a  retired  life  and  dying  in  March,  1884,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five.  George  Madden's  moth- 
er's death  had  occurred  previously.  As  stat- 
ed before,  she  was  the  daughter  of  George 
and  Mrs.  Poff,  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  They 
both  died  in  Richland  county,  Illinois,  where 
they  had  lived  (Madison  township).  George 
Poff  reached  the  age  of  eighty,  and  his  wife 
died  about  the  same  age.  They  are  laid  to 
rest  at  Parkersburg  cemetery,  Richland 
county,  Illinois. 

George  Madden  was  the  fourth  of  a  family 
of  seven  boys  and  one  girl,  all  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity  with  the  exception  of  one 
boy,  aged  fifteen  years.  He  married  on 
June  14,  1866,  Mary  Jane  Coons,  in  Richland 
county.  She  was  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
where  she  was  born  December  19,  1846.  Her 
parents  originally  belonged  to  that  state.  Her 
mother  died  in  Kentucky  at  the  age  of  forty- 
four  when  she  was  but  twelve  years  of  age. 
Her  father  then  came  to  Illinois,  but  after- 
wards returned  to  Kentucky,  where  he  died 
in  1902,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years,  hav- 


ing been  born  February  14,  1818.  Her 
mother  (deceased)  was  born  December  20, 
1814. 

At  the  time  of  his  marriage  George  Mad- 
den settled  on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  one 
acres,  all  timber,  east  of  Parkersburg.  He 
paid  twelve  dollars  an  acre  for  this  land. 
Here  he  built  a  house  and  cleared  about  fif- 
teen acres  when  he  sold  the  place  and  rented 
farms  for  several  years  and  following  the  oc- 
cupation of  threshing  for  several  seasons.  In 
1885  he  bought  fifty-six  acres  in  Preston 
township  where  he  settled  and  where  his 
wife  died  on  December  4,  1899,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-three  years.  Mrs.  Madden  bore  her 
husband  one  child,  Annie  Lou,  who  is  now 
the  wife  of  William  L.  Murry,  and  resides 
upon  the  home  place  with  her  father  and  hus- 
band. 

George  Madden  attended  the  subscription 
schools  as  a  boy  and  later  the  common 
schools.  Owing  to  the  heavy  work  done  on 
the  farm  for  his  father  he  did  not  have  a  very 
great  opportunity  to  advance  very  far  in  his 
studies.  He  was,  however,  attending  school 
at  the  period  he  volunteered  for  service  in 
the  Civil  war.  In  the  religious  realm  he  has 
always  been  a  practical  worker.  In  his 
younger  days  he  attended  the  Methodist 
church,  but  now,  and  for  many  years,  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  New  Light 
branch  of  the  Christian  church.  A  marked 
characteristic  of  his  family  and  himself  has 
been  their  activity  in  church  affairs.  He 
was  ordained  a  deacon,  of  his  communion 
eighteen  years  ago,  a  position  he  still  holds. 

In  politics  he  has  taken  somewhat  of  an 


454 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT     HISTORY    OF 


active  part  at  various  times  in  his  township 
and  county.  He  held  the  office  of  Township 
Trustee  in  Madison  township,  Richland 
county,  for  three  terms.  On  his  being  elected 
to  office  for  another  period  of  three  years,  he 
served  but  two,  as  he  removed  out  of  the 
township.  He  is  a  Republican  and  a  firm 
believer  in  the  efficacy  of  his  party.  He  has 
also  been  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pyth- 
ias of  the  Olney  lodge. 

Mr.  Madden  holds  an  honored  place  in  the 
prosperous  community  in  which  he  resides. 


HARRISON  UMFLEET. 

Among  the  native  born  residents  of  Rich- 
land  county  who  have  reached  a  well-mer- 
ited success  we  must  certainly  include  the 
name  of  Harrison  Umfleet.  He  is  now  ap- 
proaching his  eightieth  year  and  has  been 
prosperous  in  his  agricultural  calling.  Few 
men  are  better  known  in  this  township  and 
county  than  he.  Honesty  and  fair  dealing 
have  been  his  watchwords,  and  these  twin 
virtues  have  been  personified  in  his  active 
life. 

Harrison  Umfleet  was  born  on  October  26, 
1829,  in  Richland  county,  or  as  it  was  then 
known,  Lawrence  county.  His  family  lived 
in  the  vicinity  of  Claremont.  He  was  the  son 
of  Seth  and  Rebecca  Umfleet,  his  mother's 
maiden  name  being  Cummings,  a  daughter 
of  Daniel  and  (Durman)  Cum- 
mings. His  father  was  born  in  North  Caro- 
lina and  his  mother  in  Kentucky,  her  birth 
occurring  in  1810.  His  father  came  with  his 


parents  from  North  Carolina  to  Kentucky  in 
the  year  1815,  in  which  state  they  settled  on  a 
farm.  Here  he  remained  with  his  parents 
until  he  married  Rebecca  Cummings,  Febru- 
ary 4,  1827.  They  then  went  to  farming  for 
themselves,  and  in  1 828,  moved  to  Lawrence 
county,  Illinois,  making  the  long  journey 
on  horseback  and  ferrying  the  Ohio  and  Wa- 
bash  rivers.  He  did  not  sell  his  farm  on 
leaving  Kentucky,  possibly  for  the  reason 
that  he  regarded  his  journey  as  a  tentative 
one.  Seth  Umfleet  first  entered  forty  acres 
near  Sumner  on  government  license,  paying 
one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre  for 
it.  It  was  all  prairie  land  at  the  time.  He, 
however,  quickly  set  to  work  and  erected  a 
log  house  and  stable  and  a  rail  fence  on  the 
settlement.  At  the  time  he  was  possessor  of 
only  one  horse  and  it  was  much  of  a  draw- 
back to  him.  In  order  to  draw  the  rails  he 
hitched  his  horse  to  a  sled  and  loaded  three 
rails  on  at  a  time,  carrying  another  on  his 
shoulder,  during  the  building  of  the  fence. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  busy  in  another  oc- 
cupation. He  taught  country  school  in  Clare- 
mont township  at  the  same  time.  When  Har- 
rison Umfleet  was  but  an  infant  his  parents 
returned  to  Kentucky  on  a  visit  to  his  grand- 
parents, making  the  journey  once  more  on 
horseback.  It  was  then  a  bad  time  for  such  a 
journey,  being  late  in  the  fall  of  1829.  They 
returned  to  Illinois  again  in  the  early  winter 
of  1830,  where  they  farmed  in  Claremont 
township.  Soon  afterwards  they  sold  the 
place  and  moved  into  Lawrence  county,  buy- 
ing forty  acres  on  state  road.  Here  they 
remained  five  or  six  years  when  they  moved 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


"455 


to  South  Sumner,  which  was  their  home  un- 
til 1865,  whereupon  they  again  moved,  this 
time  to  Olney,  Illinois.  Here  the  family  re- 
mained until  the  death  of  Mrs.  Seth  Umfleet, 
in  the  fall  of  1871,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one 
years.  Seth  Umfleet  married  again,  secondly 
a  widow  Truskett,  and  Harrison  Umfleet 
lived  near  his  father  until  his  death  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1892,  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years. 

Harrison's  mother  was  the  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Mrs.  Kilburn,  both  natives  of 
Kentucky,  where  they  died  en  a  farm  near 
Crab  Orchard.  Her  mother  died  when  she 
was  but  ten  years  of  age  and  her  father  sur- 
vived for  many  years,  eventually  dying  in 
Kentucky  at  a  period  after  she  had  married. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  remained  at 
home  with  his  parents,  helping  and  assisting 
them  in  their  daily  round  of  work,  until  his 
marriage  to  Martha  Elston,  on  April  3, 
1853.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Martha 
and  Lucy  Elston,  her  mother's  name  being 
Cropper.  They  were  natives  of  Kentucky, 
who  had  moved  from  there  to  Ohio,  where 
Martha  was  born  on  June  10,  1837.  At  an 
early  age  she  removed  with  her  parents  to 
Richland  county,  Illinois,  where  her  father 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine,  after  he  had 
survived  her  mother  who  died  at  the  age  of 
fifty-seven  years  on  February  i,  1858;  her 
father's  death  occurring  in  the  fall  of  1879. 
Mrs.  Umfleet  remained  with  her  parents  up 
to  the  time  of  her  marriage  in  1853.  She 
was  the  seventh  in  order  of  birth  of  ten  chil- 
dren who  all  grew  to  maturity.  One  of  her 
brothers  participated  in  the  Civil  war. 

Harrison  Umfleet  was  the  second  in  order 


of  birth  of  a  family  of  four  children,  all 
ci  whom  grew  to  maturity.  His  oldest  broth- 
er, James  Fountain,  served  in  the  Mexican 
war  under  the  gallant  General  Taylor  (well 
known  as  "Old  Rough-and-Ready"),  for 
about  three  or  four  years  and  was  never 
wounded  in  any  encounter. 

When  Harrison  Umfleet  married  in  1853 
he  moved  onto  a  forty-acre  farm  in  Law- 
rence county,  inherited  from  his  father,  and 
lived  en  it  until  1864,  when  he  sold  the  place 
and  bought  two  hundred  acres  in  Preston 
township,  Richland  county,  for  which  he  paid 
six  dollars  an  acre.  This  is  the  spot  on 
which  he  and  his  wife  now  live.  He  has  pros- 
pered in  his  farming  business  and  has  greatly 
improved  the  farmstead.  The  land  is  mostly 
all  under  cultivation,  an  improved  type  of 
buildings  have  been  erected,  and  fencing  and 
other  improvements  have  been  carried  out 
upon  the  property.  He  and  his  wife  are  now- 
living  on  the  place,  having  retired  from  active 
work.  He  has  divided  up  some  of  his  land 
among  his  children,  but  yet  has  one  hundred 
acres  in  his  possession.  This  is  being  taken 
care  of  by  one  of  his  sons,  who,  with  his 
youngest  sister,  lives  upon  the  place  with 
their  parents. 

Harrison  Umfleet  obtained  his  early  edu- 
cation during  his  attendance  at  the  sub- 
scription schools  in  Lawrence  county.  Owing 
to  the  conditions  prevalent  in  those  days  he 
was  not  able  to  attain  very  much  in  the  educa- 
tional way,  although  his  younger  brother 
Benjamin  went  very  far  in  that  line.  He 
taught  school  for  years  in  Richland  and 
Lawrence  county,  and  served  through  the 


456 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


greater  part  of  the  Civil  war.  On  enlisting 
a  second  time  he  was  assigned  to  a  post  in 
the  Christian  Commission. 

To  Harrison  Umfleet  and  his  wife  six  chil- 
dren have  been  born,  namely :  Olive,  Lucy, 
William,  Seth,  Matthew  and  Rebecca.  All 
married  with  the  exception  of  Rebecca,  who 
is  the  youngest.  He  and  his  wife  have  led 
a  married  life  of  singular  happiness,  and 
their  sons  and  daughters  have  always  been  a 
source  of  much  gratification  to  them. 

Harrison  Umfleet  has  played  an  active  part 
in  county  and  township  politics*  'In'  the  old 
regime  his  father  and  elder  brother  belonged 
to  the  Whig  party.  He  is  himself  a  Repub- 
lican and  a  loyal  supporter  of  his  party.  John 
C.  Fremont  was  the  first  Presidential  candi- 
date he  recorded  his  vote  for.  He  has  been 
for  several  terms  a  School  Trustee  and  as  a 
School  Director  and  he  has  been  also  road 
overseer  for  many  terms. 

Practical  religious  work  has  been  one  of 
the  characteristics  of  Harrison  Umfleet  and 
his  family,  being  staunch  believers  in  the 
Bible  and  church  work.  Though  he  him- 
self favors  the  Baptist  communion,  his  wife 
and  children  are  members  of  the  Christian 
church  and  work  actively  for  its  expansion. 


FREDERICK  SEILER. 

This  land  of  ours  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude 
to  the  stalwart  and  hardy  European  races 
whose  sons  came  in  large  numbers  in  the 
early  "twenties"  and  "thirties"  when  there 


was  a  crying  need  of  fearless  men  to  assist 
in  the  work  of  winning  the  western  states 
from  their  primitive  wiklness.  The  people 
of  Switzerland  who  came  at  that  time  formed 
a  goodly  contingent  and  numbered  in  their 
ranks  the  present  subject  of  our  sketch  and 
his  parents. 

Frederick  Seiler,  son  of  Olrich  and  Anna 
Seiler,  was  born  on  the  1-5 th  of  December, 
1830,  in  Switzerland.  In  1852,  his  parents, 
his  brother  John,  and  himself,  bidding  adieu 
to  the  Fatherland,  sailed  for  the  United 
States.  Upon  landing  they  settled  in  -Illi- 
nois, and  the  subject  of  this  biography  lost 
no  time  in  getting  down  to  the  work  of  mak- 
ing a  living.  For  some  time  he  worked  as  a 
farm  hand  on  different  farms,  covering  corn 
with  a  hoe  for  twenty-five  cents  a  day  and 
board.  He  also  helped  his  brother  for  some 
time,  assisting  him  in  his  trade  as  carpenter. 
For  this  work  he  received  fifty  cents  per  day 
and  his  board.  He  again  returned  to  farm 
work.  He  next  became  an  employe  of  the  old 
Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad  (now  the  Balti- 
more &  Ohio)  where  his  rate  of  wages  was 
one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  day  and 
board.  Here  his  industry  and  frugal  habits 
permitted  him  to  save  some  three  hundred 
dollars,  which  enabled  him  to  make  his  first 
start  in  life  on  his  own  account.  In  August, 
1856,  he  married  Mrs.  Barbara  Biber  (nee 
Friedley),  in  Preston  township.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Lawrence  and  Barbara  Friedley, 
her  mother's  maiden  name  being  Stingley. 
Like  her  husband,  Mrs.  Frederick  Seiler  was 
born  May  30,  1830,  in  Switzerland,  coming 
from  there  to  the  United  States  with  her  par- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


457 


ents  when  but  thirteen  years  of  age.  The 
family  settled  near  Mansfield,  Ohio,  upon  a 
farm,  where  they  remained  for  twelve  years. 
In  1848,  she  (Barbara  Friedley)  married 
Caleb  Biber,  remaining  in  Ohio  till  May, 
1852,  when,  together  with  her  husband  and 
her  parents  she  came  to  Richland  county, 
Illinois,  the  journey  being  made  overland 
in  wagons.  In  Richland  county,  they  settled 
on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  obtaining 
same  from  government  at  one  dollar  and 
twenty-five  cents  an  acre.  Caleb  Biber  died  in 
1854,  having  had  two  children  born  to  him, 
namely :  Mary  and  Lawrence.  Mrs.  Sell- 
er's parents  died 'on  the  farm,  her  father  in 
1861  and  her  mother  in  1864. 

On  his  marriage  Frederick  S'eiler  settled  in 
1856  upon  his  wife's  farm  of  two  hundred 
acres,  where  they  lived  for  about  ten  years, 
when  Frederick  Seiler  much  improved  the 
property,  building  a  house,  etc.,  on  forty 
acres  adjoining  which  he  now  lives,  which  he 
had  previously  bought.  The  family  then 
moved  into  the  new  home  where  they  lived 
until  1902,  when  they  moved  to  Dundas, 
where  they  lived  until  the  death  of  Mrs.  Fred- 
erick Seiler  in  1904,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four.  She  closed  a  happy  married  life  and  is 
buried  in  Preston  township  in  the  Lutheran 
church  cemetery. 

In  this  short  period  up  to  1904,  Frederick 
Seiler  had  acquired  altogether  two  hun- 
dred acres  of  very  choice  land,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  this  being  mostly  tim- 
ber, sixty-five  was  cleared  and  cultivated.  In 
the  early  days  wild  deer  and  other  game  ex- 
isted in  large  quantities  in  the  township ;  har- 


rassing  wolves  and  wildcats  infested  the  tim- 
ber. 

Eight  children  were  born  to  Frederick 
Seiler  and  his  wife,  seven  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity  and  one  died  in  infancy.  Their 
names  are:  Frederick  H.,  lives  on  a  farm  in 
Oklahoma;  John  F.  lives  on  the  home  farm 
in  Preston  township ;  Lucy  D.  is  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  is  the  wife  of  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister; Christian  R.  lives  in  Evansville,  Indi- 
ana, where  he  has  been  for  twenty  years; 
Louise  E.  lives  at  Newton,  Illinois.  Henry 
E.  and  Charles  are  both  deceased. 

Frederick  Seiler,  on  the  death  of  his  first 
wife,  remarried,  July  26,  1906,  his  second 
wife  being  Mrs.  Sadie  Austin  (nee  Crane), 
the  widow  of  James  Austin.  She  was  born 
in  1843,  at  Bridgeport,  Lawrence  county, 
Illinois,  and  was  the  daughter  of  Ishmael  and 
Mrs.  Crane.  They  were  Easterners,  the 
father  being  born  in  New  York  and  the 
mother  in  New  Jersey.  Frederick  Seller's 
second  wife  had  one  daughter,  Laura  (Aus- 
tin) Hollingsworth,  by  her  first  husband; 
Mrs.  Hollingsworth  lives  in  Ohio.  The.  sec- 
ond Mrs.  Seiler  died  in  Sumner,  Illinois,  Feb- 
uiary  1 1,  1907,  and  was  buried  in  the  county 
cemetery  southeast  of  Bridgeport,  where  her 
parents  were  also  buried. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  received  a  good 
education  in  the  canton  in  which  he  lived  in 
Switzerland,  and  it  may  surprise  many  to 
learn  that  at  that  early  time  the  laws  of  the 
country  compelled  all  children  up  to  the  age 
of  sixteen  to  attend  school  for  the  period 
of  eleven  months  in  each  year.  He  is  well 
versed  in  the  German  language  and  his  early 


458 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


training  has  been  of  much  advantage  to  him. 
As  he  was  not  tall  enough  in  his  youth  in 
Switzerland  to  drill  as  a  soldier,  according 
to  the  constitution  of  the  country  he  should 
have  paid  the  sum  of  one  dollar  and  serve  a 
conscriptive  term  in  the  home  guards.  He 
was  able  to  evade  this  law  through  coming 
to  the  United  States. 

In  politics  Frederick  Seiler  has  been  a  con- 
sistent Democrat.  At  one  period  of  his  life, 
however,  he  voted  the  Prohibition  ticket  dur- 
ing the  McKinley  administration.  In  his 
younger  days  he  was  very  active  in  the  town- 
ship and  county  political  affairs.  For  a  period 
of  twenty  years  he  was  a  School  Trustee  of 
the  township.  He  was  also  formerly  active 
in  fraternal  and  social  affairs,  being  at  one 
time  a  member  of  the  Grange  lodge  in 
Dundas,  Preston  township.  He  is  a  mem- 
bes  of  the  Lutheran  Evangelical  church. 
He  has  'himself  taken  a  very  active  part  in 
church  work  during  the  twenty-four  years 
he  has  been  connected  with  it.  He  was  for 
twenty  years  or  over  an  elder  in  the  church. 
His  wife  during  her  long  life  belonged  to 
the  German  Reformed  communion. 

Frederick  Seiler  is  now  in  his  seventy- 
ninth  year  and  is  enjoying  the  fruits  of  a 
very  successful  though  arduous  life.  Start- 
ing life  and  making  it  a  success  in  a  new 
country,  the  language  and  customs  of  which 
were  foreign  to  him,  was  not  an  easy  task. 
He  has  been  through  the  mill,  he  suffered 
many  hardships  and  many  privations  at 
the  beginning  of  his  career,  he  has  been  for 
many  years  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  has 
reared  a  large  and  intelligent  family,  and 


now  in  his  retirement  the  memory  of  those 
early  years  of  struggle  makes  his  leisure 
years  all  the  more  appreciable. 


RICHARD  WILSON. 

Among  the  many  industries  carried  on 
in  our  country  there  is  none  that  calls  for 
more  intelligent  judgment  than  that  of 
farming.  One  of  the  most  successful  men 
in  the  business  in  Marion  county  is  Rich- 
ard Wilson,  who  was  born  in  Clark  county, 
Ohio,  on  the  i8th  day  of  January,  1831. 
His  father,  Samuel  Wilson,  a  native  of 
Pike  county,  Ohio,  was  born  in  1804,  while 
his  mother,  Eliza  (Foster)  Wilson,  also  a 
native  of  Ohio,  was  born  in  1806.  Sam- 
uel Wilson  was  the  father  of  nine  children, 
of  whom  our  subject,  Richard,  was  the  sec- 
ond in  order  of  birth.  This  family  removed 
to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1842,  where 
Mr.  Wilson  departed  this  life  on  December 
20,  1847.  He  was  survived  by  his  wife 
until  1900. 

Richard  received  his  early  education  in 
the  district  school  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
upon  reaching  manhood  chose  farming  as 
his  occupation  in  life.  In  1856  he  was 
married  to  Rebecca  A.  Fulton,  who  was 
born  in  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1837. 
Ten  children  graced  this  union,  five  boys 
and  five  girls.  Letitia  A.  married  James 
Roberts,  and  was  the  mother  of  six  chil- 
dren. Seth  C.  married  Irma  Chapman,  of 
Michigan,  and  is  the  father  of  one  child. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


459 


Samuel  A.  is  the  husband  of  Florence  Bar- 
num,  a  cousin  of  P.  T.  Barnum  of  world- 
wide circus  fame.  He  is  the  father  of  four 
children.  Sarah  E.  married  Pack  Parcell, 
and  is  the  mother  of  eight  children.  Wil- 
liam T.  married  Ella  Wagner,  their  union 
being  blessed  with  four  children.  Maggie 
is  the  wife  of  Charles  Spencer,  to  whom 
have  been  born  four  children:  Carrie  be- 
came the  wife  of  Mason  Weerns;  Charles 
R.  is  deceased;  John  D.  married  Nellie 
Custer,  who  is  related  to  the  brave  General 
Custer,  being  a  cousin  of  the  same,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  one  child.  Mary 
P.  was  joined  in  marriage  to  Elmer  E. 
Spencer,  and  they  have  a  family  of  three 
children,  one  died  in  1907. 

The  task  of  raising  such  a  large  family 
was  not  a  light  one,  but  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wil- 
son have  demonstrated  their  ability  to  meet 
the  requirements  most  successfully.  The 
home  life  has  been  of  the  most  congenial 
and  wholesome  sort,  and  the  recollections 
of  the  family  hearth  stone  are  cherished  as 
one  of  the  most  precious  heritages  by  all  of 
the  children.  The  religious  atmosphere  of 
the  family  was  never  found  wanting,  the 
affiliations  being  with  the  Methodist  church. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  for  three  years  school 
trustee,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  his 
office  in  an  economic  and  intelligent  way. 
He  owns  and  manages  his  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  and  has  given  some 
attention  to  the  raising  of  good  horses.  In 
both  of  these  projects  he  has  met  with  sin- 
gular success. 

Mr.  Wilson  has  been  a  life-long  Repub- 


lican, his  father  and  grandfather  before 
him  having  been  adherents  to  the  tenets  of 
the  Whig  party.  Mr.  Wilson  still  takes  an 
active  interest  in  the  political  and  civic 
affairs  of  the  neighborhood,  but  does  not 
consider  himself  bound  to  support  any 
party  to  the  sacrifice  of  principle,  a  fact  for 
which  he  is  to  be  most  heartily  commended. 


JOHN  TAYLOR  KERMICLE. 

Although  his  opportunities  to  procure 
the  thorough  education  for  which  he  so  ar- 
dently yearned  were  limited  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  has  been  exceptionally  success- 
ful in  the  battle  of  life,  and  he  is  today 
known  as  one  of  the  most  substantial  citi- 
zens of  Preston  township,  Richland  county, 
Illinois.  The  entire  career  of  John  Taylor 
Kermicle  has  been  characterized  by  indus- 
try, and  a  determination  to  overcome  all 
obstacles  in  his  efforts  to  make  his  way  in 
the  world. 

Mr.  Kermicle  is  a  product  of  the  fair 
state  of  Kentucky,  having  been  born  in  La 
Rue  county,  December  17,  1846.  His  par- 
ents were  Samuel  and  Mary  (Trainor) 
Kermicle.  His  father  was  born  in  Mary- 
land, and  his  mother  at  Rock  Bridge  coun- 
ty, Virginia,  January  30,  1800.  Samuel 
Kermicle,  father  of  the  subject,  moved  to 
Kentucky  with  his  parents  when  quite  a 
small  boy,  and  they  settled  on  a  small  farm, 
where  he  died  in  November,  1855.  Short- 
ly after  the  death  of  his  father,  the  sub- 


460 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ject  and  his  mother  moved  to  Richland 
county.  They  made  the  trip  by  wagon  to 
Louisville,  from  there  they  crossed  on  the 
ferry  to  New  Albany,  Indiana,  thence  by 
rail  by  way  of  Greencastle  to  Vincennes, 
where  they  changed  cars  to  the  Ohio  &  Mis- 
sissippi Railway,  which  is  now  the  Balti- 
more -&  Ohio  Southwestern.  This  road 
carried  them  to  Olney,  Illinois.  Two  older 
brothers  of  the  subject  had  prior  to  that 
located  in  Richland  county,  and  the  newly 
arrived  travelers  made  their  home  with 
them.  Mr.  Kermicle's  mother  died  Novem- 
ber, 1874,  having  attained  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-four years  and  ten  months. 

When  eighteen  years  old,  Mr.  Kermicle, 
who  was  then  living  with  a  brother  in  Pres- 
ton township,  made  arrangements  with  a 
neighbor  to  work  land  on  shares,  the  agree- 
ment being  that  he  should  be  furnished 
with  all  the  necessary  agricultural  imple- 
ments and  receive  one-third  of  the  crop  as 
his  share,  for  his  labor.  This  agreement 
lasted  for  two  years,  and  during  this  period 
the  subject  plowed  most  of  the  ground 
upon  which  now  stands  the  town  of  West 
Liberty.  During  the  three  years  following 
the  termination  of  this  agreement,  he 
worked  on  shares  with  an  older  brother. 

On  September  28,  1869,  Mr.  Kermicle 
was  married  to  Sarah  C.  Zerkel.  Imme- 
diately after  his  marriage  he  rented  a  farm, 
known  now  as  the  Fred  Schilt  place,  con- 
taining one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  He 
remained  there  three  years  when  he  pur- 
chased sixty  acres  in  Preston  township,  dis- 
posing of  the  same,  however,  within  twelve 


months.  His  next  venture  was  the  pur- 
chase of  the  land  upon  which  he  now  lives, 
which  consists  of  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  acres,  of  which  eighty  acres  was  the 
original  amount  first  purchased,  and  for 
which  the  price  paid  was  ten  dollars  per 
acre,  and  which  now  averages  a  value  of 
fifty  dollars  per  acre. 

The  subject  is  the  youngest  of  nine  chil- 
dren, only  five  growing  to  maturity.  His 
wife  was  born  October  12,  1847,  in  Clark 
county,  Ohio.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Noah 
and  Martha  (Foltz)  Zerkel,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  Virginia,  but  left  there 
when  mere  children.  They  were  married 
in  Clark  county  in  1845,  and  remained  there 
eighteen  years,  when  they  removed  to  Rich- 
land  county,  Illinois,  making  the  trip  in  a 
wagon  and  encountering  many  difficulties 
on  account  of  the  bad  condition  of  the 
roads.  They  purchased  one  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  east  of  Dundas,  Preston  town- 
ship, paying  twenty-two  dollars  per  acre 
for  a  well  improved  farm.  They  remained 
here  for  eight  years,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  they  purchased  a  farm  in  Clay  county, 
where  the  husband  remained  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  July  14,  1889,  when  he  was 
in  the  sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  The 
mother  survived  him  many  years,  she  dying 
October  24,  1908,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one. 

To  Mr.  Kermicle  and  his  wife  nine  chil- 
dren have  been  born,  one  having  died  in  its 
infancy.  They  are,  Perry,  Aden,  Rosella, 
Warren,  Delia,  Levina,  Edgar  and  Olive, 
all  married  except  Edgar. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  one 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


46l 


term  of  three  months  of  subscription 
school  in  Kentucky,  and  was  a  pupil  in  the 
free  school  at  Dundas  for  a  short  time.  Mr. 
Kermicle  believes  in  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and  has  always  been  an 
active  worker  in  that  political  organization. 
He  has  held  the  office  of  Township  Clerk, 
Assessor,  Supervisor  and  has  been  High- 
way Commissioner  for  fifteen  years.  He 
has  held  office  in  the  township  altogether 
about  twenty-two  years. 

The  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  and  is  very  faithful  in  his  attend- 
ance upon  services. 


MRS.  MARY  A.  SEYMOUR. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  is  one  of  those 
brave  women  who  gave  so  much  help  to 
their-  husbands  and  brothers  during  the 
early  days  of  the  settling  of  our  counties, 
and  in  the  dread  days  of  the  Civil  war  when 
gloom  and  danger  seemed  for  awhile  to 
settle  upon  our  land.  She  is  still  able  to 
bear  her  seventy-five  years  comfortably  and 
enjoy  the  little  spell  of  peaceful  retirement 
which  is  but  a  fitting  accompaniment  to  her 
life  of  activity  and  good  work. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  (Tade)  Seymour  was 
born  in  Withe  county,  Virginia,  on  May 
24,  1833,  and  was  the  daughter  of  James 
and  Catherine  (Hines)  Tade.  Her  father 
was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  her  mother, 
born  November  28,  1812,  was  a  Virginian. 
Her  father,  who  had  come  to  Virginia, 


married  there  in  1832,  and  her  parents  re- 
turned to  Kentucky  when  she  was  but  five 
months  old.  In  Kentucky  her  father 
bought  a  farm  in  Montgomery  county, 
where  they  lived  until  about  1841.  Her 
father's  death  occurred  in  1839,  being  killed 
while  on  a  steamboat  near  New  Orleans. 
Two  years  later  her  mother  married  Joseph 
Tade,  a  brother  of  our  subject's  father,  the 
marriage  taking  place  in  March,  1841. 
The  family  then  migrated  overland  in 
wagons  to  Illinois,  the  trip  requiring  five 
weeks.  In  Illinois  they  located  in  Richland 
county  (then  known  as  Lawrence  county) ; 
Richland  county  not  yet  being  laid  off. 
Here  our  subject's  mother  and  stepfather 
purchased  a  farm  of  three  hundred  acres, 
partly  under  fence,  paying  three  hundred 
dollars  for  same.  On  the  land  there  was  a 
small  log  house  in  which  they  continued  to 
reside  for  many  years.  There  was  also  a 
log  stable  originally  on  the  property.  The 
land  was  at  once  improved  and  cultivated, 
and  after  a  residence  upon  it  of  forty  years 
they  left  Claremont  township,  in  which  the 
farm  was  situated,  and  bought  forty  acres 
of  land  in  German  township  with  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sale  of  their  former  farm. 
Here  they  remained  for  several  years,  when 
they  removed  to  Liberty,  Jasper  county,  II- 
nois,  where  our  subject's  step-father  died 
in  December,  1880,  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
two.  He  is  buried  in  Stoltz  cemetery,  Ger- 
man township.  Her  mother  survived  for 
several  years,  finally  dying  at  our  subject's 
home  in  German  township  on  December 
29,  1906,  at  the  ripe  age  of  ninety- four 


462 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


years,  one  month  and  one  day.  She  is  also 
buried  in  Stoltz  cemetery.  Our  subject's 
parents  had  four  children,  of  whom  she  was 
the  eldest.  Her  mother  by  her  second  mar- 
riage raised  six  children.  There  are  only 
four  members  of  both  families  now  living. 

Mary  A.  (Tade)  Seymour  remained  at 
home  with  her  mother  and  stepfather  until 
her  eighteenth  year  when  she  married 
James  T.  Seymour,  the  ceremony  taking 
place  on  October  22,  1852,  in  Richland 
county.  He  was  born  October  i,  1826,  in 
Lincoln  county,  Ohio,  and  was  the  son  of 
Isaac  and  Sarah  (Sproll)  Seymour.  Isaac 
Seymour  was  a  native  Ohioan,  his  father 
coming  from  England  and  his  mother  from 
Ireland.  James  T.  Seymour  came  to  Il- 
linois in  the  spring  of  1852,  from  his  native 
Ohio.  He  was  followed  by  his  parents, 
who  came  to  the  state  in  the  following  fall. 
They  lived  in  Richland  county  for  one  year, 
then  buying  a  farm  in  Lawrence  county, 
where  they  remained  until  their  deaths. 
His  mother  died  first,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
three;  his  father  surviving  her  about  three 
years,  his  death  occurring  at  the  age  of 
sixty-six.  They  are  both  buried  in  Wag- 
ner cemetery,  Lawrence  county.  Eight 
children  were  born  to  them,  one  of  whom 
died  in  childhood.  James  T.  Seymour  was 
the  eldest  member  of  his  parents'  family. 

On  their  marriage  Mary  A.  (Tade) 
Seymour  and  her  husband  in  1852,  settled 
on  the  farm  on  which  she  now  resides,  and 
which  contains  forty  acres,  in  German 
township.  They  paid  the  government  price 
of  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre 


for  the  land,  which  was  all  raw  and  unim- 
proved. It  comprised  tall  prairie-grass  and 
hazel  thickets  and  was  the  last  forty  acres 
remaining  unentered  in  Richland  county. 
They  immediately  set  about  clearing  and 
improving  the  place  and  built  a  small  log 
house  in  which  they  lived  for  four  years. 
They  then  built  a  small  frame  house  which 
burned  down  a  few  years  later.  After- 
wards they  erected  the  house  in  which 
Mary  A.  Seymour  now  lives;  it  was  built 
about  the  year  1872. 

When  the  Civil  war  broke  out  her  hus- 
band enlisted  in  July,  1861.  The  Illinois 
regiments  being  of  the  required  strength 
at  the  time,  he  was  placed  in  Company  E, 
of  the  Eleventh  Missouri  Regiment,  under 
command  of  Capt.  John  Blue.  He  served 
the  three-year  term  of  enlistment  returning 
home  in  1864,  having  been  mustered  out  of 
service  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  During  his 
term  of  service  he  was  never  wounded  nor 
taken  prisoner.  At  one  period  he  was  con- 
fined to  the  hospital  at  Jefferson  barracks 
on  account  of  sickness.  On  his  becoming 
convalescent  he  was  ordered  to  attend  to 
the  other  sick  patients  which  he  did  until 
he  was  able  once  more  to  rejoin  his  regi- 
ment. He  served  in  the  Western  Division 
under  General  Sherman  though  he  was  not 
with  him  at  the  time  of  the  march  to  the 
sea  as  he  was  not  in  service.  During  the 
campaign  he  served  in  the  Red  River  ex- 
pedition, the  siege  of  Vicksburg.  battle  of 
Missionary  Ridge,  and  many  others  of  the 
hard  fought  and  principal  battles  of  the 
war,  and  also  endured  many  long  and  hard 


RICH  LAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


463 


marches.  Though  he  was  never  wounded 
he  became  badly  broken  in  health  on  ac- 
count of  the  hardships  of  the  years  of  1860- 
1865. 

While  her  husband  was  in  the  army,  the 
subject  of  our  sketch  remained  on  the  farm 
with  her  children.  Trying  to  run  the  farm, 
performing  all  the  work  entailed  thereby, 
and  caring  for  herself  and  her  small  chil- 
dren, she  suffered  much  hardship.  On  his 
return  home  he  resumed  work  with  his  wife 
and  family  on  the  farm.  His  death  took 
place  on  March  12,  1907,  at  the  age  of 
about  eighty  years.  He  is  interred  in  Wag- 
ner cemetery  in  Lawrence  county,  Illinois. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  (Tade)  Seymour  is  the 
mother  of  the  following  children:  Mor- 
timer S.,  Isaac  C.  and  John  W.  are  liv- 
ing. Sarah  Catherine  and  Joseph,  both 
deceased,  are  buried  in  Wagner  cemetery. 
Mortimer,  married  and  is  living  in  Craw- 
ford county,  on  a  farm.  Isaac  is  married 
and  resides  at  West  York,  Crawford  coun- 
ty. John  is  also  married  and  lives  on  a 
farm  near  his  mother  in  German  township. 

Mrs.  Seymour  obtained  a  good  educa- 
tion, considering  the  educational  facilities 
of  the  time  of  her  youth,  in  the  subscrip- 
tion schools  in  Richland  county,  Illinois, 
having  attended  school  at  intervals  from 
Tier  ninth  until  her  sixteenth  year.  The 
common  free  schools  did  not  come  into  ex- 
istence until  she  was  eighteen  years  old. 
Notwithstanding  this  she  was  enabled  to 
obtain  much  information  in  the  subscrip- 
tion schools. 

James  T.  Seymour  was  a  member  of  the 


Whig  party  up  to  the  time  of  the  Civil 
war:  from  that  time  onward  he  was  a  Re- 
publican. He  was  School  Director  for 
several  years,  but  never  held  any  other  pub- 
lic office  as  he  never  cared  for  public  recog- 
nition. He  was  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  the  John  Liddle 
Post,  No.  745,  at  Chancy,  Illinois.  He  and 
his  wife  and  the  members  of  their  family 
all  belonged  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  German  township.  Mrs.  Sey- 
mour has  been  a  class  leader  in  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church  for  several  years,  and 
was  for  three  years  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school.  Her  husband  was  a  good, 
religious  man  and  a  steward  of  the  church 
for  several  years. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Seymour  is  now  living  a 
happy  life  of  retirement  on  the  farm  which 
the  labors  of  herself  and  her  devoted  hus- 
band made  one  of  the  best  improved  in 
German  township. 


JEROME  N.  EMBSER. 

One  of  the  most  up-to-date  and  intelli- 
gently managed  farms  in  the  county  is  that 
belonging  to  the  subject  of  this  review, 
Jerome  N.  Embser,  who  was  born  on  May 
23,  1869,  in  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania. 
His  father,  Francis  Embser,  was  born  on 
April  22,  1833,  in  Prussia,  Germany.  His 
experiences  would  form  an  interesting 
story  if  taken  up  in  detail.  Before  coming 
to  America  all  the  family  except  Francis 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


and  one  brother  fell  victims  to  the  dreaded 
plague  that  swept  over  Europe  at  that  time. 
Having  survived  this,  the  next  problem 
that  faced  the  boys  was  the  service  in  the 
regular  army.  On  account  of  its  position 
and  the  hostility  of  the  surrounding  na- 
tions, Germany  is  compelled  to  maintain  an 
extensive  military  system.  This  involves  a 
great  expense  and  causes  a  steady  drain  on 
the  resources  of  the  people.  Not  only  that, 
but  it  makes  it  necessary  for  the  govern- 
ment to  require  military  service  from  all  of 
its  male  population.  Hence  all  able  bodied 
men  must  enter  the  national  service,  most 
of  them  for  a  term  of  at  least  three  years. 
No  one  is  exempted  except  for  physical  in- 
capacity. As  the  time  approached  for 
Francis  to  enroll  in  the  regular  army  he 
began  to  dread  the  prospects  and  tried  to 
bethink  himself  of  some  plan  by  which  he 
might  avoid  this  protracted  confinement  to 
the  life  of  the  soldier.  Fortunately  for  him, 
he  had  an  uncle  who  was  captain  of  a  ves- 
sel that  plied  between  Germany  and  Amer- 
ica. It  was  to  him  that  Francis  made 
known  his  desires,  the  result  being  that 
plans  were  made  to  smuggle  the  boy 
through.  This  was  carefully  arranged  and 
successfully  carried  out,  and  after  six 
weeks  of  sailing  on  the  Atlantic,  he  arrived 
at  New  York. 

Before  leaving  the  Fatherland  he  had 
served  his  apprenticeship  as  a  shoemaker, 
and  upon  coming  to  America  he  continued 
his  work  in  that  capacity.  After  going  to 
Pennsylvania,  he  took  up  farming  in  con- 
nection with  his  trade,  and  continued  thus 


to  combine  his  work  even  after  he  came  to 
Marion  county,  Illinois.  He  soon  became 
well  known  as  a  man  of  superior  intelli- 
gence and  an  excellent  workman,  and  ere 
long  the  neighbors  made  it  a  point  to  bring 
their  repairing  to  Mr.  Embser,  at  his  shop 
on  the  farm,  and  to  spend  the  evenings  in 
such  discussions  and  diversions  as  would 
spontaneously  spring  up  in  their  midst. 
Every  one  for  miles  came  to  know  and  love 
"Old  Frank  Embser".  He  was  not  a  be- 
liever in  orthodox  religion,  and  ended  his 
days  in  this  county,  in  1905. 

Jerome  Embser's  mother,  Elizabeth 
(Driesbaugh)  Embser,  was  bom  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  is  still  living.  Her  father, 
John  D.  Driesbaugh,  was  a  prominent  citi- 
zen in  western  Pennsylvania,  was  the  owner 
of  several  flour  mills,  located  on  streams  in 
order  to  utilize  the  running  water  for  power 
purposes.  Her  mother's  name  was  Katie 
Shoop. 

Mr.  Embser  joined  in  marriage  Jessie 
N.  Spiese,  daughter  of  Wilfred  and  Alice 
(Heaton)  Spiese,  to  whom  have  been  born 
five  children,  namely:  Alice  E.,  Francis 
W..  John  T.,  Anton  J.,  and  Leon. 

Mr.  Embser's  education  was  limited  to 
that  of  the.  common  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, but  he  learned  early  in  life  to  be 
self-reliant  and  industrious,  and  as  he  ad- 
vanced in  years  he  applied  these  traits  to 
his  daily  life,  with  the  result  that  he  has  a 
most  excellent  country  homestead,  a  mag- 
nificent farm,  and  an  intelligent  family. 
He  has  the  full  confidence  of  neighbors  and 
friends,  having  been  asked  to  serve  his 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COl'XTIES.    ILLINOIS. 


community  as  Township  Treasurer,  High- 
way Commissioner  and  School  Trustee.  In 
all  of  these  duties  he  has  shown  himself  an 
able  manager  and  a  man  of  unimpeachable 
integrity. 


HISTORY  OF  ST.  JAMES  LUTHER- 
AN CHURCH. 

As  far  as  known,  Reverend  Seacrist  was 
the  first  Lutheran  minister  who  preached  the 
gospel  to  the  scattered  Lutherans  in  Rich- 
land  county,  Illinois.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  Daniel  Scherer,  who  labored  faithful- 
ly among  the  people,  preaching  the  Gospel 
and  administering  the  sacraments.  His 
field,  however,  being  so  large  he  called  his 
son,  Jacob,  from  Gettysburg  to  his  assist- 
ance, who  preached  at  Olney  and  various 
other  places  in  the  county. 

Services  in  this  neighborhood  were  first 
held  in  David  Phillip's  barn.  In  1842  St. 
James  congregation  was  organized,  and  in 
1844  a  hewn  log  church  was  erected  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  Olney  township,  about 
one  and  one-fourth  miles  from  the  present 
house  of  worship.  This  log  church  is  still 
in  a  fair  state  of  preservation. 

Rev.  Gottlieb  Lauener  became  minister 
in  1852,  and  Rev.  Conrad  Kuhl  in  1856, 
Rev.  William  Hunderdose  and  Rev.  G. 
Berwick  supplied  the  congregation.  In 
1858  Reverend  Abele  became  pastor  and 
labored  a  few  years  for  them,  until  1859, 

In  1860  Rev.  D.  D.  Schwartz  and  in 
1 86 1  Rev.  Killiam  Earth  preacher  for 
30 


them.  In  1862  Reverend  Schnur  took 
charge  and  continued  as  pastor  until  1867, 
when  a  serious  difficulty  having  arisen  in 
the  congregation  in  regard  to  the  propriety 
of  holding  protracted  meetings  and  some 
other  tilings  he,  with  thirty-five  members, 
withdrew  from  the  congregation  and 
formed  another  church  more  in  accord  to 
their  views.  They  built  a  church  only  a 
mile  from  the  St.  James.  They  continued 
to  hold  services  for  several  years.  But  from 
some  cause  or  other  the  congregation  has 
become  extinct  and  the  church  edifice  has 
been  sold  and  is  in  Claremont  used  as  a 
warehouse  by  a  grain  dealer. 

It  was  during  the  time  that  Reverend 
Schnur  was  pastor  that  the  St.  James 
church  and  the  one  near  Olney  united  by 
general  agreement  and  consent,  determined 
to  build  a  new  house  of  worship,  as  the  log- 
church  was  too  small.  After  some  delay  on 
account  of  a  disagreement  about  the  site,  a 
new  frame  structure  was  erected  on  the 
present  site  in  1863.  This  was  made  pos- 
sible through  the  zeal  of  the  members  who 
donated  timber  and  labor.  The  timbers 
were  hewn  poles  and  the  plastering  laths 
were  split  out  by  hand.  The  finishing  lum- 
ber was  brought  from  Mt.  Carmel,  Illinois, 
a  distance  of  thirty  miles.  It  was  also  dur- 
ing Reverend  Schnur's  pastorate  that  the 
congregation  secured  an  acre  of  ground 
near  the  church  and  erected  a  two-story 
house  for  a  parsonage.  After  Reverend 
Schnur  resigned.  Reverend  Harkey  was 
called  as  pastor  in  1867.  and  continued  to 
serve  them  until  his  death  in  1875.  It  was 


466 


lUOGRAl'IIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


while  he  was  pastor  that  the  congregation 
made  application  to  the  Indiana  Synod,  now 
Chicago  Synod,  and  were  received  as  mem- 
bers-of  that  body  in  1874.  Reverend  Har- 
key  was  also  received.  He  with  the  con- 
gregation had  formerly  belonged  to  the 
Lutheran  Synod  of  Illinois.  While  Rever- 
end Harkey  was  pastor,  Trinity  church, 
near  Lancaster,  and  St.  James,  formed  one 
pastorate.  But  after  his  death,  the  Lancas- 
ter church  withdrew  and  joined  the  central 
synod  of  Illinois.  The  congregation  was 
vacant  now  until  March,  1876,  when  Rev- 
erend Laner  became  pastor  and  served  until 
December  29,  1878,  when  he  resigned  and 
they  were  without  pastoral  care  until  Rev- 
erend Hursh,  Versailles.  Ohio,  was  called 
and  became  pastor  in  1880.  He  continued 
to  serve  them  until  1894,  when  he  became 
disabled  on  account  of  old  age  and  disease. 
During  his  service  the  congregation  con- 
tinued to  prosper  spiritually.  The  preach- 
ing was  held  in  both  German  and  English 
language,  but  the  German  was  discontin- 
ued at  the  end  of  his  pastorate.  In  1882, 
on  account  of  crop  failure,  the  congregation 
was  excused  from  the  payment  of  their  ap- 
portionment, and  were  also  granted  one 
hundred  dollars  this  year  as  a  supplement 
to  their  pastor's  salary.  This  was  petition- 
ed for  by  the  congregation.  Reverend 
Hursh  continued  to  live  in  the  parsonage 
until  his  death  in  1897.  In  1896,  Rev.  J. 
M.  G.  Sappenfield  began  to  supply  the  St. 
James  church  in  connection  with  Union, 
Gila,  Illinois.  He  continued  as  supply  until 
he  was  called  and  became  regular  pastor  in 


1901,  being  installed  that  same  year  by  the 
president  of  the  synod  Rev.  M.  L.  \Yagner. 

The  congregation  at  its  annual  meeting 
on  New  Year's  day,  1904,  decided  to  erect 
a  new  church.  A  building  committee  was 
chosen,  consisting  of  G.  Hanes,  W.  Hanes, 
J.  P.  Xanders,  Frederick  Scherer  and  Ca- 
leb Buss.  The  pastor  was  made  chairman 
of  the  committee.  A  soliciting  committee, 
consisting  of  the  trustees,  J.  Mosser,  Levi 
Phillips  and  Charles  Stangel,  were  chosen 
to  secure  the  necessary  funds  and  H. 
Burgener  and  Edward  Buss,  a  committee 
to  get  donations.  The  plan  was  drawn  up 
by  the  pastor  for  a  building,  the  audience- 
room  thirty  by  fifty  and  Sunday  school  room 
sixteen  by  thirty  feet,  the  windows  to  be 
Gothic,  and  ceiling  to  be  arched  in  the  audi- 
ence room:  a  pulpit  recess  in  the  north  end, 
the  main  entrance  to  be  in  the  tower.  But 
before  the  building  was  begun  the  pastor 
was  taken  away  by  death  and  also  G. 
Hanes,  one  of  the  building  committee.  The 
congregation  now  set  about  to  secure  an- 
other pastor.  A  call  was  extended  to  Rev. 
J.  V.  Sappenfield,  residing  at  Corydon,  In- 
diana, a  son  of  their  late  lamented  pastor, 
in  March,  1904.  He  accepted  the  call  and 
entered  upon  the  work  in  May,  1904. 

The  congregation  now  determined  to  be- 
gin the  erection  of  the  church.  Specifications 
were  made  according  to  the  plans  of  the 
former  pastor,  and  the  contract  for  the  erec- 
tion of  the  building  was  let  to  John  Beck, 
a  member  of  the  church.  On  September  12. 
1904,  the  old  church  was  torn  down  and 
the  erection  of  the  new  church  began  on 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


467 


the  same  site.  The  corner  stone  was  laid 
by  the  president  of  synod,  Rev.  H.  Peters, 
of  Decatur,  Illinois,  assisted  by  Rev.  J. 
Knauer  and  the  pastor,  on  October  23, 

1904.  On  Christmas    morning,   1904,  the 
first  services  were  held  and  it  has  been  used 
ever  since.  The  church  was  finished  in  May, 

1905,  and  dedicated  October  22,  1905.   The 
furniture  consists  of  lecturn,  pulpit,  pews, 
organ  and  chairs  for  Sunday  school. 

The  pastor,  Rev.  J.  V.  Sappenfield,  re- 
signed and  left  the  field  in  December,  1906, 
leaving  the  congregation  vacant  until 
March,  1908,  when  Rev.  John  Knauer  was 
called,  who  is  now  in  charge  of  the  field, 
and  also  serves  Gila  and  Wheeler,  Illinois. 


REV.  JOHN  KNAUER. 

Enjoying  marked  prestige  among  the 
dergy  of  Southern  Illinois,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  stands  out  a  clear  and  distinct 
figure  among  the  useful  men  of  Richland 
county,  characterized  by  breadth  of  wisdom 
and  strong  individuality.  Rev.  Knauer's 
achievements  but  represent  the  utilization 
of  innate  talent,  in  directing  effort  along 
lines  in  which  mature  judgment,  rare  dis- 
crimination and  resourcefulness  that  hesi- 
tates at  no  opposition,  has  caused  him  to 
succeed  in  the  accomplishment  of  much 
good  in  his  line  of  work.  Having  always  led 
a  life  along  such  planes  of  sobriety,  indus- 
try and  integrity  he  has  become  one  of  the 
most  influential  men  in  his  community 


whose  interests  he  has  at  heart  and  whose 
moral,  educational  and  material  develop- 
ment he  ever  seeks  to  promulgate,  thereby 
winning  and  retaining  the  undivided  esteem 
of  all  who  know  him. 

Rev.  John  Knauer,  pastor  of  St.  James 
Lutheran  church  in  Claremont  township, 
Richland  county,  Illinois,  was  born  April 
25,  1873.  in  Wuerttenberg,  Germany,  the 
son  of  Gottlieb  and  Jacobin  (Stipe) 
Knauer;  the  father  died  in  Germany  Octo- 
ber 21,  1874,  and  is  buried  in  Hohenhaslach 
place,  in  the  district  Yaihingen,  having  died 
when  forty-eight  years  old. 

In  the  year  1887,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  then  fourteen  years  old,  with  his 
mother  and  three  sisters  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  and  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  where 
our  subject  remained  with  his  mother, 
working  on  the  farm  until  the  fall  of  1895, 
when  he  went  to  Carthage,  Missouri,  where 
he  took  a  high  school  course  under  tutorship 
of  an  older  brother, who  had  previously  come 
to  the  United  States,  having  been  accom- 
panied by  two  other  brothers  and  one  sister. 
In  the  fall  of  1896  John  Knauer  entered 
the  Washington-Jefferson  College  at  W'ash- 
ington,  Pennsylvania,  taking  a  four  years' 
course,  and  in  the  fall  of  1901  he  entered 
the  Theological  Seminary  in  Chicago.  He 
made  a  splendid  record  in  school  and  he  en- 
tered upon  his  pastorate  at  Gila  charge.  Jas- 
per county,  Illinois,  after  his  graduation  in 
the  last  named  school  in  the  spring  of  1904, 
having  begun  his  pastorate  work  on  May  i, 
1904,  and  on  June  3Oth  following  he  was 


468 


IMOGKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


married  in  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  to 
Hope  Kenamond,  who  was  born  near 
Washington,  Pennsylvania,  October  6, 
1878.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Frederick 
and  Elzena  (Shipe)  Kenamond,  both  na- 
tives of  Pennsylvania,  in  which  state  they 
were  married,  but  later  moved  to  West  Vir- 
ginia, when  Mrs.  Knauer  was  nine  years  of 
age.  Her  parents  remained  in  that  state 
about  four  years  when  the  family  returned 
to  Pennsylvania,  settling  this  time  near 
Claysville,  where  they  bought  a  farm  upon 
which  they  lived  for  three  years  when  they 
again  removed  to  West  Virginia,  where 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kenamond  still  reside  on  a 
farm.  They  are  the  parents  of  five  children, 
all  of  whom  are  still  living,  the  wife  of  our 
subject  being  the  oldest  in  order  of  birth. 

John  Knauer  is  a  member  of  a  family  of 
eight  children,  he  and  a  twin  sister  being 
the  youngest.  They  are  all  living  at  this 
writing.  The  mother  of  these  children  is 
still  living  on  the  old  homestead  in  Wash- 
ington county.  Pennsylvania,  near  Bur- 
gettstown,  having  reached  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-four years. 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  Knauer  reside  in  the  par- 
sonage of  the  Lutheran  church  in  Clare- 
mont  township,  Richland  county,  where  the 
subject  performs  the  duties  of  pastor,  also 
preaches  at  Gila  and  Wheeler,  in  Jasper 
county,  Illinois. 

No  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Knauer. 

Our  subject  is  making  a  great  success  of 
his  work  in  this  place  and  he  and  his  es- 
timable wife  are  held  in  high  favor  by  the 


congregation  and  all  who  know  them.  He 
and  his  wife  are  highly  educated  and  they 
are  both  diligent  workers  in  the  cause  of  the 
lowly  Nazarene,  and  they  are  apparently 
justly  fitted  for  so  responsible  work,  for 
they  are  broad-minded  and  ever  have  the 
good  of  their  congregation  at  heart. 


THOMAS  M.  HARGRAVE. 

The  subject  of  this  review  is  one  of  the 
sturdy  spirits  who  has  contributed  largely 
to  the  material  welfare  of  the  township  in 
which  he  resides,  being  a  farmer  and  stock 
raiser,  and  as  a  citizen,  public-spirited  and 
progressive  in  all  the  terms  imply.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  has  been  actively  iden- 
tified with  the  agricultural  interests  of  the 
county.  He  represents  that  class  of  earn- 
est, foreign  born  citizens,  who  have  done 
so  much  for  the  development  of  the  United 
States,  while  at  the  same  time  they  have 
benefited  themselves  in  a  very  material  man- 
ner. 

Thomas  M.Hargrave  was  born  in  Eng- 
land October  20,  1851,  and  was  ten  years 
old  when  he  came  to  America  with  his 
father  and  only  brother,  George,  who  now 
lives  in  Fayette  county,  Illinois,  is  married 
and  the  father  of  five  children. 

Our  subject  received  his  early  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  this  country,  but 
leaving  school  when  sixteen  years  of  age  he 
did  not  have  the  opportunity  to  take  a  high 
course,  but  is,  notwithstanding  this  fact,  a 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


well  educated  man,  having  always'  been  a 
close  observer  and  an  extensive  reader, 
keeping-  well  posted  on  current  events  at  all 
times. 

Mr.  Hargrave  has  won  his  way  to  a  po- 
sition of  prominence  and  comparative 
affluence  in  his  community  by  reason  of  his 
own  individual  efforts.  Starting  life  with 
but  little  means,  he  has  succeeded  admir- 
ably well  and  is  today  the  owner  of  a  fine 
farm  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  all  under  an  excellent  system  of 
fencing  and  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  for 
he  understands  well  the  proper  rotation  of 
crops  so  as  to  preserve  the  natural  quality 
of  the  soil  and  the  many  other  methods 
known  to  up-to-date  farmers.  His  farm  is 
located  in  Kinmundy  township,  and  it  ranks 
well  with  the  other  excellent  farms  of  this 
community.  He  has  a  number  of  good 
horses  and  herds  of  other  stock,  besides 
much  good  poultry,  in  fact  he  carries  on  a 
general  farming  and  stock  raising  industry 
with  that  discretion  and  industry  which  al- 
ways insures  ultimate  success.  Mr.  Har- 
grave has  a  comfortable,  well  furnished 
and  substantial  residence,  which  is  neatly 
kept,  and  it  is  surrounded  by  a  sufficient 
number  of  convenient  out  buildings. 

When  twenty-five  years  old  Mr.  Har- 
grave was  united  in  mariage  with  Anna 
McHatton,  the  representative  of  an  excel- 
lent family,  and  she  passed  to  her  rest  when 
forty-four  years  old.  Our  subject  has  four 
children,  all  boys,  namely:  John,  Emmett. 
Harry  and  Roy.  The  first  twro  named  are 
both  married.  Emmett  lives  in  Alma  town- 


ship on  a  good  farm,  and  is  the  father  of 
one  son.  John,  who  is  employed  on  the  Il- 
linois Central  Railroad,  lives  in  Clinton, 
Illinois.  Mrs.  Hargrave  was  one  of  a  fam- 
ily of  three  children.  She  was  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Our  subject  has  always  taken  a  great  in- 
terest in  the  affairs  of  his  children,  and 
has  spared  no  pains  in  assisting  them  in 
life's  struggle. 

Mr.  Hargrave  is  a  man  of  com- 
manding personal  appearance,  easy  in 
disposition,  courteous  in  manner,  and 
possessing  a  large  social  nature  and 
is  regarded  by  all  his  neighbors  as 
a  most  excellent  citizen.  He  believes  in 
good  government  and  honorable  citizen- 
ship. He  was  raised  by  Methodist  parents 
and  consequently  is  a  believer  in  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  Christianity.  In  his 
political  relations  he  is  a  stanch  Republican. 


CHARLES  EDWARD  PALMER. 

Having  been  born  and  Beared  in  Noble 
township,  Richland  county,  Illinois,  and 
since  reaching  manhood's  estate  identified 
with  some  of  the  most  important  business 
interests  of  that  community,  it  is  not 
strange  that  Charles  Edward  Palmer  should 
be  widely  and  favorably  known  within  the 
confines  of  the  territory  in  question.  His 
career  has  been  marked  with  success  at  al- 
most every  turn,  and  he  certainly  is  an  ex- 
ample worthy  of  emulation  by  the  young 


i:i(ii;k  \1M1IC.\L    AXD   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


men  of  today,  who  would  embark  upon  the 
sea  of  commercialism.  Perseverance  coup- 
led with  energy  and  brains  has  placed  him 
in  an  enviable  position  in  the  business 
world. 

Charles  Edward  Palmer  was  born  in 
Noble  township,  October  14,  1859.  His 
father  was  James  F.  Palmer,  bom  in 
Brown  county,  Ohio,  in  1829.  while  the 
mother  was  Maria  C.  Danbury,  also  a  na- 
tive of  the  Buckeye  state,  having  been  born 
there  in  1833.  Their  deaths  were  not  far 
apart,  the  husband  passing  away  in  1893, 
and  the  wife  and  mother  two  years  later. 
The  father  of  the  subject  was  a  graduate 
of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  Cincin- 
nati, and  in  1856,  rode  horseback  from 
Ohio  to  his  future  home  in  Noble  township. 
His  wife  followed  a  year  afterwards  on  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Southwestern  Railroad, 
which  had  just  been  completed.  The  grand- 
father of  the  subject  was  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  1812;  his  paternal  grandmother 
was  a  niece  of  the  Revolutionary  General 
Stark,  while  his  uncle,  Jacob  A.  Palmer, 
did  valiant  service  throughout  the  Civil 
war. 

Mr.  Palmer  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  and  when  quite  young  began  to 
read  law.  Later  he  entered  the  insurance 
business,  and  also  took  part  in  politics,  final- 
ly being  elected  Supervisor  of  Noble  town- 
ship. While  discharging  the  duties  of  this 
office  he  was  instrumental  in  having  the 
county  board  appoint  an  expert  accountant 
to  check  up  the  accounts  of  the  county  offi- 
cers. He  eventually  became  an  expert  ac- 


countant himself,  and  investigated  the 
books  of  other  counties,  serving  in  that  ca- 
pacity for  eight  years.  In  1899  he  con- 
ceived and  organized  the  mercantile  firm  of 
Palmer  &  Company,  and  this  concern  has 
forged  to  the  front  with  remarkable  rapid- 
ity, carrying  an  immense  stock  of  dry 
goods,  furniture,  stoves,  hardware  and  ag- 
ricultural implements.  In  connection  with 
this  concern  the  firm  operates  a  concrete 
block  factory,  and  an  evaporator.  Mr. 
Palmer  is  the  president  and  general  man- 
ager of  the  establishment,  and  is  also  vice- 
president  of  the  bank  of  Noble.  He  was 
wedded  in  1882  to  Mollie  U.  Philhower, 
and  this  alliance  resulted  in  the  birth  of 
two  children,  one  of  whom  died  when  quite 
young.  The  other,  Beulah  May  Palmer, 
became  the  wife  of  a  prominent  contractor 
of  Olney,  Illinois. 

Mr.  Palmer  is  a  Mason,  an  Odd  Fellow, 
Red  Man,  and  a  member  of  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America.  He  has  for  years 
been  more  or  less  prominent  in  politics,  be- 
ing an  adherent  of  the  Independent  party. 
When  the  Spanish-American  war  broke  out 
he  raised  a  company,  and  was  made  cap- 
tain thereof.  They  reported  to  Colonel 
Pittenger,  at  Centralia,  and  the  company, 
although  placed  on  the  list,  was  never  called 
out. 

The  wife  of  the  subject  was  the  child  of 
Ira  B.  and  Adeline  (Smith)  Philhower,  of 
Clermont  county,  Ohio,  who  removed  to  Il- 
linois in  1854,  and  purchased  a  farm  in 
Noble  township.  Mr.  Philhower  was  for 
eight  years  station  agent  at  luka,  Illinois. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    II  LIXOIS. 


471 


At  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to 
Xoble  township,  and  worked  as  a  miller, 
after  which  he  became  a  merchant.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and 
for  vears  served  on  the  School  Board. 


BARTLETT  Y.  WATKINS. 

A  great  essay  written  once  said  that 
"when  one  has  given  the  best  that  is  in  him 
to  a  work,  he  experiences  a  feeling  of  sat- 
isfaction." While  this  statement  may  seem 
rather  broad  yet  a  greater  truth  than  this 
was  never  spoken.  Whether  one  is  success- 
ful or  not  in  what  one  undertakes  if  he 
realizes  that  nothing  on  his  part  has  been 
left  undone,  he  should  have  no  regrets.  This 
does  not  mean  that  the  unsuccessful  person 
feels  just  as  good  over  defeat  as  the  suc- 
cessful over  victory.  When  one  does  his 
best  and  is  successful  he  has  a  double  rea- 
son to  be  happy.  To  this  class  belongs  Mr. 
Watkins,  for  he  did  his  best  and  has  suc- 
ceeded. 

Bartlett  Y.  Watkins  was  born  near  Ashe- 
ville.  North  Carolina,  July  20,  1842.  His 
paraits  were  good  old  Southern  people. 
The  father,  James  G.  W'atkins,  was  torn  in 
North  Carolina,  while  the  mother,  Mary  D. 
(Patterson)  Watkins,  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia. To  this  union  were  born  eight  chil- 
dren of  whom  Bartlett  was  the  oldest.  On 
his  mother's  side  he  was  of  Irish  and  Ger- 
man descent,  while  on  his  father's  side  his 
ancestors  were  English  and  Welsh. 


When  Bartlett  was  ten  years  old  the  fam- 
ily came  north  to  live  in  Richland  county, 
Illinois.  Here  the  father  died  November 
9,  1872,  and  the  mother  died  eleven  years 
later  in  Christian  county,  Illinois. 

The  family  being  poor  it  was  necessary 
for  Bartlett  to  leave  school  with  just  a  com- 
mon school  education,  but  this  he  made  the 
most  of.  After  leaving  school  he  began 
working  on  the  farm  which  occupation  he 
has  followed  all  his  life.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years  he  was  married  to  Eliza- 
beth Lawless,  daughter  of  Hiram  and  Cath- 
arine (Holden)  Lawless,  who  had  moved 
to  Richland  county  from  Highland  county. 
Ohio. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watkins  were  born 
twelve  children.  Five  boys  and  three  girls 
are  living,  four  of  the  children  dying  in  in- 
fancy. The  other  eight  are  all  living  in 
Richland  county,  with  the  exception  of 
Laura,  wife  of  James  R.  Brown,  a  mechanic 
living  at  Evansville.  Indiana.  Nancy  Jane 
is  the  wife  of  Ed.  Stage,  a  fanner  of  Noble 
township:  Lora,  the  other  daughter,  is  the 
wife  of  Parker  Bolby,  a  farmer  of  Olney 
township. 

The  toys  are  all  married ;  Olis,  with  his 
family,  is  living  on  the  home  farm  which 
he  cultivates;  Commodore  D.  and  Edmond 
T..  farmers,  live  in  Noble  township.  Wil- 
liam F..  the  only  son  who  has  not  followed 
the  occupation  of  the  father,  is  a  machinist 
living  at  Olney:  Oliver  B..  is  also  a  ma- 
chinist at  Olney. 

Mr.  Watkins  was  a  member  of  Company 
E,  of  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Cavalrv  in  the 


472 


I'.IOGKAl'IIICAL    AND    KEMIXISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


War  of  the  Rebellion.  He  saw  little  active 
service,  however,  for  he  was  discharged  on 
November  27,  1862,  because  of  his  physical 
condition.  He  returned  to  Richland  county 
and  November  22;  1864,  the  marriage  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken  took  place. 
In  1887  Mr.  Watkins,  by  hard,  honest 
labor  had  accumulated  enough  to  buy  a 
comfortable  little  home,  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  four  acres. 

He  farmed  in  a  general  way  and  was 
quite  successful.  During  his  long  life  he 
never  allied  himself  with  any  church,  but 
his  wife  was  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church,  and  he  attended  the  Elaine  church 
with  her. 

Politically  Mr.  Watkins  was  a  Demo- 
crat, but  having  never  aspired  to  office,  he 
took  no  active  part  in  politics. 


CAPT.  WILLIAM  T.  JOHNSON. 

There  can  be  no  greater  honor  or  privi- 
lege than  to  conscientiously  serve  one's  coun- 
try during  its  days  of  peril.  It  requires 
something  more  than  patriotic  zeal  for  a 
man  to  forsake  home,  business,  the  pleasures 
of  social  or  public  life  and  voluntarily  as- 
sume the  hardships  of  the  camp  and  the 
field,  much  less  risk  one's  life  in  the  brunt 
of  battle,  and  the  younger  generation  of  to- 
day are  apt  to  not  give  the  respect  due  the 
brave  "boys  in  blue"  who  saved  the  nation's 
integrity  and  who  did  so  much  for  them. 
The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of  those 


whose  name  is  to  be  found  on  the  scroll  of 
honor  in  this  connection. 

Capt.  William  T.  Johnson  was  born  in 
Scott  county,  Indiana,  October  29,  1841,  the 
son  of  Stephen  and  Levina  (Williams) 
Johnson,  the  former  having  been  born  in 
Lexington,  Indiana,  in  1815  when  Lexing- 
ton was  the  county  seat  of  Scott  county.  The 
subject's  paternal  grandfather  secured  land 
in  Scott  county  just  as  the  Indians  were 
leaving  there.  Elijah  English  also  secured 
land  nearby  at  the  same  time,  which  land 
is  owned  at  present  by  Capt.  W.  E.  English, 
of  Indianapolis.  The  father  of  the  subject 
was  a  cabinetmaker,  a  preacher  and  a  farm- 
er, and  quite  a  prominent  man  of  that  time. 
He  was  a  great  admirer  of  Millard  Fillmore. 
He  turned  to  the  Republican  party  late  in 
life,  but  never  sought  political  office.  He 
was  called  to  his  rest  in  1870.  Levina  Wil- 
liams Johnson,  mother  of  our  subject,  was 
born  in  the  memorable  year  of  1812.  Her 
uncle  was  an  Indian  fighter  for  many  years 
and  was  with  Lewis  and  Clark  in  their  raid 
through  Indiana.  Her  uncle's  name  appears 
on  a  monument  in  the  West  where  the  last 
raid  was  made  on  the  Indians  in  the  battle 
of  Tippecanoe.  She  had  four  brothers  and 
four  sisters.  The  parents  of  the  subject  mar- 
ried in  1835.  Eight  children  were  born  to 
them,  all  living  at  this  writing,  namely: 
Sarah,  William  T.,  our  subject;  Caroline, 
John  and  David,  twins;  Martha,  Mary  and 
James. 

The  subject's  paternal  grandfather  was  a 
"minute  man"  under  Washington. 

William  T.  Johnson  was  educated  in  the 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


473 


public  schools  of  his  native  community. 
However,  his  schooling  was  somewhat  lim- 
ited. He  worked  about  the  home  place  un- 
til the  time  he  enlisted  in  the  army.  He 
came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  1870,  to 
engage  in  farming  and  has  lived  in  Patoka 
township  ever  since.  He  was  for  several 
years  in  the  dairy  and  stock  raising  business, 
having  made  a  pronounced  success  of  what- 
ever he  undertook,  being  a  man  of  great  in- 
dustry and  rare  soundness  of  judgment.  He 
always  kept  his  farm  in  first  class  condition 
and  it  was  well  tilled  and  produced  excel- 
lent crops.  For  the  past  eleven  years  Mr. 
Johnson  has  lived  in  quiet  retirement  in  a 
beautiful  and  comfortable  home  in  Vernon. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  first  married  to  Saman- 
tha  Gray  in  the  year  1866.  There  are  no  liv- 
ing children  from  this  union.  Mr.  John- 
son's second  wife  was  Addie  Gray,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Amanda  (Carroll)  Gray. 
Amanda  Carroll  was  a  distant  relative  of 
Charles  Carroll,  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  The  second 
wife  of  Mr.  Johnson  was  the  fifth  child  in 
a  family  of  twelve.  One  girl  and  one  boy 
have  been  born  to  the  subject  and  wife :  Tina, 
who  married  Warren  Murfin;  Biness,  the 
son,  is  single  and  living  at  home. 

As  intimated  above  our  subject  was  one 
of  the  gallat  defenders  of  the  flag  during 
the  dark  days  of  the  sixties,  having  enlisted 
in  1 86 1  in  Company  C,  Thirty-Eighth  Indi- 
ana Volunteer  Infantry,  under  command  of 
Colonel  Schribner,  and  was  sent  at  once  to 
General  Sherman's  command.  Walter  Q. 
Gresham  was  in  line  with  the  subject  as  a 


private  at  the  organization  of  the  regiment. 
He  engaged  in  a  skirmish  lasting  thirty 
days  before  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  in 
which  great  battle  our  subject  was  wounded. 
At  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  our  subject 
was  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Thomas 
in  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-Ninth  Regi- 
ment. He  was  captured  at  Chickamauga  and 
sent  to  Libby  prison  for  six  months,  but  he 
was  one  of  the  six  men  who  dug  out  of  that 
prison  and  escaped.  Twenty  men  made  the 
effort,  but  the  others  failed.  They  worked 
in  relays  of  five  men  and  tunnelled  under 
the  wall  from  the  basement  of  the  old  ware- 
house where  they  were  confined.  They  had 
nothing  but  an  old  chisel  to  work  with. 
Those  who  escaped  were,  beside  our  sub- 
ject, Charles  Vaughn,  Thomas  A.  Morrison, 
Alex  Lorington,  T.  McVey  and  D.  Laporte. 
They  spent  seventeen  days  and  nights  dig- 
ging their  way  to  freedom.  The  subject 
was  thirty-six  days  and  nights  getting  back 
to  the  Union  lines.  He  remained  in  hiding 
during  the  day  and  traveled  at  night.  He 
came  out  of  the  army  in  October,  1865,  a 
captain  and  acting  adjutant  at  the  time.  He 
is  said  by  his  comrades  to  have  been  a  most 
gallant  soldier  and  never  flinched  from  duty. 

Our  subject  was  captain  of  Company  D, 
in  Pittinger's  Provisional  Regiment,  dur- 
ing the  Spanish-American  war. 

The  above  is  a  record  of  which  anyone 
should  be  proud.  Captain  Johnson  has  been 
Justice  of  the  Peace  since  living  in  Vernon 
and  his  court  has  been  a  popular  one,  his 
decisions  being  fair  on  all  matters  submitted 
to  him.  He  is  a  loyal  Republican  and  is 


474 


r.IOGKAPHICAL    AXI)    REMIXISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


known  to  all  classes  for  his  honesty,  in- 
tegrity, public  spirit  and  good  natured  per- 
sonality, which  makes  him  one  of  the  most 
highly  esteemed  men  in  Patoka  township. 


JOHX  WILLIAM  PFLAUM. 

Inheriting  the  thrifty  and  frugal  habits 
of  a  sturdy  German  father  and  mother,  who 
many  years  ago  left  the  shores  of  the  Fa- 
therland to  seek  their  fortune  in  the  new 
world,  it  is  little  wonder  that  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  has  won  his  spurs  in  the  battle 
of  life.  The  people  of  Noble  township, 
Richland  county,  Illinois,  have  known  him 
as  boy  and  man.  and  as  his  dealings  with 
his  fellow  beings  have  always  been  honor- 
able they  repose  in  him  the  most  implicit 
confidence,  as  his  election  to  township 
offices  on  different  occasions  would  amply 
demonstrate. 

John  William  Pflaum  .was  born  in  Meigs 
county.  Ohio,  March  31,  1855,  his  parents 
being  Valentine  and  Elizabeth  (Hartman) 
Pflaum,  both  of  them  having  been  bom  in 
Baden,  Germany.  Shortly  after  their  mar- 
riage in  1851  they  came  to  this  country, 
and  settled  in  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  from 
which  place  they  removed  to  Noble  town- 
ship in  1873,  being  in  the  eighteenth  year 
of  his  age.  Mr.  Pflaum  began  purchasing 
land  in  small  tracts  until  he  had  accumulated 
nine  hundred  acres,  the  greater  portion  of 
which  he  eventually  had  under  a  high  state 
of  cultivation. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  married 
to  Cordelia  Rexrout  in  1886.  She  was 
born  in  Russell  county,  Kentucky,  August 
12,  1867.  Their  children  are  Bertha,  wife 
of  Alfred  Woods,  who  lives  on  a  farm 
with  her  husband  near  the  home  of  her 
parents;  Ralph,  Flossie  and  Raymond. 
Ralph  and  Flossie  are  twins,  and  the  latter 
is  married  to  a  prosperous  farmer  of  the 
neighborhood  by  the  name  of  John  Ireland, 
while  Raymond  and  Eva  live  at  the  home 
of  their  parents.  All  of  the  members  of 
the  family,  except  Ralph,  are  members  of 
the  Church  of  Christ,  and  take  a  great  deal 
of  interest  in  the  affairs  of  their  denomina- 
tion. When  he  attained  his  majority  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  cast  his  lot  with  the 
Republican  party,  and  he  remains  stead- 
fast to  the  same.  He  has  for  some  years 
been  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America. 

Mr.  Pflaum  takes  great  pride  in  the 
appearance  of  his  well  cultivated  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  from  which 
he  raises  abundant  crops.  He  is  a  public 
spirited  citizen  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
and  takes  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  Noble  township.  He  has  twice  held 
office,  having  been  Collector  and  Road  Su- 
pervisor. 


JOHN  BOWER. 

Prominent  among  the  men  of  Noble 
township,  Richland  county,  who  have  at- 
tained a  competence  through  their  individ- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


475 


ual  efforts  is  John  Bower,  fruit  grower  and 
farmer.  Despite  his  years,  for  he  is  near- 
ing  the  sixty-ninth  milestone,  Mr.  Bower 
is  an  active  man,  and  gives  close  personal 
attention  to  his  business.  He  has  spent  al- 
most a  half  a  century  in  the  community  in 
which  he  now  resides,  and  holds  a  high 
place  in  the  estimation  of  his  neighbors, 
who  know  him  as  a  man  of  probity  and  in- 
tegrity. He  is  of  German  parentage. 

Mr.  Bower  was  born  in  Ross  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  April  10,  1840,  and  came  to 
Richland  county,  Illinois,  in  March,  1865. 
His  parents,  Robert  and  Geneva  Bower, 
were  born  in  Germany.  For  seven  years 
the  father  of  the  subject  served  in  the  Ger- 
man army,  and  was  with  Blucher  in  the 
famous  battles  of  Leipsic  and  Waterloo. 
He  was  wounded  twice  in  these  engage- 
ments, receiving  a  sabre  thrust  and  a  bullet 
in  the  leg.  He  was  the  father  of  eleven 
children,  John  being  the  tenth  in  the  order 
or  birth. 

John  Bower  was  married  twice,  his  first 
wife  being  Catherine  Martin,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Martin,  of  Clermont  county,  Ohio. 
This  alliance  was  contracted  January  21. 
1864,  and  as  a  result  thereof  the  following 
children  were  born :  Clara,  died  in  infancy ; 
Flora  is  a  missionary  in  Forida;  Louis  J., 
a  resident  of  British  Columbia;  Ella  is  in 
St.  Louis :  Charles  lives  with  his  parents. 
Mr.  Bower's  first  wife  died  May  9,  1880. 
It  was  two  years  later  when  the  subject 
took  unto  himself  a  second  help-mate  in 
the  person  of  Jemima  Hammet,  daughter 
of  William  and  Rebecca  Hammet,  who 


came  to  Olney  township  from  Clermont 
county,  Ohio,  with  her  parents  when  a 
little  girl.  Five  children  were  the  fruits  of 
this  union,  two  of  them  dying  in  infancy. 
Of  the  survivors  Bessie  is  a  teacher  at 
Cerro  Gordo,  Piatt  county,  Illinois,  while 
Hazel  and  Paul  are  at  home. 

In  his  early  youth  Mr.  Bower  attended 
the  country  schools,  and  when  he  had  com- 
pleted his  course  there,  evinced  such  a  great 
desire  to  continue  his  studies  that  one  of 
his  brothers  loaned  him  sufficient  money  to 
enable  him  to  attend  college  in  Missouri, 
where  he  remained  for  some  time.  The 
subject  learned  the  trade  of  stone  cutting, 
but  finally  abandoned  the  business  for  fruit 
growing  and  farming.  His  orchard  of  for- 
ty acres  is  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  finest 
and  most  productive  in  Noble  township, 
and  besides  this  he  owns  a  well  cultivated 
lands  in  Xoble.  Preston  and  Olney  town- 
ships, consisting  in  all  of  about  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-six  acres.  It  will  be  seen 
from  this  that  Mr.  Bower  is  well  supplied 
with  this  world's  good  which  are  the  fruits 
of  a  life  of  industry. 

Mr.  Bower  is  not  a  member  of  any  re- 
ligious denomination  or  fraternal  organiza- 
tion, but  he  is  a  man  of  unimpeachable 
character,  who  has  done  much  toward  ad- 
vancing the  business  interests  of  Noble 
township,  being  always  ready  and  willing 
to  contribute  his  share  toward  insuring  the 
success  of  any  project  that  has  for  its  pur- 
pose the  weal  and  welfare  of  that  section 
of  Richland  county.  Mr.  Bower  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat, but  in  his  political  belief  is  neither 


476 


I'.KM.K.  \1-HICAL    AND    KI-.M  I  \  ISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


"hide-bound"  nor  partisan,  always  giving 
his  franchise  to  men  whom  he  believes  will 
best  subserve  the  interests  of  the  people. 


ELBRIDGE  ROBINSON. 

The  life  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  has 
not  been  of  an  unusual  character,  nothing 
strange  or  tragic  about  it,  but  rather  the 
antithesis,  quiet  and  unostentatious,  a  life 
that  has  resulted  in  no  harm  to  those  who 
have  come  under  the  influence  of  the  sub- 
ject. He  is  one  of  the  "boys  in  blue",  to 
whom  all  honor  is  due. 

Elbridge  Robinson  was  born  in  Morgan 
county,  Ohio.  January  7,  1844,  on  a  farm. 
He  came  to  Marion  county  after  the  war. 
Mr.  Robinson  is  the  son  of  Israel  and  Mar- 
garet (Warne)  Robinson,  the  former  hav- 
ing been  born  March  3,  1804,  in  Brook 
county,  West  Virginia,  who  came  to  Ohio 
when  six  years  old,  a  pioneer  of  the  woods. 
He  became  a  public  man  and  served  one 
term  in  the  Legislature.  He  was  a  Whig.  Is- 
rael Robinson  was  one  of  eleven  children,  a 
prominent  man  in  his  locality.  He  died 
in  1872.  The  mother  of  the  subject  was 
born  in  Muskingum  county,  Ohio,  in  1812, 
being  a  member  of  a  family  consisting  of 
twelve  children,  six  girls  and  an  equal  num- 
ber of  boys.  The  parents  of  the  subject 
married  December  31,  1829.  Our  subject  is 
the  only  one  of  six  children  living. 

Elbridge  Robinson  spent  his  early  life  on 
a  farm.  His  education  was  secured  in  the 


common  school  and  at  Roos  College  at  Sha- 
ron, Ohio.  When  only  sixteen  years  old  he 
obtained  a  certificate  to  teach,  and  success- 
fully taught  school  both  before  and  after 
the  war.  His  services  were  in  great  demand 
for  he  gained  quite  a  reputation  as  an  able 
educator. 

As  already  intimated,  Mr.  Robinson  was 
one  of  the  brave  sons  of  the  North  who  of- 
fered his  life  in  defense  of  his  country,  hav- 
ing enlisted  in  Company  C,  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, in  August,  1862,  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Ball,  a  judge  at  Zanesville,  Ohio, 
and  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war  with 
much  credit.  He  was  wounded  at  Cold 
Harbor,  June  3,  1864,  which  wound  did 
not  heal  until  after  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
was  in  the  battles  of  Milroy's  Defeat  in 
June.  1863,  Locust  Grove  in  November, 
1863,  also  fought  at  the  Wilderness  and 
at  Spottsylvania,  and  several  other  en- 
gagements, some  of  his  comrades  having 
been  killed  in  every  battle.  He  was  all 
through  the  strenuous  Wilderness  cam- 
paign. He  has  a  congressional  medal  of 
honor  for  heroic  service,  having  saved  a 
fallen  comrade  from  being  captured  by  the 
Confederates.  The  unfortunate  man  was 
Price  Worthington  of  Company  B.  One 
Hundred  and  Twenty-second  Regiment,  the 
same  as  that  of  our  subject.  Mr.  Robinson 
rushed  back  in  the  face  of  the  enemy's  fire 
through  their  lines  and  saved  Mr.  Worth- 
ington. After  his  return  he  was  warmly 
congratulated  by  the  officers  and  men  for 
his  heroic  deed.  He  was  then  only  nineteen 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


477 


years  old.  He  is  remembered  by  his  gov- 
ernment by  a  pension. 

Mr.  Robinson  was  united  in  marriage  on 
March  3,  1870,  to  Moretta  Reichert  and  to 
this  union  the  following  children  were  born : 
Fora,  born  February  21,  1872,  married 
Mamie  Smith;  they  are  living  in  Vernon, 
and  are  the  parents  of  two  children ;  Lewis 
was  born  April  12,  1874,  and  died  January 
13,  1898;  Harry  was  born  October  21, 
1877.  The  subject's  first  wife  died  in  1877. 
He  was  again  married,  his  second  wife  be- 
ing Martha  L.  Peddicord,  the  daughter  of 
A.  M.  and  Mary  Peddicord.  No  children 
were  born  to  this  union.  But  a  little  child, 
Bertrice  Reynolds,  whose  parents  and  fam- 
ily had  just  moved  to  the  village  in  very 
destitute  circumstances  with  mother  sick, 
the  little  six  months'  old  Bertrice  was  found 
by  Mrs.  Robinson  while  on  one  of  her  visits 
of  charity  in  an  out  building  with  scarcely 
any  clothing  or  attention.  Her  sympathetic 
nature  prompted  her  to  carry  the  little  waif 
to  her  home  and  assume  the  duties  of 
mother.  By  proper  consent  she  has  ever 
since  remained  with  her  new  found  parents 
to  scatter  sunshine  in  their  home,  and  with 
her  affectionate  disposition  and  loving 
words  cheer  their  declining  years  down 
life's  shaded  pathway. 

The  life  of  our  subject  has  been  spent  on 
a  farm  and  in  the  mercantile  business,  both 
of  which  he  made  a  pronounced  success  of, 
and  was  enabled  to  lay  up  an  ample  compe- 
tence for  his  old  age  which  he  is  spending 
in  comfort  and  peace  in  quiet  retirement. 
He  is  the  owner  of  four  hundred  and  fifteen 


acres  of  valuable  land  in  a  high  state  of  cul- 
tivation and  highly  improved,  being  one  of 
the  model  farms  in  Patoka  township.  He 
has  a  substantial  and  well  furnished  home, 
an  excellent  barn  and  convenient  out  build- 
ings, and  he  always  keeps  good  stock  of 
various  kinds.  He  lives  in  Vernon  at  this 
writing. 

Mr.  Robinson  has  always  been  a  Repub- 
lican, however,  he  has  never  aspired  to  po- 
sitions of  public  trust,  preferring  to  lead  a 
quiet  life  and  devote  his  time  to  his  individ- 
ual business.  He  is  a  great  reader,  keeping 
posted  on  all  current  events.  He  is  a  deep 
thinker,  has  an  excellent  memory  and  is  a 
very  interesting  conversationalist.  He  is 
held  in  high  esteem  by  all  who  know  him. 


JOHN  O.  HENRY. 

Mr.  Henry  is  identified  with  the  financial, 
commercial  and  social  life  of  Richland 
county,  having  succeeded  in  building  up  a 
prosperous  banking  business.  He  has  been 
entrusted  by  his  fellow  citizens  with  the 
office  of  Mayor  of  Noble,  Illinois,  and  dur- 
ing his  term  performed  the  duties  of  office 
with  dignity  and  credit.  He  has  been  re- 
turned as  Supervisor  of  Noble  township  at 
two  succeeding  elections.  And  this  is  but 
a  chapter  from  the  life  of  a  man  of  thirty- 
five  years  of  age. 

John  O.  Henry  is  the  son  of  Mason  and 
Lucy  Henry.  On  his  father's  side  he  comes 
of  sturdy  Irish  pioneer  stock,  his  grand- 


478 


HIOGKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


father's  parents  being  natives  of  Cork 
county,  Ireland.  His  father,  a  native  of  Il- 
linois, removed  to  Lawrenceburg,  Missouri, 
and  there,  in  1845,  Mr-  Henry  was  born. 
In  his  sixth  year  he  came  with  his  family 
to  Noble,  Illinois,  which  has  been  his  home 
ever  since,  and  where  in  company  with  his 
four  brothers  and  two  sisters  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  education.  Upon  leaving 
school  he  entered  business  life  where  his 
strenuous  efforts  and  affable  manner  soon 
brought  him  to  the  forefront. 

The  year  1902  marked  an  important 
epoch  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Henry.  In  that 
year  he  married  Bessie  Shannon,  prominent 
in  Noble  society  circles,  whose  father,  Wil- 
liam Shannon,  had  the  distinction  of  serv- 
ing his  country  all  through  the  Civil  war. 

In  addition  to  directing  the  affairs  of  an 
ever-growing  banking  business,  Mr.  Henry 
is  active  as  a  stock  buyer.  He  is  reputed  to 
be  an  excellent  judge  of  stock,  and  it  is 
said  he  pays  a  good  price  for  anything  he 
fancies. 

As  a  public  man,  Mr.  Henry  is  thorough- 
ly clean  and  conscientious.  He  has  a  sane 
conception  of  public  interests;  never  allows 
himself  to  be  swayed  by  prejudice  or  party 
feelings ;  and  is  an  alert  student  of  the 
needs  of  the  day.  He  is  broad-minded  and 
tolerant,  and  the  many  occasions  he  has  had 
during  his  public  career  to  display  his  pub- 
lic spirit  have  indelibly  marked  him  as  a 
most  desirable  citizen.  His  integrity  and 
practical  common  sense  combine  to  give 
him  a  high  place  in  a  community  where  he 
is  most  popular.  He  has  a  praiseworthy 


ambition  to  be  of  further  service  to  his 
town  and  county,  and  many  prophesy  for 
him  a  higher  place  in  public  life  than  he 
has  heretofore  attained. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  are  prominent 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  lead  a  happy  domestic  life. 


JAMES  MARSHALL  KINKADE. 

The  old-fashioned  notion  that  hard  work, 
patient  industry,  and  far-sightedness  make 
for  success  in  the  various  avenues  of  life 
does  not  seem  to  be  accepted  so  unreserved- 
ly in  our  day.  The  spread  of  pessimism 
engendered  by  many  phases  of  our  complex 
life  is  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for 
the  lack  of  faith  in  the  old  idea.  However, 
if  we  observe  conditions  closely  we  will  find 
that  the  intelligent  individual,  who  leads  a 
practical  and  industrious  life,  will  reach  a 
point  of  success  commensurate  with  his  ef- 
forts. The  life  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
will  afford  us  an  instance  of  this. 

James  Marshall  Kinkade,  of  Preston 
township,  Richland  county,  Illinois  was  born 
October  22,  1845.  in  Hardin  county,  Ken- 
tucky. He  was  the  son  of  James  and  Mar- 
tha A.  Kinkade.  his  mother's  maiden  name 
being  Veach.  Both  were  natives  of  Hard- 
in county,  as  were  their  parents  before 
them  and  both  came  originally  of  Irish 
stock.  In  the  fall  of  1850.  then  being  five 
years  of  age.  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
came  with  his  parents  from  Hardin  county. 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


479 


Kentucky.  The  journey  was  a  formidable 
one  in  those  days.  The  wagons  of  the  pio- 
neer had  to  be  requisitioned;  the  Ohio  had 
to  be  crossed  by  ferry  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, camping  out  was  a  necessity.  Added 
to  this  were  the  usual  strain  and  restless  ex- 
pectation which  always  attended  such 
journeys.  They  landed  eventually  in  Shel- 
by county,  Illinois,  where  his  father  rented 
a  farm  remaining  on  the  same  for  two 
years.  Then  they  moved  to  Richland 
county,  where  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  government  land  was  purchased  at  the 
then  current  price  of  one  dollar  and  twenty- 
five  cents  an  acre.  The  place  was  then  in 
the  original  state  of  wildness  and  its  ap- 
pearance bespoke  years  of  hard  and  unre- 
mitting labor  to  bring  it  to  perfection.  Un- 
daunted, the  elder  Kinkade  set  about  the 
task,  and  at  once  started  building  a  house 
for  his  family  upon  the  property,  in  the 
meantime  placing  them  for  safety  under  the 
roof  of  the  log  cabin  of  another  family  at 
the  next  settlement.  The  house  erected 
was  a  frame  one,  being  the  first  of  that  de- 
scription built  in  what  is  now  Preston 
township.  Having  added  barns  and  other 
buildings  he  moved  the  family  into  their 
new  home.  This  was  at  a  period  eight  or 
ten  years  before  the  district  had  been  sur- 
veyed. There  were  no  roads.  People 
drove  haphazardly  about  over  cow-paths 
and  trails.  Upon  the  official  survey  being 
made,  the  elder  Kinkade  was  elected  Super- 
visor and  as  the  township  was  as  yet  un- 
named the  process  of  christening  it  was  left 
to  the  father  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch. 


He  named  it  Preston  township  which  name 
it  bears  today.  In  the  period  we  are  refer- 
ring to  the  antiquated  horse-mills  were  in 
use.  It  was  customary  for  people  to  bring 
"grist  to  the  mill"  on  horseback,  utilizing 
the  horses  on  their  arrival  to  grind  their 
produce.  Whole  wheat  flour  and  that  of 
the  coarse  variety  were  in  use  at  that  time. 
The  process  of  evolution  asserting  itself, 
later  on  the  windmill  superseded  the  horse 
as  motor  power.  Old  time  methods  ruled 
in  the  agricultural  line.  In  the  planting  of 
corn  it  was  usual  to  hitch  three  yoke  of 
oxen  to  the  plow.  At  every  third  furrow 
corn  was  dropped  in  and  the  soil  turned 
over  upon  it.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  re- 
members this  process  perfectly  and  many 
youthful  days  spent  in  assisting  his  father 
in  the  operation.  As  another  instance  of 
the  backwardness  of  agricultural  life  at  this 
time  the  threshing  machine  had  not  yet  ap- 
peared on  the  scene.  Threshing  was  done 
in  this  manner:  The  sheaves  of  wheat 
were  laid  upon  the  ground  in  a  circle  and 
horses  were  ridden  around  over  them. 
When  one  side  was  threshed,  or  more  liter- 
ally, trampled  out,  the  sheaves  were  turned 
and  the  process  repeated.  The  elder  Kin- 
kade continued  to  improve  the  farm  all 
through  this  time,  fencing  and  erecting  out- 
buildings. He  obtained  his  timber  supply 
from  a  plantation  of  eighty  acres  which 
stood  in  his  land. 

James  Marshall  Kinkade  remained  at 
home  on  the  farm  until  his  twenty-first 
year.  Afterwards,  as  something  of  a 
change  he  hired  out  with  neighboring 


48o 


inOCKAI'HICAL    A.NI)    KEMIXISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


farmers.  When  past  his  twenty-third  birth- 
day lie  married  Margaret  J.  Upton,  on  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1869,  at  which  time  he  erected  the 
home  he  now  lives  in  on  the  family  prop- 
erty, and  having  purchased  forty  acres  from 
his  father  settled  down  to  farm.  His 
parents  continued  to  live  in  the  nearby 
home  until  the  fall  of  1884,  when  they 
bought  town  property  in  Dundas,  Preston 
township,  whither  they  moved,  and  where 
they  remained  until  their  demise.  The  el- 
der James  Kinkade  was  born  October  26, 
1817,  married  April  9,  1838,  as  before 
stated,  in  Harclin  county,  Kentucky,  and 
died  August  23,  1893.  His  wife  preceded 
him  February  3.  1891.  Both  are  buried  in 
Dundas  cemetery,  Preston  township.  Du- 
ring their  married  life  they  reared  nine  chil- 
dren, five  boys  and  four  girls,  of  which 
James  Marshall  Kinkade  was  fourth  in  or- 
der of  birth.  Seven  of  the  family  grew  to 
maturity,  while  one  died  at  the  age  of  ten 
years. 

The  mother  of  James  Marshall  Kinkade 
was  born  August  n,  1816,  in  Hardin 
county,  Kentucky.  On  her  marriage  she 
left  the  home  of  her  parents  who  were  also 
natives  Kentuckians,  and  who  died  in  their 
native  state.  She  was  one  of  seven  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  grew  up. 

Margaret  J.  Upton,  the  wife  of  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch,  whom  he  married  in 
1869,  was  born  in  Richland  county,  Preston 
township,  October  n,  1852.  and  was  the 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Cynthia  Upton,  na- 
tives of  Ohio,  whose  parents  originally 
came  from  Kentucky.  Her  parents  married 
in  September,  1851.  in  Mercer  county. 


Ohio.  In  1851,  her  father  and  grandfather 
went  to  Iowa  in  search  of  land,  when  not 
finding  a  suitable  location  they  turned  their 
faces  toward  Richland  county,  Illinois,  in 
which  they  settled  on  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  paying  the  government  price  of  one 
dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  an  acre.  Upon 
settling  in  Illinois  they  sent  to  Ohio  for 
their  families.  They  remained  in  the  new 
location  for  three  years  when  they  sold  out 
and  purchased  another  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  prairie  and  eighty  acres  of 
timber  which  they  settled  on  and  where 
Grandmother  Upton  died.  Grandfather  Up- 
ton surviving  her  a  few  years  and  dying 
upon  what  is  known  as  the  Hill  farm.  He 
had  reached  his  seventieth  year.  The 
younger  people,  Isaac  and  his  wife,  re- 
mained on  the  farm  at  Dundas,  Illinois 
( Preston  township)  until  the  time  of  their 
death.  Mrs.  Upton  died  at  the  age  of 
thirty-one,  in  the  year  1866.  Her  husband 
survived  her  several  years,  dying  Decem- 
ber 13,  1889,  aged  fifty-seven  years,  two 
months  and  two  days.  The  couple  were  the 
parents  of  six  children — five  growing  to 
maturity,  one  dying  in  infancy.  The  wife 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  oldest 
of  her  family. 

During  his  long  farming  life,  James 
Marshall  Kinkade  prospered,  and  he  now 
owns  one  hundred  and  five  acres  of  rich 
farm  land  and  which  has  been  painstakingly 
improved  and  admirably  cultivated  under 
his  supervision.  He  leads  a  very  happy 
family  life  and  has  had  three  children  born 
to  him.  Two  grew  to  maturity  while  one 
died  in  earlv  life.  Qf  his  children,  Luella 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


481 


became  the  wife  of  Allison  T.  Phillips,  a 
well  known  accountant  in  Casper,  Wyoming, 
and  James  I.  has  been  an  employee  of  the 
Illinois  Central  for  several  years  on  which 
road  he  is  a  brakeman. 

In  early  life  James  Marshall  Kinkade  ob- 
tained a  better  education  than  many  in  the 
township.  He  spent  a  term  of  six  months 
in  the  subscription  schools,  after  which  he 
attended  the  free  common  schools  until  his 
twenty-first  year.  In  his  school-boy  days 
he  was  considered  a  very  apt  pupil ;  and  his 
early  training  has  been  of  much  benefit  to 
him  in  after  years. 

In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  is  an 
ardent  admirer  of  William  Jennings  Bryan. 
He  has  been  quite  active  in  township  af- 
fairs where  his  ability  and  practical  com- 
mon sense  have  received  recognition.  He 
has  been  for  some  time  Road  Commissioner, 
an  office  for  which  he  is  well  fitted  and 
which  he  still  holds.  He  served  a  term 
of  nine  years  as  Treasurer  of  schools  in 
Preston  township.  In  religion  his  wife  is 
a  member  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  church 
at  Dundas.  Preston  township,  Richland 
county,  Illinois. 


ROBERT  HAMILTON  CHAPMAN.  . 

The  blue  blood  of  the  Hamiltons,  who 
were  so  prominent  in  those  troublous  days 
when  the  American  forefathers  were  sac- 
rificing their  life's  blood  for  that  priceless 
boon — liberty,  flows  through  the  veins  of 


Robert  Hamilton  Chapman,  he  being  a  de- 
scendant of  the  distinguished  Alexander 
Hamilton,  who  was  so  closely  identified 
with  the  early  history  of  the  republic  as 
secretary  of  the  treasury  in  President 
Washington's  cabinet.  Being  a  man  of 
great  energy,  with  a  determination  to  ac- 
complish perfectly  whatever  task  he  set  out 
to  perform  the  subject  of  this  sketch  can 
look  back  over  a  very  busy  career.  Al- 
though he  has  been  a  resident  of  Noble 
township,  Richland  county,  but  a  short  time 
he  has  many  friends  who  admire  him  for 
his  sterling  qualities. 

Mr.  Chapman  was  bom  in  Kent  county, 
Michigan,  March  n,  1853.  His  father  was 
Anthony  Chapman,  who  moved  from  New 
York  to  Michigan  in  1828.  His  mother's 
maiden  name  was  Adeline  Hamilton,  and 
she  was  a  native  of  New  York.  Four  chil- 
dren were  born  to  the  couple,  viz:  Malina 
(Potter):  Edwena  (Doris):  Robert,  the 
subject,  and  Amherst  Cheney. 

The  subject  was  wedded  to  Ida  Kent, 
December  23,  1876.  She  was  born  in  Wil- 
liams county,  December  23,  1856.  Her 
father  lineally  came  from  Irish  stock,  and 
was  born  in  1810.  Her  mother  was  Sarah 
(Kearns)  Kent,  and  was  of  German  ances- 
try. Her  father  was  a  pioneer  in  Ohio,  and 
when  he  settled  in  Williams  county,  it  was 
in  a  very  wild  state,  being  practically  a 
wilderness.  He  entered  upon  the  task  of 
clearing  this  land,  with  vigor,  and  eventual- 
ly concerted  the  unbroken  forest  into  fruit- 
ful fields.  Incidentally  he  made  "good  In- 
dians" out  of  several  verv  bad  Indians.  Mr. 


482 


r.KlCRAI'HICAL    AND    KKMIXISCKXT    HISTORY    Of 


Kent  helped  build  the  first  court-house  that 
was  erected  in  Williams  county. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chapman  are  the  parents 
of  five  children,  namely;  Robert,  bom  May 
20,  1878,  is  a  prosperous  farmer  and  car- 
penter in  Alberta,  Canada;  Pearl  (Mrs.  Bil- 
lings) was  born  October  17,  1879,  resides 
in  Noble  township,  her  husband  being  man- 
ager of  a  tile  and  brick  factory.  She  has 
three  children.  Hazel,  Myrtle  and  Claude. 
George,  born  August  31,  1882,  is  a  black- 
smith, of  Alberta.  Canada,  where  also  re- 
sides Ruby  (Mrs.  Davis),  who  was  born 
July  9,  1886,  has  two  children.  Daisy  and 
Dorothy.  Barney  Kent,  l>orn  April  20, 
1888.  is  also  a  resident  of  Canada. 

Mr.  Chapman  was  a  carpenter,  fanner 
and  lumber  dealer  until  he  removed  to  Lake 
Arthur,  Louisiana,  in  1888,  where  he  con- 
fined himself  to  his  first  named  trade.  In 
1892  the  family  made  another  change,  re- 
moving to  Richmond.  Texas,  where  Mr. 
Chapman  combined  the  pursuit  of  agricul- 
ture with  mechanical  labor.  The  great  Gal- 
veston  storm  and  tidal  wave  of  1900,  which 
created  so  much  devastation,  moved  him  to 
dispose  of  his  interests  in  Texas,  and  to  re- 
move to  Noble  township,  where  he  worked 
as  a  blacksmith  until  1901,  when  he  de- 
cided to  try  his  fortunes  in  Alberta,  Can- 
ada, where  the  majority  of  his  children 
were  living,  and  shortly  upon  his  arrival 
there  he  acquired  a  homestead.  After  five 
years'  residence  in  Canada  the  family  re- 
turned to  Noble,  where  they  purchased  a  de- 
sirable farm  on  which  they  have  placed 
many  improvements  in  the  way  of  modern 
machinerv  for  its  cultivation. 


Throughout  his  life  Mr.  Chapman  has 
been  imbued  with  the  war  spirit,  and  his 
first  attempt  to  serve  his  country  was  dur- 
ing the  civil  strife,  when  he  tried  to  enter 
as  a  drummer  boy,  but  much  to  his  chagrin 
was  refused  on  account  of  his  tender  years. 
He  volunteered  for  Spanish-American  war 
service  at  Rosenburg.  Texas.  1898,  but 
failed  to  pass  the  examination,  hence  he  has 
given  up  all  hope  of  ever  satisfying  his 
thirst  for  military  glory.  He  has  been  a  life- 
long Democrat.  He  is  the  possessor  of  a 
modest  competence,  and  he  and  his  wife 
live  in  a  very  comfortable  dwelling,  happy 
in  the  knowledge  that  they  will  be  able  to 
live  a  life  of  ease  in  the  declining  years  of 
their  life. 


ELI  W.  JONES. 

The  honored  subject  of  this  sketch  has 
lived  to  see  Marion  county  develop  from 
the  wild  prairie  and  primeval  forests  in- 
habited by  wild  animals  and  a  few  pioneer 
settlers  to  its  present  magnificent  prosperity, 
its  elegant  homes,  comfortable  public  build- 
ings, fertile  farms  and  thriving  cities;  and 
he  has  played  no  small  part  in  this  great 
work  of  transformation. 

Eli  W.  Jones  was  born  in  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  April  20,  1839,  the  son  of  James 
and  Laura  (Luelen)  Jones,  the  former  hav- 
ing been  born  in  October,  1795,  in  Georgia, 
near  where  Atlanta  now  stands.  He  came 
to  Illinois  in  1814  and  was  in  the  War  of 
1812,  having  served  two  short  terms  guard- 
ing the  surveyors  when  the  state  was  sur- 


UCHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


veyed.  He  was  in  Captain  Schurtz's  com- 
pany. He  married  in  Bond  county,  Illinois, 
at  Keysport,  in  1823,  and  came  to  Marion 
county  soon  afterward,  where  he  settled 
among1  the  earliest  pioneers  and  where  he 
lived  until  his  death,  August  29,  1865.  He 
devoted  his  life  to  farming.  He  was  a  very- 
pious  man,  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church  and  an  exhorter.  He  entered  gov- 
ernment land  in  this  county  which  he  im- 
proved and  put  a  part  of  it  in  cultivation. 
There  were  some  Indians  here  at  the  time. 
He  was  a  Democrat  until  the  time  of  Frank- 
lin Pierce,  when  he  turned  Republican.  He 
was  always  opposed  to  slavery.  He  never 
took  much  interest  in  politics,  but  devoted 
his  time  to  the  farm  and  the  church.  The 
mother  of  the  subject  was  born  in  Kentucky, 
December  i,  1806,  and  died  February  26, 
1885. 

Eli  W.  Jones  spent  his  boyhood  days 
much  like  the  other  boys  of  his  time,  in  as- 
sisting with  the  work  on  his  father's  farm 
and  attending  school  in  the  country  district 
for  a  short  time  during  the  winter,  receiv- 
ing a  meager  education. 

When  the  national  government  was  in 
need  of  loyal  supporters  to  defend  its  in- 
tegrity it  found  no  more  willing  patriot  than 
our  subject,  who  enlisted  in  1861  at  the 
beginning  of  hostilities  in  the  Twenty- 
sixth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  being  as- 
signed to  Company  H,  under  command  of 
Colonel  Loomis  and  Capt.  A.  B.  Morrison. 
He  faithfully  and  gallantly  served  for  four 
years  when  he  had  a  leg  shot  off,  having 
been  shattered  bv  a  minie-ball  in  Sherman's 


last  big  fight,  which  fact  causes  him  to 
wear  an  artificial  leg.  He  never  missed  a 
battle  or  a  march  until  losing  his  leg.  He 
was  in  the  famous  march  to  the  sea,  in  the 
battle  of  Corinth,  the  siege  of  Vicksburg, 
the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge  and  out  of 
fifty-seven  smaller  engagements  was  never 
defeated.  He  is  remembered  by  his  gov- 
ernment for  his  gallantry  with  a  pension  of 
forty-six  dollars.  He  was  never  in  the  hos- 
pital a  day  while  in  the  army  until  he  was 
wounded.  He  spent  ten  days  in  the  ambu- 
lance beore  finding  a  hospital. 

Mr.  Jones  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mary  Rymon,  August  28,  1860.  When  he 
went  away  to  war  he  left  a  little  baby,  three 
months  old.  His  wife  was  born  December 
31,  1839,  the  daughter  of  Justus  R.  Rymon, 
who  was  born  November  14,  1808.  The 
mother  of  the  subject's  wife  was  Martha 
Dickens  in  her  maidenhood.  She  was  born 
July  26,  1816.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rymon  were 
married  May  4,  1836.  Mr.  Rymon  was  a 
preacher  and  a  doctor  and  was  a  prominent 
man  in  his  community.  He  was  called  from 
his  earthly  labors  February  24,  1878,  and 
his  wife  passed  to  her  rest  January  i,  1881. 

The  following  children  have  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jones:  J.  T.,  a  well  known 
physician  of  Salem,  Illinois,  who  is  at  pres- 
ent unable  to  practice  on  account  of  failing 
health.  He  married  Carrie  E.  Bennett  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  two  children.  Logan 
M.,  the  subject's  second  child,  was  born 
November  i,  1864,  and  died  in  1873;  Flora 
was  born  May  10,  1868,  and  died  Novem- 
ber 9,  1873. 


484 


moCKAI'lIICAL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Our  subject  was  for  many  years  a  breeder 
of  fine  horses  and  hogs  and  the  owner  of 
some  high  grade  imported  stallions  and 
others  of  fine  variety. 

Mr.  Jones  has  always  been  a  loyal  Re- 
publican, having  cast  his  first  vote  for  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  In  1872  he  was  elected  Cir- 
cuit Clerk  of  Marion  county,  being  the  first 
Republican  clerk  the  county  ever  had. 
This  shows  Mr.  Jones's  great  popularity  in 
his  own  county.  He  faithfully  served  in 
this  capacity,  giving  entire  satisfaction  to 
all  concerned.  He  has  also  served  his  town- 
ship as  School  Trustee,  was  the  first  Town 
Clerk  of  Foster  and  is  at  present  Justice 
of  the  Peace.  He  is  regarded  as  being  en- 
tirely fair  in  his  decisions.  He  served  as 
Supervisor  of  Patoka  township  for  one  term 
of  two  years.  He  is  well  known  politically, 
and  he  is  held  in  high  favor  by  all  who 
know  him. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  HEAP. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Heap,  living  in  sec- 
tion 23,  Olney  township,  was  born  January 

26,  1847,  in  this  township.     He  is  the  son 
of  Isaiah  and  Rachael  (Powell)  Heap,  the 
former  3  native  of  Guernsey  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  was  reared.     When  a  young  man 
he  came  to    Richland  county,  Illinois,  and 
entered   government   land   in   Olney   town- 
ship, where  he  lived  until  his  death,  April 

27,  1 88 1,   having   improved   a   farm.      He 
was  among  the    pioneers    of   that  section. 
Isaiah  Heap  was  a  soldier    in    the  Union 


army  in  the  Civil  war,  for  about  a  year, 
having  been  a  member  of  Company  E,  Sixth 
Illinois  Cavalry.  His  wife  survived  him. 
dying  February  23,  1905.  She  was  born 
in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1824, 
and  when  two  years  old  was  taken  to  Win- 
chester, Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  where  she 
was  reared.  When  ten  years  old  she  was 
left  an  orphan.  In  1840  she  came  to  Rich- 
land  county,  Illinois,  with  James  Wilson 
and  family,  who  were  relatives.  She  entered 
land  with  a  warrant  issued  to  her  by  her 
father  for  services  in  the  War  of  1812. 
She  joined  the  United  Brethren  church  in 
1842,  at  a  log  school-house,  a  short  distance 
from  her  home  and  in  the  winter  of  1877 
united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
at  Calhoun.  She  lived  to  see  four  genera- 
tions of  her  family  living.  She  was  a 
woman  of  beautiful  characteristics. 

Benjamin  F.  Heap,  our  subject,  was 
reared  on  the  old  homestead,  where  he  re- 
mained assisting  with  the  work  until  eight- 
een years  old,  attending  school  in  the  winter 
months.  Like  his  father  he  was  patriotic, 
and  on  March  28,  1865,  enlisted  writh  the 
former,  becoming  a  member  of  Company  E, 
Sixth  Illinois  Cavalry.  A  year  earlier  he 
quit  school  and  offered  his  services,  but  was 
rejected  on  account  of  his  youth.  He  was 
mustered  out  at  Selma,  Alabama,  and  was 
discharged  December  25,  1865.  He  was 
on  the  march  most  of  the  time  during  his 
service  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Alabama 
and  Florida.  After  the  war  he  was  sick 
about  a  year  as  a  result  of  his  exposure  in 
the  service,  then  he  began  work  as  a  farm 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


hand,  later  renting  land  and  began  for  him- 
self. He  now  owns  a  farm  of  eighty  acres, 
three  and  one-half  miles  south  of  Olney, 
where  he  has  lived  many  years  and  which 
he  lias  improved  and  which  produces  ex- 
cellent crops  from  year  to  year  under  his 
efficient  management.  He  devotes  consid- 
erable time  to  the  manufacture  of  brooms, 
finding  a  ready  market  for  his  product 
which  is  of  fine  quality  and  excellent  work- 
manship. He  raises  large  quantities  of 
broom-corn  on  the  farm. 

Mr.  Heap  was  united  in  marriage  March 
6,  1 870,  to  Mary  D.  Wilson,  who  was  born 
March  19,  1847,  'n  Guernsey  county,  Ohio, 
then  living  in  Coles  county,  Illinois.  Mrs. 
Heap  is  the  daughter  of  William  J.  and 
Mary  (Powell)  Wilson,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  Virginia,  who  emigrated  to  Ohio 
with  his  parents,  his  wife  having  been  born 
in  Pennsylvania  and  moved  to  Ohio  with  her 
parents  when  seven  years  old.  The  subject's 
great-grandfather  Powell  was  a  soldier 
in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  Grandfather 
Powell  was  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812. 
The  latter  also  had  three  brothers,  David, 
John  and  Benjamin,  in  the  War  of  1812. 
Two  brothers  of  Mrs.  Heap,  Abel  and  Wil- 
liam Wilson,  served  in  the  Civil  war,  Wil- 
liam dying  in  the  service  of  the  Seventh 
Illinois  Cavalry,  at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas, 
about  a  year  after  his  enlistment.  The  par- 
ents of  Mrs.  Heap  emigrated  to  Coles  coun- 
ty. Illinois,  in  1861.  where  her  father  died 
at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  The  mother  died 
in  Wright  county,  Iowa,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four  years.  Mrs.  Heap  is  from  a 


family  of  long  longevity.  Her  grandfather 
lacked  but  a  few  days  of  being  one  hundred 
years  old  when  he  died. 

Three  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife:  Carrie,  who  was  born  April 
22.  1871,  is  the  wife  of  Owen  Hudson,  of 
Vancouver,  Washington;  Mark  O.  was 
born  March  8,  1874,  is  a  carpenter  in  Rich- 
land  county;  Karl  L.,  born  September  22, 
1876,  is  a  veteran  of  the  Spanish- American 
war,  and  a  farmer  in  North  Dakota.  He 
served  one  year  in  Cuba  with  Company  H, 
Fourth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry. 

Mr.  Heap  is  a  stanch  Republican  and  a 
member  of  the  Ed.  Ketchell  Post,  No.  662, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  He  is  honest 
in  his  dealings  with  his  fellow  men  and 
one  of  the  well  known  citizens  of  the  countv. 


JAMES  S.  MORTON,  M.  D. 

Concentration  of  purpose  and  persistently 
applied  energy  rarely  fail  of  success  in  the 
accomplishment  of  any  task  however  great, 
and  in  tracing  the  career  of  Dr.  Morton, 
a  well  known  physician  of  Vernor,  Marion 
county,  it  is  plainly  seen  that  these  things 
have  been  the  secrets  of  his  rise  to  a  po- 
sition of  prominence  and  respectability. 
Moreover  he  possesses  genuine  love  for  his 
work  and  regards  it  as  a  privilege  to  carry 
comfort  and  aid  to  the  sick  and  suffering. 

Dr.  James  S.  Morton  was  born  in  Clin- 
ton, Alabama,  September  8,  1864,  the  son  of 
Samuel  and  Julia  (Bizzell)  Morton.  His 


486 


nnxiKAI'IIH'AL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


father  was  born  in  Belfast,  Ireland,  March 
28,  1827,  and  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1852,  landing  in  New  Orleans,  soon  af- 
terward coming  on  to  Clinton,  Alabama, 
where  he  remained  for  a  short  time  when 
he  began  the  study  of  medicine,  later  attend- 
ing the  University  of  Pennsylvania  from 
which  institution  he  graduated  with  honor, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Alabama  and 
became  one  of  the  state's  most  able  physi- 
cians. He  came  to  Patoka,  Illinois,  in  1868 
and  went  to  farming,  five  miles  northwest 
of  that  town.  He  came  to  Vemon  in  1872 
for  the  purpose  of  resuming  the  practice  of 
medicine  which  he  continued  with  much 
success  until  his  death  July  10,  1906.  He 
was  one  of  a  family  of  ten  children  and  he 
came  to  America  unaccompanied.  The 
mother  of  our  subject  was  born  near  Golds- 
borough,  North  Carolina,  in  1841.  The 
parents  of  our  subject  were  married  in  1860, 
and  to  them  the  following  children  were 
born :  Andrew  B.,  who  became  a  physician, 
died  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight;  James  S. 
was  the  second  in  order  of  birth ;  John  died 
in  infancy;  Eliza  P.,  who  is  thirty-eight 
years  old  at  this  writing,  married  William 
Binnion.  They  have  three  children  and  are 
living  in  Vernon,  Illinois.  Samuel,  the  third 
child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Morton,  died 
when  three  years  old ;  George  died  in  in- 
fancy ;  Anna  is  thirty-five  years  old,  is  single 
and  living  with  the  subject. 

Doctor  Morton  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  Vernon,  this  county,  where  he  at- 
tended the  common  schools  and  made  a 
splendid  record.  Being  ambitious  to  follow 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  worthy  father  in  the 


medical  profession,  he  went  to  Valparaiso, 
Indiana,  where  he  took  a  course  in  the  uni- 
versity from  1880  to  1883,  after  which  he 
entered  Rush  Medical  College  in  Chicago  in 
1884,  from  which  institution  he  graduated 
with  high  honors  in  1887,  and  he  has  been 
engaged  in  practice  in  Vernon,  Illinois,  ever 
since,  being  the  oldest  doctor  here. 


C.  R.  DAVIS. 

Any  volume  which  ventures  to  give  any- 
thing like  a  comprehensive  enumeration, 
biographically,  of  the  prominent  citizens  of 
Clay  county,  Illinois,  must  necessarily  be 
incomplete  without  inclusion  of  the  life  his- 
tory of  C.  R.  Davis,  the  popular  editor  and 
proprietor  of  two  newspapers  of  large  cir- 
culation— The  Toledo  and  The  Louisville 
Republican.  In  his  sphere  of  endeavor  he 
has  earnestly  sought  to  expound  and  incul- 
cate the  higher  ideals  of  citizenship;  and 
not  even  the  modesty  characteristic  of  him 
has  prevented  his  obtaining  recognition  as 
a  moulder  of  public  opinion  in  his  section 
of  the  state. 

Our  subject  was  born  in  Maysville,  then 
the  county  seat  of  Clay  county,  on  the  28th 
day  of  January,  1844.  He  was  the  son  of 
John  W.  Davis  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Mary  Bishop.  John  W.  Davis 
was  a  well  known  figure  in  the  political  life 
of  the  state  in  his  day,  and  for  many  years 
of  his  life  held  responsible  official  positions 
of  trust.  He  provided  well  for  his  family 
and  lived  a  well  ordered  life.  C.  R.  Davis 
spent  his  youth  in  the  shelter  of  the  paternal 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


homestead  and  being  eighteen  years  of  age 
during  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  in  July  of 
the  year  1862  and  served  as  a  soldier,  par- 
ticipating in  many  engagements,  until  Sep- 
tember. 1865.  His  first  vote  as  a  citizen 
was  recorded  during  this  time  and  was  cast 
for  Abraham  Lincoln  while  at  the  front  in 
Georgia  in  1864.  On  returning  from  the 
war  he  entered  a  printing  office  in  Louis- 
ville and  there  learned  the  various  phases  of 
the  printing  trade,  serving  an  apprenticeship 
of  three  years. 

In  the  year  1871,  in  partnership  with  an- 
other, he  launched  the  publication  of  a 
newspaper  in  Greenup,  Illinois,  which  he 
sold  in  the  spring  of  1872.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Louisville  and  took  charge  of  the 
official  Republican  paper  of  Clay  county, 
which  he  conducted  with  marked  success. 
In  1874  he  became  the  publisher  of  The 
Baptist  Banner  for  Reverends  Kelly  and 
Allen  at  Ewing.  Franklin  county.  In  1876 
he  was  in  Louisville  as  editor  and  pub- 
lisher of  The  Louisville  Ledger.  In  1882 
he  started  The  Farina  News  at  Farina.  Il- 
linois, which  he  conducted  for  over  nineteen 
years,  disposing  of  the  plant  on  the  loth  of 
January,  1902.  On  the  I7th  of  December, 
1901,  he  purchased  The  Pinckneyville  Ad- 
vocate, the  official  Republican  paper  of 
Perry  county.  Here  he  remained  for  four 
years  and  built  up  the  paper  when,  having 
made  it  one  of  the  best  circulating  in  the 
southern  part  of  Illinois,  he  sold  it  for  a 
good  price  and  purchased  a  job  office  in 
Centralia,  where  for  a  year  he  did  excellent 
business  and  finally  disposed  of  it  to  a 
company. 


In  October  of  the  year  1907,  gaining 
control  of  The  Toledo  Argus,  he  re-named 
it  the  Toledo  Republican  and  added  ma- 
chinery and  new  material,  making  it  an  up- 
to-date  modernly  equipped  newspaper  plant. 
The  paper  from  the  time  of  its  reorganiza- 
tion gained  in  popularity,  and  each  suc- 
ceeding week  saw  an  increase  in  its  circu- 
lation. At  the  present  time  C.  R.  Davis 
also  controls  the  destiny  of  The  Louisville 
Republican  which  was  established  in  1894. 
Both  papers  are  ably  edited  with  undi- 
minished  vigor  and  receive  all  the  benefits 
of  the  foresight  and  judgment  of  our  sub- 
ject. 

The  veteran  Republican  newspaper  edi- 
tor and  soldier  of  the  Civil  war  is  now  in 
his  sixty-fifth  year  and  indications  point  to 
his  still  being  in  the  harness  many  years 
from  today.  He  is  a  well  known  figure  at 
the  gatherings  of  Republican  newspaper 
editors  and  is  popular  with  his  confreres. 
In  fraternal  and  social  circles  the  subject 
of  our  sketch  is  a  memljer  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  local  post;  of  the 
Masonic  Order  up  to  the  Royal  Arch  de- 
gree, and  of  the  Eastern  Star.  In  religion 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church. 


JAMES   MILLER   RATCLIFF. 

To  his  own  efforts  is  the  success  of  James 
M.  Ratcliff  attributable,  for  he  started  out 
upon  his  business  career  practically  without 
capital  or  aid  from  anyone,  but  being  am- 
bitious and  industrious  he  forged  ahead  and 


488 


lUOC.k.U'HICAL    AND    KKM  I  N  ISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


is  the  owner  of  a  good  farm  in  Olney  town- 
ship, Richland  county.  This,  too,  is  the 
visible  evidence  of  his  prosperity  and  in- 
dustry, for  when  it  came  into  his  possession 
it  was  only  partly  improved  and  not  nearly 
so  productive  as  it  is  at  this  writing.  Such  a 
man  deserves  the  high  regard  in  which  he 
is  held  by  his  neighbors. 

James  M.  Ratcliff  was  born  in  Noble 
township,  Richland  county,  August  20, 
1848,  the  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Bullard) 
Ratcliff,  the  former  a  native  of  England, 
the  latter  of  Noble  township,  this  county. 
John  Ratcliff  came  to  the  United  States 
when  twelve  years  old  with  his  parents, 
William  and  Mary  Ann  (Miller)  Ratcliff. 
locating  in  Ohio,  where  they  remained  for 
a  short  time,  and,  later  came  to  Richland 
county,  taking  up  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land  in  what  is  now  Olney  town- 
ship. The  country  was  then  wild  and  un- 
inhabited. They  were  among  the  early 
pioneers.  Here  William  and  Mary  Rat- 
cliff  lived  a  number  of  years,  developing  a 
good  farm,  and  died  on  the  same,  the  for- 
mer November  8,  1868,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-eight years,  his  wife  surviving  him  sev- 
eral years. 

John  Ratcliff,  father  of  our  subject, 
born  January  27,  1823,  was  twelve  years 
old  when  he  came  to  the  United  States  with 
his  parents.  He  grew  to  manhood  in  Rich- 
land  county,  and  bought  an  unimproved 
farm  in  Olney  township  which  he  devel- 
oped into  a  good  farm,  selling  the  same  in 
a  few  years  and  engaging  in  merchandising 
at  Louisville.  Illinois,  for  a  few  vears,  later 


going  to  Texas  where  he  died  October  27, 
1900.  His  wife,  born  May  29.  1827,  also 
died  in  the  Lone  Star  state,  February  10, 
1907.  They  were  the  parents  of  thirteen 
children,  seven  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
five  of  them  living  at  this  writing,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  being  the  third  in  order 
of  birth.  When  he  was  six  years  old  the 
family  located  on  a  farm  in  Olney  town- 
ship, where  James  was  reared  and  where  he 
attended  the  common  schools,  receiving  a 
fairly  good  education.  The  father  of  the 
subject  being  a  preacher  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  James  was  compelled  to 
do  much  of  the  work  on  the  farm  and  he 
did  not  have  the  advantages  of  an  educa- 
tion that  he  desired.  He  remained  under 
his  parental  roof  until  he  was  twenty-two 
years  old,  when  he  married  and  settled  on  a 
farm  which  he  rented,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  Madison  town- 
ship, where  he  remained  for  twenty  years, 
having  thrived  from  the  first  owing  to  his 
habits  of  industry  and  economy.  Besides 
engaging  in  general  farming  he  raised 
much  good  stock. 

In  1903  Mr.  Ratcliff  bought  forty  acres 
where  he  now  lives  in  section  27,  Olney 
township,  having  previously  bought  forty 
acres  in  Madison  township.  His  farm 
shows  that  a  man  of  good  judgment  and 
business  ability  has  managed  it,  for  it 
ranks  well  with  the  modern  farms  of  this 
county  in  every  respect,  on  which  is  to  be 
found  an  excellent,  comfortable  and  con- 
venient residence. 

Mr.    Ratcliff    was    united    in    marriage 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


489 


August  27,  1870,  to  Levina  Stauffer,  a  na- 
tive of  Olney,  and  the  daughter  of  Michael 
and  Elizabeth  (Lutz)  Stauffer,  natives  of 
Pennsylvania,  who  were  early  settlers  in 
Richland  county,  near  Calhoun.  The  par- 
ents of  Mrs.  Ratcliff  died  in  Olney.  The 
subject  and  wife  are  the  parents  of  three 
children:  Cora,  born  July  2,  1871,  the  wife 
of  Harvey  Barnes,  of  Madison  township; 
Oris,  born  June  15,  1874,  who  is  living  at 
home;  Ira,  born  April  10,  1879,  married 
Elsie  Kite  and  lives  in  Vinton,  Iowa.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Ratcliff  also  have  a  (foster) 
daughter,  Lena,  who  has' been  in  their  home 
since  she  was  two  and  a  half  years  old,  and 
is  now  over  fifteen  years  old. 

In  politics  Mr.  Ratcliff  is  a  Republican. 
He  faithfully  served  on  the  School  Board 
for  a  number  of  years.  In  his  fraternal  re- 
lations he  is  a  member  of  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  at  Calhoun.  He  and 
his  family  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  in  which  he  has  been  a 
steward,  class  leader,  etc.,  for  many  years. 
He  and  his  family  are  held  in  high  favor 
by  their  neighbors  and  all  who  know  them 
for  their  clean  and  industrious  lives. 


HERBERT  D.  RYMAN,  M.  D. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  although  yet  a 
young  man,  has  won  a  wide  reputation  in 
the  medical  profession  and  shown  what  a 
man  of  careful  mental  training,  honesty  of 
purpose  and  an  abundance  of  zeal  and  per- 


sistence can  accomplish,  although  his  early 
advantages  were  none  too  nattering.  He  is 
naturally  endowed  with  the  capacities  of 
the  successful  practitioner  of  medicine,  at 
least  this  would  be  inferred,  judging  from 
the  eminent  success  he  has  attained. 

Dr.  Herbert  D.  Ryman  was  born  April 
II,  1878,  in  Vernon,  Illinois,  the  son  of 
Samuel  T.  and  Martha  S.  (Jones)  Ryman, 
the  former  having  been  born  near  Salem, 
this  county,  in  1850.  He  was  a  successful 
merchant  in  Vernon  for  many  years,  but  in 
later  life  was  a  farmer,  having  died  on  his 
farm  in  1882.  He  was  a  well  known  Re- 
publican and  took  quite  an  active  part  in 
local  political  affairs  in  Marion  county.  He 
ably  served  as  Collector,  Assessor,  Super- 
visor and  in  many  other  township  offices. 
He  was  the  son  of  old  Doctor  Ryman,  of 
Salem,  who  was  known  to  everyone  in  the 
county  during  his  residence  here.  The  Ry- 
man family  came  from  Heidelburg,  Ger- 
many, being  the  descendants  of  the  royal 
family.  One  of  them  who  was  entitled  to 
high  rank  in  Germany  died  in  1882.  The 
grandmother  of  our  subject  on  his  father's 
side  was  a  direct  descendant  of  Charles 
Dickens,  the  famous  English  novelist.  The 
mother  of  the  subject  was  bom  in  Foster 
township  in  1860  and  passed  to  her  rest  in 
1902.  She  belonged  to  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  The  subject's  paternal  grand- 
father was  a  preacher,  a  doctor  and  a  tailor 
at  Salem. 

The  subject  had  one  brother  who  is  de- 
ceased ;  one  sister  also  deceased,  and  two 
half  sisters,  one  of  whom  is  deceased.  Our 


490 


I',I(  (GRAPHICAL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    GE 


subject  is  from  a  family  of  physicians  and 
it  is  quite  natural  that  he  should  take  to  the 
medical  profession.  He  is  the  cousin  of 
Doctor  Jones,  of  Salem,  and  the  grandson 
of  old  Doctor  Ryman,  of  Salem.  His  grand- 
mother's father  was  also  a  physician. 

Dr.  Herbert  D.  Ryman  received  his  early 
education  in  Marion  county,  first  attending 
the  public  school  at  Vernon.  Being  an  am- 
bitious lad  he  applied  himself  in  a  most  as- 
siduous manner  and  made  rapid  strides  in 
his  studies.  He  entered  the  medical  col- 
lege at  Topeka,  Kansas,  from  which  he 
graduated  with  high  honors.  He  is  both  a 
registered  physician  and  pharmacist  of  Kan- 
sas and  a  registered  doctor  of  Illinois. 

After  leaving  college,  Doctor  Ryman 
practiced  for  a  short  time  in  Shawnee  coun- 
ty, Kansas,  with  much  success  from  the  first. 
Then  he  moved  back  to  Vernon,  Illinois, 
and  has  been  engaged  in  practice  here  ever 
since,  having  built  up  an  excellent  patron- 
age. 

Only  about  two  years  of  the  subject's  life 
was  spent  out  of  the  school  room  since  he 
was  six  years  old.  He  taught  school  for 
several  years  in  Kansas  where  he  became 
known  as  an  able  educator.  He  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  Richmond,  Kansas,  schools.  He 
was  also  principal  of  the  schools  at  Roches- 
ter, just  north  of  Topeka.  Through  years 
of  study  and  experience  in  teaching  and 
practice  he  has  become  a  well  educated  man 
and  is  an  interesting  conversationalist.  His 
practice  is  not  confined  to  Patoka  township, 
but  it  extends  to  remote  parts  of  the  county, 
being  often  called  on  serious  cases  and  in 


counsel  with  other  physicians,  and  his  ad- 
vice is  invariably  followed  with  flattering 
results. 

Doctor  Ryman  was  happily  married  to 
Cora  B.  Norris,  of  Vernon,  this  county, 
September  7,  1898.  She  is  an  accomplished 
and  refined  lady,  the  representative  of  an  ex- 
cellent family,  being  the  daughter  of  J.  P. 
Norris,  whose  sketch  appears  in  full  in  this 
work.  Two  interesting  children  have  been 
born  to  our  subject  and  wife,  namely: 
Christene,  who  was  six  years  old  in  Febru- 
ary, 1908;  and  Lucile,  who  was  two  years 
old  in  June,  1908.  Our  subject  was  mar- 
ried at  high  noon  and  left  at  one  o'clock 
for  Kansas.  His  wife  is  also  a  teacher  of 
much  ability,  having  taught  school  in  Kan- 
sas with  her  husband.  Doctor  Ryman  served 
as  Town  Clerk  in  Richmond,  Kansas.  He  is 
a  loyal  Republican.  The  future  to  such  a 
man  as  our  subject  holds  much  of  promise, 
for  he  is  a  man  of  genuine  worth,  ambi- 
tious and  popular,  being  well  liked  by  all 
who  know  him. 


THOMAS  RATCLIFF. 
(1824-1909.) 

Richland  county  is  characterized  by  her 
full  share  of  the  honored  and  faithful  ele- 
ment who  have  done  so  much  for  its  de- 
velopment and  upbuilding  and  the  establish- 
ing of  the  institutions  of  civilization  in  this 
fertile  and  well  favored  section.  In  this 
work  are  comprised  many  biographical  and 
memorial  sketches  of  this  class  of  citizens 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


491 


and  it  is  not  in  the  least  too  early  to  record 
in  print  the  principal  items  in  the  lives  of 
such  honest  people,  giving-  honor  to  whom 
honor  is  due.  Among  those  sturdy  pio- 
neers, if  not  pioneers  in  settlement,  at  least 
in  certain  lines  of  business  that  have  de- 
veloped along  with  the  rest  of  the  county, 
the  gentleman  whose  life  history  we  now 
take  under  review  is  properly  installed,  for 
his  eminently  useful  career  which  has  now 
been  closed  by  the  inevitable  fate  that  awaits 
us  all,  resulted  in  incalculable  good  to  this 
locality  as  many  who  revere  his  memory  can 
attest. 

Thomas  Ratcliff.  long  one  of  the  most 
widely  known  business  men  of  the  county, 
but  who  lived  in  retirement  in  the 
town  of  Olney  for  several  years  prior 
to  his  death,  was  born  in  the  County  of 
Kent,  Canterberry,  England,  April  24, 
1824.  the  son  of  William  and  Mary  Ann 
(Miller)  Ratcliff,  who  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica in  1830,  locating  at  Buffalo,  New  York, 
where  they  remained  two  years,  then  moved 
to  Richland  county,  Illinois.  William  Rat- 
cliff  had  previously  entered  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  in  what  is  now  Olney  town- 
ship, five  miles  south  of  Olney.  Here  the 
family  located,  built  a  log  house  and  began 
making  improvements,  developing  a  good 
farm,  being  among  the  pioneers.  William 
Ratcliff  died  on  the  farm  he  entered,  having 
reached  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years,  and 
his  good  wife  passed  to  her  rest  a  year  later 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  They  were  the 
parents  of  fourteen  children,  three  of  whom 
died  in  infancy,  only  one  of  the  number  is 


now  living,  Elijah,  who  is  residing  in  Osh- 
kosh,  Wisconsin.  He  was  the  eighth  in 
order  of  birth  and  our  subject  was  the  sev- 
enth. The  family  was  nine  weeks  and  three 
days  in  crossing  the  Atlantic  from  Liverpool 
to  New  York,  making  the  trip  on  the 
"Mount  Vernon,"  an  old  sailing  vessel. 

James  M.  Ratcliff,  brother  of  Thomas, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  having 
served  three  years.  Two  brothers  of  the 
subject's  mother,  George  and  John  Miller, 
came  to  the  United  States  in  an  early  day 
and  became  farmers  in  Richland  county, 
Ohio,  where  they  died. 

Thomas  Ratcliff  was  six  years  old  when 
he  came  to  the  United  States,  and  in  his 
fourteenth  year  when  he  came  to  Richland 
county,  Illinois.  He  was  here  reared  on  a 
farm  and  attended  the  subscription  schools, 
such  as  they  were  in  those  early  days,  and 
received  a  good  foundation  for  an  education 
which  in  later  life  was  supplemented  by 
home  reading  and  contact  with  the  business 
world.  He  helped  clear  and  improve  his 
father's  farm,  experiencing  many  hardships 
and  privations,  remaining  at  home  until 
1842  when  he  began  the  trade  of  black- 
smith in  the  village  of  Olney,  in  a  shop  lo- 
cated on  the  lot  owned  by  the  subject  until 
his  death.  He  served  an  apprenticeship  of 
three  years  under  James  Urie,  who  had 
come  from  Ohio  and  opened  a  shop  here. 
He  received  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
per  month,  board  and  washing.  Mr.  Rat- 
cliff  succeeded  his  employer  in  business  in 
a  little  frame  shop.  He  later  erected  a  two- 
story  brick  on  the  lots  and  conducted  the 


492 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    ()!•- 


business  for  about  thirty  years  with  splen- 
did success,  after  which  the  work  was  car- 
ried on  by  his  son  for  several  years.  In 
early  days  he  manufactured  tools,  plows, 
wagons  and  many  other  things  used  by 
farmers. 

Thomas  Ratcliff  was  united  in  marriage 
September  19,  1844,  to  Catherine  Ransted, 
a  native  of  Vigo  county,  Indiana,  who 
came  with  her  step-father  and  mother  to 
Richland  county,  Illinois,  in  1839,  her  father 
having  died  previously.  Her  mother  mar- 
ried Thomas  Ellingsworth,  a  farmer,  own- 
ing a  farm  adjoining  the  village  of  Olney; 
he  later  sold  the  same  and  bought  a  farm 
in  Claremont  township,  where  he  died.  Her 
mother  died  in  Olney  at  the  home  of  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Ratcliff.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Thomas  Ratcliff  nine  children  were  born, 
four  of  whom  are  deceased.  They  are  Albert, 
William  F..  Luther,  John,  Oscar,  George 
W.,  died  when  young;  Caroline,  Julia  Ann. 
Ida  Eudora.  Albert,  the  eldest  child,  en- 
listed in  Company  B,  Ninety-eighth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  without  mishap,  having 
been  in  many  engagements.  He  became  a 
blacksmith  and  machinist  and  carried  on 
this  business  very  successfully  for  many 
years  after  his  father  retired.  He  later 
moved  to  Princeton,  Indiana,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  similar  work,  and  where  he  died. 

After  retiring  from  blacksmithing  Mr. 
Ratcliff  was  engaged  in  the  sale  of  agricul- 
tural implements  for  several  years.  By 
years  of  hard  work  and  good  management 
he  laid  up  a  comfortable  competence. 


In  politics  Mr.  Ratcliff  was  a  Republican, 
and  served  in  several  local  positions,  having 
been  one  of  the  Supervisors  at  the  time  the 
court-house  was  built,  and  he  was  also  on 
the  building  committee.  He  also  served  as 
Alderman  of  Olney. 

On  September  19,  1908,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Thomas  Ratcliff  celebrated  the  sixty-fourth 
anniversary  of  their  marriage,  one  of  the 
leading  events  in  the  history  of  such  gather- 
ings in  the  county.  They  were  then  both  in 
good  health  and  in  full  possession  of  all 
their  faculties,  but  the  dawning  of  another 
year  meant  the  closing  of  their  beautiful 
lives  on  earth  and  the  breaking  of  a  new 
day  in  the  mystic  beyond,  for  death,  "like 
a  friend's  voice  from  a  distant  field,"  called 
them  hence,  only  a  few  days  apart,  the 
summons  coming  to  Mrs.  Ratcliff  on  Jan- 
uary 8,  1909,  and  on  January  23,  1909,  to 
her  honored  and  faithful  husband. 


CHARLES  E.  BLANKINSHIP. 

He  whose  career  we  now  take  under  con- 
sideration and  to  whom  the  reader's  atten- 
tion is  respectfully  directed  is  numbered 
among  the  progressive  and  successful  busi- 
ness men  of  Marion  county,  of  which  he  has 
been  a  resident  for  many  years,  while  he  has 
gained  prosperity  through  his  own  honest 
efforts  in  connection  with  the  development 
of  the  natural  resources  and  the  subsequent 
business  prosperity. 

Charles  E.  Blankinship  was  born  in  Fay- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


493 


ette  county,  Illinois,  August  8,  1861,  the  son 
of  Edward  and  Susannah  (Lollar)  Blank- 
inship.  Grandfather  Blankinship  was  a  na- 
tive of  Tennessee,  who  came  to  Illinois 
about  1837  and  settled  in  Fayette  county, 
on  a  farm  and  where  he  lived  until  his  death 
in  1860.  The  father  of  the  subject  was 
born  in  Tennessee  and  was  brought  here  by 
his  parents  when  a  child.  After  he  reached 
manhood  he  first  engaged  in  farming  and 
later  engaged  in  merchandising  the  balance 
of  his  life,  having  passed  to  his  rest  in  1871, 
at  the.  age  of  thirty- four  years.  The  sub- 
ject's mother  was  also  about  the  same  age 
when  she  died  in  1877.  The  father  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  church  and  the 
mother  of  the  Christian  church.  The  for- 
mer was  a  Democrat.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  five  children,  all  having  died  young 
except  our  subject. 

Charles  E.  Blankinship  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  at  Patoka  until  he  was  seven- 
teen years  old.  He  then  attended  school  at 
Valparaiso,  Indiana,  and  at  Eureka,  Illinois, 
receiving  a  good  education,  having  made  a 
splendid  record  in  each. 

After  leaving  school  he  went  to  farming 
on  his  own  account.  He  inherited  a  farm 
from  his  father  in  Marion  county  on  which 
he  remained  for  a  period  of  five  years,  mak- 
ing agriculture  a  paying  business.  He  then 
moved  to  Patoka  and  became  postmaster 
under  President  Harrison,  and  served  four 
years  under  that  appointment  and  four 
years  under  McKinley's  administration.  He 
made  a  most  efficient  public  servant  and  won 
the  approbation  of  all  in  the  community. 


and  the  high  favor  of  the  Post  Office  De- 
partment. 

Since'  he  left  the  office  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  hay,  grain  and  coal  business, 
also  has  been  handling  farming  implements 
and  is  still  in  this  line  of  business  which  he 
has  built  up  until  he  has  a  lucrative  patron- 
age, his  trade  constantly  growing  by  reason 
of  his  sound  business  principles  and  his 
courteous  and  kind  consideration  of  custo- 
mers. He  is  vice-president  of  the  local 
bank. 

Mr.  Blankinship  was  married  on  March 
9,  1882,  to  Albertine  F.  Clark,  daughter  of 
Henry  I.  and  Mary  J.  Clark.  Her  parents 
were  natives  of  Virginia,  who  settled  in 
McLean  county,  Illinois.  Her  father  died 
in  Woodford  county,  this  state.  He  was 
over  eighty  years  old  at  the  time  of  his 
death  and  he  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  War 
of  1812.  Her  mother,  a  woman  of  fine 
traits,  is  still  living  at  the  age  of  eighty 
years.  The  subject's  wife  has  one  brother, 
two  sisters  and  two  half-sisters. 

Four  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  namely:  Leta  C,  whose  date 
of  birth  occurred  in  January,  1883,  is  the 
wife  of  Robert  A.  Ward,  and  the  mother  of 
one  son;  Dean  Francis,  who  was  born  in 
August,  1885,  is  now  cashier  of  the  bank 
at  Patoka  and  is  married;  Nellie  M.,  who 
was  born  in  1887,  is  the  wife  of  Albert  J. 
Earl  and  the  mother  of  one  son ;  Clark  J., 
who  was  born  in  October,  1898,  is  living  at 
home. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  great  Ma- 
son, belonging  to  six  lodges  in  this  frater- 


494 


BIOGRAPHICAL   AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


nity,  namely:  Patoka  lodge  No.  613,  An- 
cient, Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Centralia 
Chapter  No.  93,  Cyrene  Commandery, 
Knights  Templar,  No.  23,  Centralia  Coun- 
cil No.  29,  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  Ori- 
ental Consistory  (thirty-second  degree) 
of  Chicago;  also  Chapter  253  Order 
of  the  Eastern  Star,  of  Patoka.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Modern  Wood- 
men. He  has  filled  all  the  chairs  in  the 
local  lodge  of  the  Free  Masons. 

Mrs.  Blankinship  is  a  member  of  the 
Christian  church.  Our  subject  has  long 
taken  an  active  part  in  political  and  public 
affairs,  having  served  as  Supervisor  of  the 
township,  also  Township  Collector.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  School  Board  for  nine 
consecutive  years,  and  was  Mayor  of  Patoka 
for  two  terms.  In  all  these  public  offices 
he  served  the  people  in  a  most  capable  and 
praiseworthy  manner,  eliciting  nothing  but 
favorable  comment  from  everyone,  and  be- 
cause of  his  past  honorable  record,  his  in- 
tegrity and  his  successful  enterprises,  to- 
gether with  his  gentlemanly  bearing  to  both 
stranger  and  friend,  he  is  popular  with  all. 


ADEN  KNOPH. 

Aden  Knoph,  the  well  known  president 
of  the  First  National  Bank,  of  Olney,  Illi- 
nois, was  born  in  Lawrenceville,  this  state, 
December  18,  1843,  tne  son  °f  Thompson 
and  Lucinda  (Brunson)  Knoph,  a  former 
resident  of  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  where  he 
was  born.  The  latter  was  a  native  of  Ohio. 


The  subject's  father  came  to  America  in 
1830  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Evansville,  Indiana,  operating  a 
wholesale  grocery  in  1835,  which  was  a  large 
undertaking  in  those  early  days.  In  1839 
he  located  at  Lawrenceville,  Illinois,  and 
continued  in  the  merchandise  business.  He 
was  one  of  the  original  pork  packers  of  that 
place,  having  built  up  an  extensive  business 
for  that  time,  giving  a  market  for  most  of 
the  hogs  raised  in  Southern  Illinois.  He 
retired  from  the  packing  business  in  1855. 
In  1859  he  located  in  Vincennes,  Indiana, 
and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  and 
in  1 86 1  he  came  to  Olney,  Illinois,  where 
he  was  engaged  in  business  until  1865  when 
he  retired.  He  was  successful  in  whatever 
he  undertook  and  was  a  man  of  many  ster- 
ling traits  of  character  that  made  him  in- 
fluential wherever  he  went.  He  was  called 
from  his  earthly  labors  in  1867,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-seven  years.  His  first  wife  died 
many  years  previous  and  he  re-married  the 
sister  of  his  first  life  companion,  who  passed 
away  in  Washington  before  it  was  a  state. 

The  subject's  paternal  grandfather  was 
bom  on  the  day  that  Commodore  Nelson 
bombarded  the  city  of  Copenhagen,  Den- 
mark. When  he  was  twelve  years  old  he 
went  to  sea  as  cabin  boy  and  as  he  grew  to 
manhood  he  worked  his  way  up  until  he 
became  master  of  the  ship  and  he  made 
many  long  voyages  to  foreign  lands  and 
was  several  times  around  the  globe. 

Aden  Knoph.  our  subject,  was  reared  in 
Lawrenceville,  Illinois.  His  educational  ad- 
vantages were  limited  owing  to  the  re- 


KICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


495 


verses  of  his  father  and  the  death  of  his 
mother  shortly  after  his  birth.  When  nine 
years  old  he  entered  the  store  of  his  father 
to  help  with  the  work  and  he  stood  on  a 
box  behind  the  counter  when  he  measured 
goods.  Yielding  to  his  patriotic  spirit 
when  the  war  between  the  states  began,  he 
tried  to  enlist,  but  was  rejected  when  he 
sought  to  become  a  private  in  the  Eighth 
Regiment,  Illinois  Volunteers.  He  was 
later  rejected  by  the  Fourteenth  and  Twen- 
ty-fourth Indiana  regiments.  Still  persist- 
ent lie  finally  enlisted  in  the  Ninety-eighth 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry  in  January,  1864. 
This  regiment  was  first  assigned  to  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  later  to  the  Wild- 
er Brigade.  He  served  in  a  most  gallant 
manner  until  the  close  of  the  war,  taking 
part  in  many  closely  contested  engagements. 
In  September,  1864,  Mr.  Knoph  was  pro- 
moted to  sergeant  and  on  December  5, 
1864  he  was  promoted  to  adjutant  of  the 
regiment.  He  participated  in  all  the  battles 
in  which  this  regiment  was  engaged.  He 
was  wounded  at  Selma,  Alabama,  being 
shot  twice  through  the  left  leg;  one  of  the 
bullets  he  carries  today.  He  was  mustered 
out  at  the  close  of  the  war.  July  7,  1865. 
at  Nashville,  Tennessee. 

After  the  war  our  subject  returned  to 
Olney  and  entered  the  store  of  his  father, 
where  he  remained  for  about  a  year,  when 
the  business  was  closed  out  on  account  of 
the  failing  health  of  the  subject's  father. 
Mr.  Knoph  then  turned  his  attention  to  the 
study  of  law.  entering  the  law  office  of  Hay- 
ward  &  Kitchell.  where  he  remained  for  one 


year,  making  rapid  progress.  Mr.  Kitchell 
was  later  colonel  of  the  subject's  old  regi- 
ment. The  father's  health  now  gave  way 
and  he  met  with  financial  reverses,  so  our 
subject  began  clerking  in  the  store  to  assist 
in  supporting  the  large  family,  during  the 
year  1867-68.  During  the  latter  year  he 
was  elected  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court,  and 
was  twice  re-elected,  but  he  resigned  at  the 
close  of  the  third  term,  each  term  being  of 
four  years,  after  having  given  his  constitu- 
ents entire  satisfaction  in  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  his  duties.  He  was  a  Republican 
in  a  strong  Democratic  county,  but  his  pop- 
ularity was  such  with  all  parties  that  he  was 
chosen  without  serious  opposition  for  this 
office. 

Mr.  Knoph  assisted  in  the  organization 
of  the  Olney  Electric  Light  Company,  in 
1887,  and  was  its  secretary  and  treasurer. 
He  organized  the  Olney  Elevator  Com- 
pany and  one  of  the  largest  and  most  com- 
plete elevators  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
state  was  built,  having  a  capacity  of  sixty 
thousand  bushels.  Mr.  Knoph  afterwards 
became  its  sole  owner. 

Mr.  Knoph  became  traveling  salesman  in 
1880,  for  the  Cincinnati  Wholesale  Dry 
Goods  Company,  giving  his  employers  en- 
tire satisfaction  and  showing  that  he  had 
much  native  ability  in  this  line  of  work. 

In  1882  our  subject  was  elected  president 
of  the  First  National  Bank,  of  Olney.  The 
honor  came  unsolicited  and  as  a  surprise. 
He  quit  the  road  and  entered  the  bank  and 
has  continued  as  its  president  ever  since, 
with  a  most  excellent  record,  having  built 


496 


5IOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


up  the  institution  until  it  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  soundest  institutions  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  state.  It  was  organized  De- 
cember 6,  1865,  with  a  capital  stock  of  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  its  first  offi- 
cers were:  Henry  Spring,  president;  An- 
drew Darling,  cashier:  the  first  board  of 
directors  was  William  Newell,  M.  O.  Kean, 
H.  Hayward,  J.  H.  Parker,  Jacob  Kramer 
and  Robert  Byers.  In  1877  on  account  of 
excessive  taxation  the  capital  stock  was  re- 
duced to  fifty  thousand  dollars,  at  which 
it  has  since  stood.  In  December,  1885,  the 
charter  expired  and  was  renewed.  The  bank 
first  occupied  a  small  frame  building  in  the 
east  part  of  town,  but  it  prospered  and  went 
gradually  forward  and  in  a  very  few  years 
became  one  of  the  solid  institutions  of  the 
state,  being  so  recognized  generally.  It 
was  moved  to  its  present  splendid  location 
several  years  ago  and  a  modern  block  was 
purchased  in  which  to  house  it  properly. 
It  has  the  latest  designs  in  safety  deposit 
boxes  and  all  other  necessary  equipment. 
The  deposits  in  1908  are  four  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  loans  and  discounts  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  thousand  dollars.  The  pres- 
ent officers  are  Aden  Knoph,  president; 
Deuel  Gould,  vice  president;  John  T.  Rat- 
cliff,  cashier;  Nellie  Levering,  assistant 
cashier. 

In  1878  our  subject  was  a  candidate  for 
Supreme  Clerk  of  the  Southern  District  of 
Illinois,  embracing  thirty-six  counties,  all 
Democratic,  but  he  was  defeated.  In  1894 
Mr.  Knoph  made  a  tour  through  Illinois 
with  Major  McKinley,  .  being  an  original 


McKinley  man.  At  the  request  of  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley our  subject  became  the  candidate  for 
delegate  to  the  national  convention  from 
this  district.  After  the  election  he  received 
a  letter  from  President  McKinley,  asking 
him  to  call  at  the  White  House  when  con- 
venient, for  he  desired  to  thank  Mr.  Knoph 
for  his  interest  in  the  election.  This  he  did 
later,  and  lunched  with  the  President.  He 
prizes  McKinley's  letter  very  highly.  In 
1898  Governor  Tanner,  who  was  in  the 
subject's  old  regiment  and  a  personal 
friend,  sent  a  message  to  the  subject  ask- 
ing him  to  organize  a  regiment  for  the 
Spanish-American  war,  which  resulted  in 
his  organizing  the  Nineteenth  District  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  and  Mr.  Knoph  was  elect- 
ed colonel  of  the  same,  but  it  was  not  called 
on  to  go  to  the  front,  although  it  became 
well  drilled  and  everything  was  in  readiness 
due  to  the  subject's  untiring  interest  in  the 
same. 

Mr.  Knoph's  domestic  life  began  July  i, 
1869,  when  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Carliette  Morehouse,  a  native  of  Richland 
county,  the  daughter  of  O.  B.  and  Mary 
(Elliott)  Morehouse,  natives  of  Connecticut. 
The  Morehouse  family  was  among  the  first 
settlers  in  Richland  county,  which  then  in- 
cluded a  large  territory.  The  father  of 
Mrs.  Knoph  was  the  first  white  child  born 
in  the  county.  He  was  a  farmer  and  later 
a  merchant  of  Olney.  He  and  his  wife  are 
now  living  retired. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knoph  has 
been  blessed  with  the  birth  of  three  children, 
namely:  Ada  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


497 


years ;  Edward,  who  married  Mary  Clutter, 
resides  in  Freeport,  Illinois,  being  conduc- 
tor on  the  Illinois  Central  Railway,  and 
Maud  married  Edgar  P.  Cochennour,  and 
they  reside  in  Pratt,  Kansas.  Her  husband 
is  a  conductor  on  the  Rock  Island  Railway. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  our  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  being  past 
eminent  commander  of  the  Templars.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  and  belongs  to  sev- 
eral fraternal  insurance  societies.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
while  his  wife  beongs  to  the  Episcopalian 
church. 

Mr.  Knoph  has  always  been  in  the  public 
eye  and  his  friends  have  often  sought  him 
for  various  public  offices.  At  their  solicita- 
tion he  was  a  candidate  for  nomination  for 
State  Treasurer  in  1904,  and  although  he 
received  a  large  vote  in  the  convention,  he 
failed. 

The  home  of  Mr.  Knoph  is  a  modern 
and  imposing  one.  His  private  library  is 
next  to  the  largest  in  Olney,  consisting  of 
many  choice  and  carefully  selected  vol- 
umes. Because  of  his  genuine  worth,  his 
past  record  of  usefulness  and  honor,  his 
honesty  of  purpose  and  his  friendly  dispo- 
sition, Mr.  Knoph  is  held  in  high  esteem  by 
all  who  know  him,  and  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  foremost  citizens  of  the  county. 


JOSEPH  H.  WALKER. 

The  life  of  this  venerable  and  highly  re- 
spected citizen  has  been  led  along  lines  of 
32 


honorable  and  useful  endeavor  and  has  re- 
sulted in  the  accomplishment  of  much  good 
not  only  to  himself  but  to  those  with  whom 
he  has  been  associated.  He  has  seen  the 
development  of  the  West  and  has  taken  a 
leading  part  in  it,  consequently  in  his  old 
age  he  can  look  back  over  a  life  well  spent 
and  for  which  one  should  have  no  regrets. 

Joseph  Hill  Walker  was  born  in  Beaver 
county,  Pennsylvania,  twenty  miles  from 
Pittsburg,  October  19,  1822,  and  he  lived 
there  until  1848  when  he  moved  to  Jackson 
county,  Ohio,  and  then  to  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  in  1862.  Our  subject  is  the  son  of 
William  Walker,  who  was  born  in  Beaver 
county,  the  old  Keystone  state,  in  1773.  He 
was  a  Democrat  and  a  Presbyterian.  Our 
subject  is  one  of  nine  children,  six  boys  and 
three  girls. 

Joseph  Walker  obtained  what  education 
he  could  in  the  pioneer  schools  of  his  day. 
He  bought  land  in  Marion  county  and  be- 
gan farming,  but  when  the  war  between 
the  states  began  he  gladly  left  his  work 
and  his  home  and  offered  his  services  in  de- 
fense of  the  flag,  enlisting  in  the  army  in 
the  quartermaster's  department  and  served 
three  enlistments  as  a  wagon  maker,  one 
in  West  Virginia,  one  at  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see, and  one  at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  hav- 
ing been  foreman  of  the  wagon  department 
at  the  last  named  place.  He  learned  the 
trade  of  wagon  making  in  Pittsburg,  in 
which  city  he  worked  at  his  trade  for  many 
years.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  Marion 
county  and  resumed  farming.  He  has  been 
a  hard  worker  and  has  made  all  the  ex- 
tensive improvements  on  his  farm  which 


498 


r-IOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ranks  well  with  Marion  county's  excellent 
farms.  He  has  a  good  residence  and  barn 
and  everything  about  his  place  shows  thrift. 
Our  subject  was  married  to  Josephine 
Miles,  who  was  born  in  Jackson,  Ohio,  Sep- 
tember 17,  1834.  She  came  to  this  county 
when  twenty-six  years  old.  There  was  no 
town  where  Vernon  now  stands  when  she 
came  here.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Bran- 
son and  Angeline  (Sargent)  Miles.  Bran- 
son Miles  was  born  in  1808,  in  Shenandoah 
valley  in  Virginia.  His  wife  was  born  in 
Ohio  in  1821.  Our  subject  and  wife  mar- 
ried October  9,  1850.  His  wife  and  family 
drove  from  Ohio  to  Vandalia  on  the  old 
National  Turnpike  and  from  Vandalia  to 
Marion  county  during  the  war.  The  follow- 
ing children  have  been  born  to  the  subject 
and  wife.  Angeline,  born  December  3,  1851, 
married  Abner  Moore,  who  is  in  the  real 
estate  and  insurance  business  at  Irving,  Illi- 
nois. They  are  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren. Frank,  the  subject's  second  child, 
was  born  in  1854,  and  died  in  March,  1875; 
Miles,  born  August  29,  1857,  married  Emily 
Johnson.  He  is  engaged  in  the  creamery 
business  in  Ewing,  Missouri.  They  have 
four  children.  Thomas  B.,  born  February 
25,  1860,  married  Nora  Jackson,  later  mar- 
rying Mary  Taylor,  three  children  having 
been  born  by  the  first  union  and  one  by  the 
second  union.  Thomas  B.  is  station  agent 
at  Patoka.  Ellen,  the  subject's  fifth  child, 
was  born  June  5,  1864.  She  married 
Charles  King,  a  factory  manager  in  Chi- 
cago, and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  living 
sons;  Henry  was  born  April  26,  1868,  mar- 


ried Mary  Mealy.     They  live  in  St.  Louis 
and  are  the  parents  of  three  children. 

Mr.  Walker  has  devoted  his  life  to  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising  with  great  success,  and 
he  now  lives  retired  in  Vernon.  In  politics 
he  is  a  stanch  Republican,  having  first  voted 
for  Henry  Clay  in  1844,  although  our  sub- 
ject never  took  a  very  active  part  in  politics. 
In  religion  he  is  a  faithful  supporter  of  the 
Methodist  church.  Mr.  Walker  is  widely 
known  in  this  section  of  the  country  and  he 
numbers  his  friends  by  the  score,  for  he  is 
known  to  be  thoroughly  honest,  a  fine  and 
friendly  old  gentleman  to  meet,  making  all 
feel  at  home  who  visit  him. 


JOHN  C.  BROCKMAN. 

It  requires  considerable  personal  courage 
and  strong  resolution  to  sever  the  ties  which 
bind  one  to  home,  friends,  kindred  and  na- 
tive land  and  seek  a  home  in  a  foreign 
country,  where  the  language  is  unknown, 
where  manners  and  customs  are  strange 
and  where  the  future  is  uncertain,  but  John 
C.  Brockman  took  the  risk  incident  to  such 
a  course,  nor  has  he  been  dissappointed  in 
the  hope  which  led  him  to  'eave  Germany 
and  come  to  the  United  States,  a  young 
man  of  eighteen  years  at  the  time  of  his  ar- 
rival, possessing  no  capital  save  a  willing- 
ness to  work  and  a  strong  determination  to 
succeed,  which  he  has  admirably  done,  as 
we  shall  see  by  the  study  of  the  following 
paragraphs,  which  will  show  the  ease  with 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


499 


which  thrifty  Germans  come  to  this  coun- 
try, achieving  such  financial  success  that  it 
is  astonishing  to  most  Americans.  It  need 
not.  however,  be  wondered  at.  The  German 
is  more  industrious  and  less  extravagant 
than  the  average  American,  for  he  realizes 
the  value  of  money  and  hoards  his  earnings. 
He  knows  its  power  and  ability  to  earn 
other  money  for  him  in  the  way  of  interest. 
The  average  American  is  much  more  a  suc- 
cess at  spending  money  than  he  is  at  getting 
or  saving  it.  The  record  of  Mr.  Brockman 
is  not  only  one  of  industry  but  also  of 
honor. 

John  C.  Brockman,  now  living  in  retire- 
ment at  Olney,  Richland  county,  Illinois, 
was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  January 
31,  1830,  the  son  of  Peter  and  Anna 
(Gieschen)  Brockman,  also  natives  of  Ger- 
many, where  they  died;  the  former  was  a 
carpenter  and  farmer.  Our  subject  re- 
mained in  his  native  country  until  he 
reached  maturity  and  received  a  common 
school  education.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1848,  believing  that  better  oppor- 
tunities existed  here  than  in  the  Fatherland 
for  a  man  of  his  ambition.  He  first  located 
in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  secured 
work  in  a  drug  store,  remaining  in  the  same 
for  a  few  years  and  giving  his  employer 
entire  satisfaction.  He  was  without  money 
when  he  landed  there,  but  soon  got  a  start 
through  his  industry  and  economy.  Later 
he  managed  a  confectionery  store  for  a 
time.  In  January,  1857,  he  located  in 
Xewton.  Jasper  county.  Illinois,  and  in 
1 86 1,  in  company  with  Walter  Patrick. 


raised  a  company  for  the  Union  army,  our 
subject  being  loyal  to  the  stars  and  stripes 
and  espousing  the  national  cause,  giving 
vent  to  his  patriotism  in  a  most  laudable 
manner.  This  company  became  Company 
K,  of  the  Fifty-fourth  Illinois  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, and  he  and  Patrick  became  partners 
as  sutlers  of  the  regiment.  Later  the  sub- 
ject sold  his  interest  and  returned  home. 
Then  he  joined  David  Scott  in  the  sutler 
business  of  two  companies  in  the  Hitchcock 
Battery,  also  at  a  later  date  had  the  sutler- 
ship  of  the  Eighth  Kansas  Regiment  in 
which  he  continued  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  In  the  meantime  a  friend  of  John  C. 
Brockman  had  taken  charge  of  the  treas- 
urer's office  and  was  later  elected  to  suc- 
ceed him.  The  friend  made  a  settlement  at 
the  expiration  of  the  term  of  the  subject 
while  he  was  in  the  army  and  everything 
proved  satisfactory. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Brockman  and  his 
partner  came  to  Olney  in  1866,  where  the 
firm  name  of  D.  Scott  &  Company,  jobbers 
and  retail  grocers,  produce,  etc.,  was 
formed.  They  also  established  a  small 
stock  of  dry  goods.  They  had  a  large  busi- 
ness in  a  short  time  which  extended  to 
remote  parts  of  this  locality.  They  shipped 
the  first  carload  of  dressed  poultry  from 
Olney  or  Southern  Illinois.  Just  after  the 
war  was  a  time  of  high  prices,  and  while 
they  did  a  big  business  for  a  few  years  it 
was  usually  on  a  falling  market  and  not  al- 
ways successful,  but  it  brought  much  trade 
to  Olney  and  helped  immeasurably  to  build 
up  the  town.  The  partnership  of  this  firm 


lilOGKAPHICAI.    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


was  dissolved  in  1887,  and  the  business 
closed  out.  The  subject  then  operated  a 
cafe  and  eating  house  which  he  successfully 
conducted  for  a  number  of  years.  His  res- 
taurant was  popular  and  he  fed  large  num- 
bers continuously. 

Mr.  Brockman  owns  a  fine  business  prop- 
erty on  Main  street  and  also  a  beautiful 
residence  property,  having  retired  from  ac- 
tive business  a  few  years  ago,  being  one  of 
the  oldest  business  men  in  town. 

Our  subject's  domestic  life  began  in 
1854,  when  he  was  united  in  matrimony 
with  Mrs.  Johanna  Greninger,  widow  of 
John  Greninger,  and  who  had  two  children, 
Mary  and  William.  She  is  a  native  of 
Switzerland,  who  came  to  the  United  States 
with  her  parents  in  1845,  locating  in  St. 
Louis,  Missouri.  Mrs.  Brockman  has  been 
a  faithful  helpmeet.  Five  children  have 
blessed  their  home,  namely :  Anna,  Caroline, 
Louisa,  Agnes,  John  F.  They  have  re- 
ceived educations  and  all  give  promise  of 
happy  futures. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brockman  and  their  chi- 
dren  are  adherents  to  the  Catholic  faith, 
and  faithful  attendants  of  this  church. 

Mr.  Brockman  very  ably  and  creditably 
served  as  County  Supervisor  for  one  term, 
during  the  time  when  the  county  was  sued 
for  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  rail- 
road bonds. 

The  splendid  success  our  subject  has  won 
in  life  is  due  entirely  to  his  own  efforts. 
There  are  few  men  who  begun  in  a  humble 
way  as  he  did  when  coming  to  this  country, 
who  can  show  as  much  for  their  time  and 


talents  as  he  can.  It  is  all  attributable  to 
the  splendid  qualities  of  head  and  heart  of 
which  he  is  the  possessor  and  which  he  has 
so  judiciously  exercised. 


WILLIAM  ELICE  COAN. 

Among  the  residents  of  Richland  county. 
Illinois,  who  are  especially  worthy  of  no- 
tice as  having  been  active  in  the  improve- 
ment and  prosperity  of  the  county,  and 
have  built  up  reputations  which  shall  en- 
dure for  decades  to  come,  none  have  figured 
more  prominently  in  their  respective  com- 
munities or  exerted  a  more  beneficial  influ- 
ence on  those  about  him  than  Mr.  Coanr 
whose  life  since  coming  to  this  county  has 
been  closely  interwoven  with  the  progress 
of  the  same.  His  leading  aim  has  been  to 
provide  well  for  his  own  and  do  good  to 
others,  and  those  who  have  reason  to  know 
are  authority  for  the  statement  that  no  one 
has  dispensed  his  means  with  more  liberal 
hand  to  the  deserving  poor  than  has  the 
large-hearted,  generous  subject  of  this  brief 
review,  whose  long  and  unusually  active 
life  has  been  so  full  of  incident  and  worthy 
deeds  that  it  would  be  impossible  here  to 
set  forth  all  of  them  in  detail.  He  early 
realized  the  necessity  for  good  citizenship, 
and  with  strong  mind  and  determined  pur- 
pose addressed  himself  to  bringing  about 
this  deserved  result.  His  life  has  been  a 
power  for  good  and  hi  si  influence  has  al- 
ways been  exerted  in  behalf  of  whatever 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


501 


tended  to  promote  morality  in  his  neighbor- 
hood. When  a  mere  boy  he  determined  to 
become  a  good  man  and  a  useful  citizen,  and 
that  he  has  successfully  carried  out  his 
original  intentions  is  attested  by  a  long  life 
fraught  with  so  many  beneficial  results  to 
humanity.  He  has  always  been  optimistic 
enough  to  look  on  the  bright  side  of  life, 
partly  due  to  the  encouragement  and  sym- 
pathy of  his  worthy  life  companion,  and, 
unlike  the  majority  of  old  men,  he  still  re- 
tains much  of  his  youthful  spirit  and  is 
popular  with  all  who  know  him. 

He  has  indeed,  borne  well  his  part,  and 
now  as  life  wanes  and  he  proceeds  toward 
the  twilight  and  the  joureny's  end,  he  car- 
ries with  him  the  respect  and  love  of  nu- 
merous friends  whose  prayers  are  that  his 
years  may  yet  be  many  in  the  land  of  the 
living. 

William  Elice  Coan.  the  scion  of  a  sturdy 
Southern  family,  was  born  in  the  state  of 
South  Carolina,  November  16,  1826.  He 
is  the  son  of  Isaac  Coan,  a  man  who  bore 
well  his  part  in  the  pioneer  days  of  the 
old  Palmetto  state,  established  a  good  home 
and  reared  a  good  family. 

The  parents  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
were  natives  of  Ireland  and  Virginia,  the 
mother's  side  of  the  house  being  well  known 
and  influential  in  their  native  locality. 

Mr.  Coan  had  little  opportunity  to  ob- 
tain a  high  intellectual  training,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  during  his  youth  primitive 
schools  were  taught  only  a  few  months  out 
of  each  year,  and  also  the  children  of  the 
pioneers  were  compelled  to  assist  in  the  im- 


portant work  of  home  building,  but  Wil- 
liam E.  has  been  a  close  observer  and  has 
done  much  extensive  miscellaneous  reading 
so  that  he  is  well  informed  on  general 
topics. 

When  he  reached  man's  estate  Mr.  Coan 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Ann 
Whaley,  daughter  of  a  sterling  old  Hoosier 
family,  having  been  born  in  Pike  county, 
Indiana.  Her  father  was  William  Whaley. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  Elice  Coan 
four  children  were  bom,  namely:  Francis, 
Allen,  William  and  Malica. 

Mr.  Coan  has  devoted  his  life  principally 
to  agricultural  pursuits  which  he  has  made 
a  success,  having  always  been  a  hard  work- 
er and  economical,  so  that  in  his  old  age 
he  is  enjoying  the  well  earned  fruits  of  the 
labor  of  his  earlier  years. 

In  his  political  relations  Mr.  Coan  loyal- 
ly supports  the  Democratic  ticket. 


HON.  MARTIN  D.  FOSTER,  M.  D. 

An  enumeration  of  those  men  of  the 
present  generation  who  have  won  honor  and 
public  recognition  for  themselves  and  at 
the  same  time  have  honored  the  state  to 
which  they  belong  would  be  incomplete 
were  there  failure  to  make  prominent  refer- 
ence to  the  one  whose  name  initiates  this 
review.  He  is  characterized  as  a  man  of 
great  breadth  of  wisdom,  indomitable  per- 
severance and  strong  individuality  and  yet 
in  his  entire  life  there  has  not  been  one 
esoteric  phase,  his  history  being  as  an  open 


502 


I1IOCUAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


scroll,  inviting  the  closest  scrutiny.  There 
is,  however,  in  him  a  weight  of  character, 
a  native  sagacity  and  fidelity  of  purpose 
which  commands  the  respect  of  all  and  he 
has  left  his  impress  for  good,  while  yet  a 
young  man,  upon  the  political,  medical  and 
business  circles  of  Richland  county,  whose 
interests  he  has  ever  had  at  heart. 

Dr.  Martin  D.  Foster  was  born  in  Ed- 
wards county,  Illinois,  September  3,  1861, 
the  son  of  Blashel  and  Emily  (Houser) 
Foster,  the  former  having  been  born  near 
Lexington,  Indiana,  and  the  latter  at  Sa- 
lem, North  Carolina.  Grandfather  Martin 
Houser  was  a  minister  of  the  Moravian 
church,  one  of  the  greatest,  in  fact,  in  this 
country.  He  was  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  moved  in  the  early  days  to  Indi- 
ana, where  he  was  identified  with  the  early 
history  of  the  state,  having  established  the 
town  of  Hope,  which  he  laid  out.  He  later 
moved  to  what  is  now  West  Salem,  Ed- 
wards county,  Illinois.  Grandfather  Wil- 
liam Foster  was  born  in  England,  and  be- 
came a  minister  in  the  Christian  church. 
After  coming  to  America  he  located  on 
government  land  near  West  Salem,  in  an 
early  day,  many  English  settlers  having 
come  to  the  same  locality.  Grandfather 
Houser  had  eight  daughters.  He  drove 
from  Hope,  Indiana,  to  Salem,  North  Caro- 
lina, taking  two  daughters  at  a  time,  taking 
two  every  two  years.  They  were  educated 
in  a  female  seminary  there.  He  made  sev- 
eral trips  in  that  way.  He  preached  on 
Sundays  and  farmed  through  the  week 
days.  He  took  up  much  land  and  became 


wealthy  for  those  days.  The  father  of  the 
subject  was  reared  and  educated  in  Ed- 
wards county  and  became  a  farmer,  rearing 
his  family  there.  He  and  his  wife  now 
live  in  Monmouth,  Oregon,  to  which  state 
they  moved  in  1888.  Five  children  were 
bom  to  them,  all  of  whom  are  living,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  being  the  third  in 
order  of  birth. 

Doctor  Foster  was  reared  on  the  farm 
and  received  his  early  education  in  the 
public  schools.  Being  ambitious  he  studied 
hard  and  later  entered  Eureka  College.  In 
1880  he  entered  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute at  Cincinnati,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated with  high  honors  in  1882.  He  later 
graduated  from  the  Hahnemann  Medical 
College  in  Chicago  in  1894.  In  the  fall  of 
1882  he  located  in  Olney  and  began  prac- 
tice which  he  continued  for  many  years, 
his  success  being  instantaneous  from  the 
first  and  he  built  up  a  very  large  business, 
his  practice  extending  to  all  parts  of  the 
county,  being  known  as  one  of  the  best  gen- 
eral practitioners  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

He  continued  to  practice  medicine  until 
he  was  elected  Congressman.  In  the  fall  of 
1904  he  was  a  candidate  for  Congressman 
on  the  Democratic  ticket  from  the  Twenty- 
third  district,  but  was  defeated  in  the 
Roosevelt  landslide.  In  1906  he  was  the 
unanimous  nominee  for  this  office  and  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  one  thousand  three 
hundred  and  fourteen  votes,  and  the  able 
and  conscientious  manner  in  which  he 
served  his  constituents  soon  proved  their 
wisdom  in  his  selection.  He  was  on  the 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


503 


Committee  of  Pensions,  Mines  and  Mining, 
and  he  made  a  splendid  record,  especially 
was  his  work  commendable  in  reference  to 
pensions.  In  the  fall  of  1908,  Doctor  Fos- 
ter was  nominated  without  opposition  to 
succeed  himself,  and  with  one  exception  he 
carried  every  county  in  the  district,  includ- 
ing' one  county  which  Taft  carried.  His 
home  township,  which  is  one  hundred  and 
fifty  Republican,  he  carried  by  three 
hundred  and  fifty  majority,  and  carried 
the  county  by  seven  hundred  and  thirty- 
one.  This  shows  his  high  standing  and 
popularity  in  Rich  land  county  and  the 
Twenty-third  district.  Doctor  Foster  was 
elected  Mayor  of  Olney  in  1895,  ^or 
a  term  of  two  years  and  was  again  elected 
in  1903  for  two  years.  During  his  incum- 
bency of  this  office  he  did  many  things  that 
will  be  of  permanent  benefit  to  the  city  and 
community,  making  a  record  that  was  high- 
ly praised  by  all.  He  served  for  four 
years  as  president  of  the  School  Board,  and 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Pension 
Examiners  for  eight  years. 

The  harmonious  domestic  life  of  Doctor 
Fostor  began  in  1888  when  he  married 
Alice  Igo,  who  was  born  in  Shelbyville.  Il- 
linois, the  talented  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Catherine  Igo.  Mrs.  Foster  was  called  to 
her  rest  in  1889.  No  children  were  bom 
to  this  union.  The  subject  was  again  mar- 
ried, his  second  wife  being  Lulu  B.  Clifre, 
a  woman  of  gracious  personality,  whom  he 
married  October  27,  1891.  She  is  a  native 
of  Olney,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  William 
and  Martha  (White)  Cliffe,  the  former  a 
native  of  England  and  the  latter  of  Indiana. 


Reverend  Cliffe  was  chaplain  of  the  Ninety- 
eight  Illinois  Regiment  during  the  Civil 
war  and  was  a  prominent  minister  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  for  many  years. 
He  died  in  1869.  His  wife  is  also  de- 
ceased. 

Doctor  Foster  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic Order,  the  Knights  Templar,  being 
Past  Eminent  Commander  of  the  latter ;  he 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Shrine,  and  is  a 
charter  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  No.  926,  and  is  Past 
Chancellor  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He 
belongs  to  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  Ameri- 
ca. He  is  a  liberal  subscriber  to  the  Chris- 
tian church  of  which  he  is  a  member.  Mrs. 
Foster  is  a  faithful  attendant  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church.  Our  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Society  and  also  the  Illinois  State  Medical 
Society. 

Doctor  Foster  is  widely  and  favorably 
known  throughout  the  state,  his  -abilities 
well  fitting  him  for  leadership  in  political 
and  social  life.  The  terms  progress  and 
patriotism  might  be  considered  the  keynote 
of  his  character,  for  throughout  his  career 
he  has  labored  for  the  improvement  of 
every  line  of  business  or  public  interest  with 
which  he  has  been  associated,  and  at  all 
times  has  been  actuated  by  a  patriotic  love 
for  his  county  and  her  welfare.  No  man 
in  Richland  county  is  better  known  or  held 
in  higher  esteem,  and  because  of  the  high 
position  he  has  gained  so  young  in  life,  the 
future  must  necessarily  hold  much  of  good 
and  promise  for  him. 


504 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


HISTORY    OF    THE    ST.    JOSEPH'S 

CATHOLIC  CONGREGATION  OF 

OLNEY,  RICHLAND  COUNTY, 

ILLINOIS. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  this 
section  of  the  country  was  but  thinly  set- 
tled. Most  of  the  country  was  timber.  The 
first  Catholic  settlement  in  this  neighbor- 
hood was  that  of  Ste.  Marie.  In  1838,  J. 
Picquet  landed  on  the  shores  of  this  country 
from  Alsace  to  seek  for  himself  and 
countrymen  a  home  in  the  new  world.  He 
journeyed  on  horseback  from  Philadelphia 
to  Chicago,  which  was  then  a  little  town. 
He  did  not  tarry  long  but  started  out  for 
St.  Louis,  Missouri,  from  which  city  he 
came  to  Jasper  county,  Illinois.  This  sec- 
tion of  the  country  with  its  wide  prairies 
and  extensive  timber  lands  along  creeks  and 
rivers  pleased  him.  He  secured  a  grant  of 
one  thousand  two  hundred  acres  of  land 
from  the  government.  With  his  few  com- 
panions he  repaired  to  the  spot  he  had  se- 
lected for  his  home. 

His  first  act  was  to  erect  a  cross  on  a 
little  hill  and  kneeling  down  he  and  his  com- 
panions sang  the  "Salve  Regina,"  in  honor 
of  the  Heavenly  Queen.  The  spot  was 
named  "Ste.  Marie."  In  the  course  of  time 
a  church  was  built  and  the  spiritual  wants 
of  the  little  faithful  band  were  attended  to 
from  Vincennes.  Later  on  a  resident  priest, 
or  rather  a  missionary,  was  located  at  Ste. 
Marie,  with  headquarters  at  that  place. 
The  various  missions  in  the  surrounding 
neighborhood  such  as  Mt.  Carmel,  Flora, 


Carlyle  and  others  were  attended  from 
here.  When  the  parish  had  grown  to  such 
an  extent  that  two  priests  were  required  for 
all  the  work,  an  assistant  was  sent  to  Ste. 
Marie  to  attend  to  the  outlying  missions. 

Meanwhile  the  town  of  Olney  had 
sprung  up  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  line, 
fifteen  miles  southwest  of  Ste.  Marie. 
Some  few  Catholic  families  from  Ste.  Marie 
moved  to  the  new  place.  The  first  priest 
to  visit  them  was  Father  Loghren.  He 
came  in  July,  1859.  Services  were  held  in 
a  brick  building,  the  so-called  O'Donnell 
home.  Thisl house  is  still  in  good  condition 
at  122  West  North  Avenue.  Father  Logh- 
ren attended  Olney  until  June,  1860,  when 
Father  Sandrock,  pastor  of  Ste.  Marie,  took 
charge  until  February,  1861.  So  far  no 
services  had  been  held  on  Sundays.  In 
February,  1861,  Father  John  Vahey  was  in- 
trusted with  the  Olney  mission.  Father 
Vahey  was  a  good  organizer.  It  seems  to 
have  been  his  particular  work  to  visit  dif- 
ferent places  with  the  result  of  establishing 
churches.  His  principal  work  in  Olney  was 
to  collect  funds  for  a  church  building. 
Father  Vahey  was  originally  an  Irish  law- 
yer and  very  fond  of  debating.  He  was 
called  away  in  July,  1861.  For  the  next 
six  months  Father  Sandrock  had  no  as- 
sistant. The  continuation  of  the  work  was 
left  to  him.  He  succeeded  in  building  the 
church  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year.  The 
site  was  donated  by  Tom  Lilly.  The 
church  was  erected  by  the  firm  of  Gadus  & 
Lutz.  It  was  situated  on  what  in  now  Fair 
street. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


505 


From  January  until  July,  1862,  the  Rev. 
H.  J.  Koven  attended  to  Olney  and  was 
succeeded  by  Father  Thomas  Walsh  in  Oc- 
tober, 1862.  Father  Walsh  was  a  fine  speci- 
men of  manhood  physically  and  a  neat 
dresser.  He  left  in  December,  1862.  For 
the  next  eighteen  months  no  records  of 
baptisms  are  found  on  the  books.  During 
this  time  Father  Sandrock  was  without  an 
assistant  and  baptisms  were  conferred  at 
Ste.  Marie.  He  would,  however,  occasion- 
ally come  to  Olney  and  minister  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  faithful. 

In  June,  1864,  the  Rev.  James  Harty  was 
assigned  to  Olney  as  its  first  resident  pas- 
tor. He  boarded  for  the  greater  part  with 
private  families  notably  Frank  Gillespie. 
Father  Harty  was  true  to  his  name,  a 
hearty,  genial  gentleman,  and  a  good 
"mixer."  He  was  in  consequence  well 
liked  by  both  Catholics  and  non-Catholics. 
His  health,  however,  was  not  robust.  He 
stayed  but  one  year.  From  July  until  De- 
cember, 1865,  Father  Sandrock  again  took 
charge  of  Olney.  In  December,  1865,  the 
Rev.  Patrick  Dee  was  sent  to  Olney.  He 
boarded  with  a  family  named  Hines.  He 
was  a  young  energetic  priest.  During  his 
administration  of  the  parish  two  acres  of 
ground  were  secured  in  the  extreme  south- 
western part  of  town  and  set  apart  for  a 
Catholic  cemetery.  Father  Vahey  also  or- 
ganized a  private  school  for  Catholic  chil- 
dren with  Miss  Gillespie  as  first  teacher. 
Father  Vahey  went  from  here  to  Alton,  but 
soon  after  died  in  the  St.  Vincent  hospital 
at  St.  Louis. 


Rev.  A.  "T.  David  succeeded  him  in  June, 
1868,  but  remained  only  until  October  of 
the  same  year.  Father  David  was  an  elder- 
ly gentleman.  In  the  fall  of  1868  he  built 
an  addition  to  the  parsonage,  added  a 
steeple  to  the  church  and  placed  bells  in  the 
belfry.  Messrs.  Gallagher  and  Schilt  were 
the  contractors.  In  January,  1869,  Rev.  P. 
Kearney  came  to  Olney  and  stayed  until 
October  of  the  same  year.  He  was  ad- 
vanced in  years. 

Next  came  Father  Meckel,  who  is  at 
present  in  Alton,  Illinois.  He  had  just  ar- 
rived from  the  old  country  and  was  at  once 
assigned  to  Olney  parish.  He  was  pastor 
from  November,  1869,  until  August,  1874. 
In  1871  Father  Meckel  built  a  school  and 
engaged  a  private  teacher.  Heretofore  the 
school  had  been  conducted  in  the  parsonage. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  B.  Molitor, 
who  is  now  Rural  Dean  of  the  Alton  diocese 
and  stationed  at  Newton,  Illinois.  Father 
Molitor  was  in  charge  until  January,  1877, 
when  Rev.  J.  W.  Merscher  was  called  to 
Olney.  In  September,  1884.  Rev.  F.  H. 
Budde,  who  is  now  in  Mt.  Carmel,  took 
charge  of  Olney.  He  stayed  until  March, 
1888.  During  his  time  the  mission  of 
Stringtown  was  added  to  Olney. 

In  March,  1888,  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Schnelten 
was  commissioned  to  the  congregation  at 
Olney,  which  he  faithfully  held  until  No- 
vember, 1906.  In  1893  Father  Schnelten 
moved  the  church  building  to  the  corner  of 
East  Chestnut  and  South  Elliott  streets. 
The  property  consisted  of  three  lots  and 
was  bought  of  the  Dowling  estate  and  is 


IIIOCRAPIIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


favorably  situated.  A  new  parsonage  was 
also  built  in  connection  with  the  old  church. 
In  1906  Father  Schnelten  resigned  the  pas- 
torate on  account  of  ill-health.  He  retired 
to  Carrollton,  Greene  county,  Illinois. 
Father  Schnelten  was  very  well  liked  by  all 
who  knew  him.  He  was  very  genial  and 
gentlemanly  in  his  character  and  diplomatic 
in  his  ways.  His  successor  is  the  present 
incumbent,  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Henken. 

The  Rev.  John  B.  Henken  was  born  Sep- 
tember 4,  1870,  near  Germantown,  Clinton 
county,  Illinois,  of  German  parents.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  country 
schools.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  began  to 
study  Latin,  and  in  the  year  1888  entered 
the  Franciscan  College  at  Teutopolis,  Illi- 
nois. The  next  year  found  him  in  Ouincy, 
where  he  finished  his  classical  studies.  In 
1893  he  took  up  theological  studies  at  the 
St.  Francis  Seminary  near  Milwaukee,  Wis- 
consin. He  was  ordained  priest  June  16, 
1895.  His  charge  was  as  assistant  at  the 
Belleville  cathedral  where  he  stayed  one 
year.  For  the  following  twelve  months  he 
acted  as  substitute  for  different  priests  in 
the  diocese,  viz:  Four  months  at  Ridgway, 
six  months  at  Damiansville,  six  weeks  at 
New  Baden,  six  weeks  at  Centralia.  In  1897 
he  was  sent  to  Rosiclare,  Illinois,  as  the 
first  pastor  of  that  congregation.  Here 
he  remained  six  years  when  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  Sandoval,  Illinois.  Here  he 
stayed  three  years,  but  through  all  that 
time  he  was  in  poor  health  owing  to  a  siege 
of  typhoid  fever.  In  1906  his  bishop  asked 
him  to  take  charge  of  Olney.  During  his 


stay  here  Father  Henken  has  succeeded  in 
erecting  a  two-story,  brick  building  which 
now  serves  the  manifold  purpose  of  school, 
church  and  sisters'  dwelling.  The  school 
was  opened  January  i,  1908,- with  a  roster 
of  forty-five.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
four  Ursuline  sisters  from  Paolo,  Kansas, 
took  charge  of  the  school  which  now  has 
about  seventy  pupils.  In  February,  1908, 
the  furniture  was  moved  from  the  old 
church  building  to  the  second  story  of  the 
new  school  building  which  for  the  present 
serves  the  purpose  of  a  church.  The  con- 
gregation now  numbers  eighty-five  fam- 
ilies. The  parish  is  well  organized,  having 
different  societies  which  look  to  various 
needs  of  church  and  parsonage.  The  old 
church  building  serves  as  a  hall  for  enter- 
tainments. All  in  all  the  parish  is  prosper- 
ing and  bids  fair  to  become  one  of  the  fore- 
most in  this  section  of  the  country. 


ANDREW  M.  PEDDICORD. 

The  life  record  of  this  venerable  citizen 
of  Patoka  township  is  one  of  interest  and  in- 
struction, for  it  has  been  active,  always  so 
modulated  as  to  be  of  the  greatest  service 
to  those  whom  it  touched.  He  has  lived  to 
see  the  transformation  of  a  great  country 
from  the  primeval  forests  and  the  wild 
prairies  and  he  has  performed  well  his  part 
in  this  great  work. 

Andrew  M.  Peddicord  was  born  May  9. 
1822,  in  Mason  county,  Kentucky,  where 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


507 


he  lived  in  1851,  when  he  came  to  Jackson- 
ville, Illinois,  having-  farmed  sixteen  miles 
from  Jacksonville,  paying  only  two  dollars 
per  acre  for  rent  of  land,  the  first  cash  rent 
ever  paid  for  land  in  that  part  of  the  county. 
He  was  at  the  first  state  fair  ever  held  in 
Jacksonville.  A  few  years  later  he  came  to 
Marion  county  for  the  purpose  of  engaging 
in  farming.  He  first  landed  in  Salem  and 
bought  wild  land  here,  which  he  improved. 

Our  subject  is  the  son  of  Andrew  and 
Delilia  (Eaton)  Peddicord,  being  one  of 
fourteen  children  born  to  them,  consisting 
of  seven  boys  and  an  equal  number  of  girls. 
They  were  said  to  be  the  healthiest  and 
finest  looking  family  in  Kentucky.  The  sub- 
ject's father  was  born  in  Mason  county, 
Kentucky,  and  the  subject's  mother  was 
born  in  Harrison  county,  the  Blue  Grass 
state,  both  being  representatives  from  large 
families. 

Mr.  Peddicord  was  united  in  marriage  on 
August  29,  1845,  to  Mary  Foley,  born 
September  29,  1829,  the  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Mildred  (Mastison)  Foley,  the  former 
having  been  born  in  Virginia  and  the  latter 
in  Kentucky.  Ten  children  have  been  born 
to  our  subject  and  wife  as  follows :  Daniel 
E.,  born  May  18,  1848,  married  Katherine 
Weeks  and  they  are  living  in  Decatur,  Il- 
linois; William  M.,  born  November  27, 
1851,  married  Mary  Tune;  they  are  living 
in  Vernon  and  are  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, two  children  being  deceased ;  Mollie 
L.  married  E.  Robinson;  James  L.,  born 
January  i,  1854,  married  Belle  Mann,  they 
have  one  son  and  live  near  Odin;  Martha 


L.,  was  born  November  22,  1855;  Ora  An- 
na, bom  March  20,  1858,  married  Charles 
Tillman,  and  they  live  in  Springfield;  Clay- 
brook  B.  was  born  October  31,  1860,  and 
died  in  infancy;  Charles  M.  was  born  Sep- 
tember 26,  1862,  and  is  deceased;  John 
Henry  was  born  May  21,  1865,  married 
Ulga  Friar,  and  they  have  three  children. 
He  is  engaged  in  the  livery  business  at 
Vernon. 

Mr.  Peddicord  was  one  of  those  brave 
sons  of  the  great  Prairie  state,  who  offered 
his  assistance  in  saving  the  nation's  integ- 
rity during  the  dark  days  of  the  sixties,  hav- 
ing enlisted  in  Company  G,  Seventh  Illinois 
Cavalry  in  1865,  and  served  with  credit 
until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Our  subject  is  a  great  lover  of  horses  and 
he  has  always  kept  some  good  ones  about 
him.  His  place  used  to  be  stocked  with  very 
fine  ones.  He  was  said  to  have  been  the 
finest  horseman  in  Marion  county  in  his 
younger  days.  He  had  the  reputation  of 
bringing  more  good  stock  to  Marion  county 
than  any  other  man.  He  was  a  well  known 
character  in  his  younger  days,  and  is  today 
possibly  the  best  known  man  in  the  county. 
He  was  a  loyal  friend  of  Judge  Bryan, 
father  of  William  J.  Bryan.  Our  subject 
'  saw  the  great  Commoner  when  he  was  only 
three  days  old.  Mr.  Peddicord  has  been  a 
man  of  thrift,  unusual  business  ability  and 
foresight  and  he  laid  up  an  ample  compe- 
tence to  insure  his  old  age  free  from  want. 
He  has  been  living  in  quiet  retirement  for 
the  past  ten  years.  He  has  been  a  stanch 
Mason,  having  been  identified  with  the  or- 


5o8 


lilOliUAL'MlCA],    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


der  in  Mason  county,  Kentucky.  He  is  a 
good  Democrat,  but  notwithstanding  his 
ability  and  popularity  he  never  took  much 
interest  in  politics.  Our  subject  has  been 
a  very  able  bodied  man  in  his  day,  strong, 
of  fine  appearance  and  much  endurance,  but 
now  his  great  weight  of  years  is  telling  on 
him  and  his  eyesight  and  hearing  have  failed 
considerably.  He  is  an  uncle  of  A.  M.  Ped- 
dicord  in  Carrigan  township,  a  well  known 
man  whose  sketch  appears  in  full  in  this 
work. 

Mr.  Peddicord  has  a  comfortable  home  in 
Vernon.  He  gets  a  pension  of  twenty  dol- 
lars a  month.  He  has  numerous  friends 
who  are  always  glad  to  pay  him  the  respect 
due  a  man  of  his  years  and  who  has  led  a 
useful  and  influential  life. 


HOX.  THOMAS  TIPPIT. 

Illinois  has  been  especially  honored  in 
the  character  and  career  of  her  public  and 
professional  men.  In  every  county  there 
are  to  be  found  rising  above  their  fellows, 
individuals  born  to  leadership,  men  who 
dominate  not  alone  by  superior  intelligence 
and  natural  endowment,  but  by  force  of 
character  which  minimizes  discourage- 
ments and  dares  great  undertakings.  Such 
men  are  by  no  means  rare  in  the  great 
Prairie  state  and  it  is  always  profitable  to 
study  their  lives,  weigh  their  motives  and. 
hold  up  their  achievements  as  incentives  to 
greater  activity  and  higher  excellence  on 


the  part  of  others  just  entering  upon  their 
struggles  with  the  world.  Such  thoughts 
are  prompted  by  a  study  of  the  life  record 
of  the  gentleman  whose  name  appears  at 
the  head  of  this  article  who  has  long  been 
one  of  the  prominent  figures  in  Richland 
county  whose  interests  he  has  ever  had  at 
heart  and  sought  to  promulgate. 

Hon.  Thomas  Tippit  was  born  in  Olney, 
Illinois,  June  6,  1851,  and  he  has  been  con- 
tented to  spend  his  life  in  his  native  com- 
munity. He  is  the  son  of  Matthew  L.  and 
Sarah  (Ellingsworth)  Tippit,  the  former  a 
native  of  Tennessee,  and  the  latter  of  Ohio. 
Grandfather  Tippit  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia. He  moved  to  Tennessee  and  in 
T82O  came  to  Illinois  and  located  about  six- 
teen miles  south  of  Olney,  in  what  is  now 
Edwards  county  at  a  point  now  known  as 
Samsville.  He  was  among  the  early  pio- 
neers in  that  wild  country,  but  he  did  not 
live  long  after  coming  to  this  state. 
Matthew,  the  oldest  of  the  two  sons  and 
one  daughter,  was  only  about  six  years  old 
when  his  father  died.  The  family  experi- 
enced many  hardships  in  their  struggle  for 
existence.  Matthew,  by  hard  work  assisted 
his  mother  in  rearing  the  family,  caring 
for  his  crippled  brother  and  sister.  He 
had  no  educational  advantages  other  than 
what  he  acquired  himself  by  home  study. 
The  family  located  in  what  is  now  Rich- 
land  county  prior  to  the  settling  of  Olney. 
They  took  up  land,  a  portion  of  which  is 
now  within  the  corporate  limits  of  Olney. 
Matthew  bought  and  sold  much  land  in  the 
county  and  eventually  became  well-to-do. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


509 


In  1849  ne  went  to  California,  having  been 
one  of  that  famous  band  who  crossed  the 
plains  with  an  ox  team.  He  remained  in 
that  state  two  years  and  was  successful  in 
mining.  After  returning  to  Richland 
county  he  carried  on  extensive  farming  and 
stock  raising  for  years  and  died  on  the 
place  adjoining  Olney  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
five  years,  in  1871.  His  wife  passed  away 
in  1903,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six. 
They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
five  boys  and  two  girls,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  being  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth. 

Thomas  Tippit  was  born  in  a  log  cabin 
north  of  Olney.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm 
and  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools,  assiduously  applying  himself  to  his 
studies  and  took  advantage  of  what  oppor- 
tunities he  had,  and  attended  high  school 
in  Olney.  When  the  subject's  father  died 
he  took  charge  of  the  farm  and  he  has  con- 
tinued farming  ever  since,  at  present  own- 
ing one  hundred  acres  of  highly  improved 
land,  all  within  the  corporate  limits  of  Ol- 
ney, also  owns  land  in  Wayne  county.  For 
years  he  has  been  extensively  engaged  in 
the  stock  business,  paying  particular  atten- 
tion to  horses,  of  which  he  is  regarded  as 
an  excellent  judge.  Until  1890  he  bred 
draft  horses  of  a  fine  quality,  but  in  that 
year  he  discontinued  draft  horses  and  be- 
gan breeding  roadsters  and  trotters.  He 
now  has  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  head 
almost  all  the  time.  They  attract  much  at- 
tention, being  of  a  high  grade  and  well 
kept.  His  first  horse  to  gain  special  prom- 
ise was  "Redbrook,"  registered  and  sired 


by  good  masters.  "Favorite  Prince,"  with 
a  record  of  2-22  1-4,  in  Indiana  and  Illi- 
nois, gained  some  prominence  and  is  now 
nineteen  years  old  in  1908.  "Royal  Prince" 
is  generally  regarded  as  one  of  the  best 
horses  ever  in  this  part  of  trie  state.  Mr. 
Tippit  has  also  bought  many  good  horses, 
having  raced  them  in  a  number  of  states. 
The  subject  is  known  as  one  of  the  leading 
horsemen  of  the  state.  He  has  a  beautiful, 
commodious  and  modern  residence,  with 
well  kept  lawn  and  grounds.  He  also  has 
large  and  convenient  bams  and  outbuild- 
ings, in  fact,  everything  about  the  place 
shows  prosperity,  good  taste  and  careful 
management. 

In  politics  Mr.  Tippit  is  a  Democrat.  He 
was  Circuit  Clerk  by  appointment  to  fill  a 
vacancy  and  so  faithfully  did  he  perform 
his  duties  that  he  was  elected  three  terms, 
having  served  over  twelve  years  in  all.  He 
served  as  Master  in  Chancery  from  1892  to 
1896.  In  1894  he  was  elected  to  represent 
his  district  in  the  state  Legislature,  having 
been  re-elected  in  1898,  1902,  1904.  Dur- 
ing his  tenure  of  (his  important  office  he 
served  his  constituents  in  a  most  acceptable 
manner,  showing  that  he  possessed  rare  in- 
sight into  the  workings  of  the  body  politic, 
was  conservative,  careful  and  calculating, 
just  as  if  he  had  been  managing  his  own 
business,  and  his  counsel  was  often  sought 
and  followed  with  gratifying  results  while 
he  was  a  member  of  that  body.  Many 
things  were  accomplished  by  him  in  this 
capacity  that  resulted  in  incalculable  good 
not  only  to  the  people  of  his  own  section 


lilor.KAI'IIICAI.    AM)    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


of  the  state  but  throughout  the  common- 
wealth. One  of  the  most  important  acts 
of  our  subject  was  securing  the  adoption  of 
a  resolution  providing  for  the  submittal  of 
the  vote  of  the  Legislature  to  elect  a  United 
States  Senator  by  direct  vote  of  the  people. 
He  was  candidate  for  Speaker  of  the  House 
in  1901  and  was  defeated  by  only  two 
votes.  In  1905  he  was  one  of  the  four  in 
his  party  for  candidate  for  Speaker  of  the 
House,  being  elected  and  became  by  reason 
of  his  candidacy  the  minority  leader  at  that 
session  of  his  party.  He  was  always 
active  and  among  the  leaders  of  his  party. 
In  1908  he  was  also  the  candidate  of  his 
party  for  election  to  the  Legislature,  and 
was  successful  in  this  race. 

Mr.  Tippit  was  married  in  1877  to  Eva 
Leaf,  a  native  of  Richland  county,  the  tal- 
ented daughter  of  George  and  Nancy 
(Moore)  Leaf,  natives  of  Ohio,  who  came 
to  Richland  county  in  1854. 

The  home  of  the  subject  and  wife  has 
been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  three  boys  and 
one  girl,  namely:  George  M.,  who  is  living 
in  Oklahoma;  Mabel,  the  wife  of  H.  C. 
Horrall,  of  Bridgeport,  Illinois:  Albert  V. 
is  living  at  home:  Thomas.  Jr.,  is  living  in 
Birmingham,  Alabama. 

Mr.  Tippit  is  a  Mason  in  his  fraternal 
relations,  also  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Knights 
of  Pythias,  the  Knights  Templar  and  the 
Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine,  having  been  past  commander  and 
held  other  stations  of  the  former. 

From  the  foregoing  brief  outline  of  a 
busv  career,  it  is  not  difficult  to  arrive  at  a 


just  estimate  of  Mr.  Tippit's  character  or 
to  fix  his  proper  standing  in  the  community. 
Beginning  life  in  moderate  circumstances, 
he  has  not  only  gained  an  honorable  posi- 
tion in  the  business  world,  but  has  also 
lived  to  become  a  power  in  the  political  af- 
fairs of  the  state  and  one  of  the  most  influ- 
ential men  in  the  development  of  his  com- 
munity. Interested  in  all  that  tends  to 
benefit  his  fellows,  materially,  educational- 
ly and  morally,  his  influence  has  always 
been  exerted  in  the  right  direction  and 
from  what  he  has  accomplished  along  the 
lines  to  which  his  talents  have  been  directed 
it  is  clearly  demonstrated  that  the  world 
has  gained  by  his  presence. 


AMEL  LUCAS. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  one  of 
the  well  known  fanners  of  Foster  township, 
is  a  scion  of  one  of  the  sterling  French  fam- 
ilies whose  presence  in  America  has  always 
been  most  desirable,  for  it  is  a  well  known 
fact  that  the  French  people  are  thrifty,  en- 
ergetic and  intellectual  wherever  found, 
therefore  they  always  contribute  much  to 
the  development  of  any  country,  and  the 
subject's  people  were  not  unlike  the  rest  of 
the  immigrants  from  that  country. 

Amel  Lucas  was  born  in  Southern  France 
on  January  16,  1842,  the  son  of  Pascale 
and  Louisa  Lucas,  both  natives  of  Sonti, 
France,  the  former  being  a  farmer  and  came 
to  America  in  1855  on  a  sailing  vessel  which 
was  thirty  days  in  making  the  voyage,  hav- 
ing landed  in  New  York  City.  He  went 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


from  there  to  Taylor  county,  West  Virginia, 
and  purchased  a  farm  of  eighty  acres.  It 
was  partly  improved.  He  lived  on  this 
place  until  1871  when  he  sold  out  and 
moved  to  Grafton,  West  Virginia,  where  he 
conducted  a  hotel  until  his  death  in  August, 
1892.  His  wife  died  in  August,  1904.  They 
were  members  of  the  Catholic  church.  He 
was  a  man  who  started  in  life  in  a  small 
way  and  by  hard  work  and  good  manage- 
ment he  became  well  situated  before  his 
death.  Eight  children  were  born  to  the  sub- 
ject's parents,  namely;  Marie,  Frank  and 
Mary  Ann,  all  three  deceased;  Amel,  our 
subject;  Victor,  who  is  living  in  Taylor 
county,  West  Virginia,  on  a  farm;  John, 
who  is  living  at  the  same  place,  is  a  butcher ; 
Albert  is  an  engineer  on  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  Railroad  at  Grafton,  West  Virginia, 
having  been  an  engineer  on  this  road  for  the 
past  thirty  years,  in  1908;  Louisa  is  living 
in  Grafton,  West  Virginia. 

Our  subject  had  only  a  limited  education. 
However,  he  attended  the  common  schools 
for  several  terms.  He  lived  at  home  until 
he  was  twenty  years  old  and  worked  at 
teaming  for  several  years.  He  saved  his 
money  and  in  1872  came  to  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  and  located  in  Carrigan  township, 
where  he  secured  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  on  which  he  lived,  making  a 
success  at  farming  for  ten  years,  when  he 
sold  out  and  moved  to  Foster  township, 
where  he  got  two  hundred  acres  at  first  and 
being  thrifty  and  a  good  manager,  he  added 
to  this  until  now  he  has  a  very  fine  farm  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  It  was 
.known  as  the  old  Lee  place.  The  subject 


built  a  comfortable,  substantial  and  commo- 
dious home,  also  a  convenient  barn  and  in 
many  ways  improved  the  place,  making  it 
equal  to  any  in  this  township;  everything 
about  the  place  shows  thrift  and  prosperity. 
He  carries  on  general  farming  with  that 
discretion  and  foresight  that  always  insures 
success.  He  is  also  considered  an  excellent 
judge  of  live  stock  and  devotes  much  of  his 
time  to  stock  raising,  no  small  part  of  his 
income  being  derived  from  this  source.  No 
more  up-to-date  farm  is  to  be  found  within 
the  borders  of  Marion  county,  and  no  better 
farmer  than  Mr.  Lucas  lives  in  this  locality. 

Our  subject  was  happily  married  March 
15,  1870,  to  Sarah  E.  Osborne,  of  Mononga- 
hela  county,  West  Virginia.  She  is  the  re- 
fined and  affable  daughter  of  Richard  and 
Elinore  (Britt)  Osborne.  They  formerly 
lived  in  Pennsylvania,  then  came  to  West 
Virginia  and  lived  there  the  remainder  of 
their  lives.  Mr.  Osborne  was  a  wheel- 
wright, wagon  maker  and  carpenter.  He 
died  in  1881  and  his  wife  passed  to  her  rest 
in  1851.  Mrs.  Lucas  was  their  only  child. 
They  were  known  as  influential  and  highly 
respected  people  in  their  community. 

To  the  subject  and  wife  eight  children 
have  been  born,  namely:  Theodore  Britt, 
who  runs  teams  and  a  dray  at  Cement, 
Oklahoma;  Frank  is  a  farmer  in  Foster 
township ;  Lou  married  E.  Lynch,  of  Foster 
township;  Mollie  is  the  wife  of  Isaac  Walk- 
er, of  Patoka  township;  Annie  is  the  wife 
of  Otis  Davidson,  of  Tonti  township;  Os- 
borne, Magnes  and  Millicent  are  all  living 
at  home. 

Mr.    Lucas   served   very   creditably   as   a 


512 


HOCKAI'IIJCAT.    AND    KK  M  I  MSCK.XT    HISTORY    OF 


member  of  the  local  school  board  of  Foster 
township  for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  dur- 
ing which  the  cause  of  education  in  this 
township  received  an  impetus  which  had 
never  before  been  known.  He  has  held 
other  minor  offices,  always  with  credit.  He 
is  a  loyal  Democrat. 

Mr.  Lucas  deserves  much  credit  for  what 
he  has  accomplished  in  the  business  world, 
having  started  life  a  poor  man,  and  he  has 
gained  a  position  of  ease  and  prominence  in 
his  community  through  his  own  unaided  ef- 
forts, by  hard  work,  good  management  and 
sound  common  sense  which  always  brings 
tangible  results  when  properly  exercised. 
Because  his  industry,  his  honesty  of  pur- 
pose and  his  public-spirit  and  his  loyalty  to 
all  movements  looking  to  the  good  of  the 
locality  where  he  lives,  he  is  highly 
respected  by  all  who  know  him. 


IRA  C.  MORRIS. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  investigate  the  ca- 
reer of  a  successful,  self-made  man.  Pe- 
culiar honor  attaches  to  that  individual  who, 
beginning  the  great  struggle  of  life  alone 
and  unaided,  gradually  overcomes  unfavor- 
able envi'ronment,  removes  one  by  one  the 
obstacles  from  his  pathway  to  success  and 
by  the  force  of  his  own  individuality  suc- 
ceeds in  forging  his  way  to  the  front  and 
winning  for  himself  a  position  of  esteem 
and  influence  among  his  fellow  men.  Such 
is  the  record,  briefly  stated,  of  the  popular 


citizen  of  Marion  county,  Illinois,  to  a  brief 
synopsis  of  whose  life  and  character  the 
following  paragraphs  are  devoted,  and  while 
yet  a  young  man  has  shown  himself  to  be 
able  to  successfully  compete  with  all  classes 
of  men  in  the  business  world. 

Ira  C.  Morris  was  born  in  Marion  county, 
May  5,  1883,  the  second  son  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  Morris,  whose  family  consisted  of 
six  children. 

Our  subject  attended  the  public  schools  in 
his  native  community  where  he  diligently  ap- 
plied himself  and  where  he  made  much 
headway  in  his  studies.  He  also  went  one 
term  to  Alma  College  in  Marion  county. 
After  leaving  school  he  decided  that  the  life 
of  the  farmer  offered  the  greatest  ad- 
vantages for  a  man  of  his  temperament,  con- 
sequently he  soon  entered  this  work  and  has 
devoted  his  time  and  undivided  attention 
to  it  ever  since  with  the  result  that  he  is 
today  one  of  the  most  progressive  and  sub- 
stantial of  the  younger  farmers  of  Kin- 
mundy  township,  where  he  owns  a  fine  and 
highly  productive  farm  of  sixty-seven 
acres. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Laura  Lewella  Lambom,  the  pleasant  and 
congenial  daughter  of  I.  M.  and  Margaret 
Lamborn,  both  natives  of  Jasper  county, 
Indiana.  The  subject's  wife  was  born  in 
Indiana,  being  a  native  of  Jasper  county  at 
Rensselaer,  November  28,  1882.  Her 
mother  is  deceased.  Mr.  Lamborn  is  living 
in  Tennessee.  Mrs.  Morris  has  three 
brothers  and  one  sister  living,  all  married 
with  the  exception  of  one  of  the  brothers. 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


513 


She  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
her  native  city  and  her  subsequent  life  has 
been  filled  with  good  deeds  to  others,  being 
a  woman  of  gracious  demeanor  and  kind 
hearted  to  anyone  in  need. 

Two  children  have  been  born  to  our  sub- 
ject and  wife,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  namely: 
Vera  L.,  whose  date  of  birth  occurred  April 
16,  1903;  and  Billie  Morris,  Jr.,  who  is  four 
years  old,  having  been  born  June  20,  1904. 
They  are  bright  and  interesting  children, 
who  are  receiving  ever  care  and  attention 
possible  at  the  hands  of  their  fond  parents. 

Our  subject  is  a  loyal  Democrat  in  his 
political  affiliations,  and  while  he  does  not 
aspire  to  public  office,  he  takes  considerable 
interest  in  political  matters  always  casting 
his  vote  for  whom  he  deems  to  be  the  most 
honest  and  best  fitted  to  fill  local  offices, 
where  the  interests  of  the  public  must  be 
conserved.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  Order,  Kinmundy  Lodge  No. 
398,  and  is  junior  deacon  in  the  same.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows,  Rosedale  Lodge  No.  354, 
at  Kinmundy. 


THE  JENNINGS  FAMILY. 

This  old  and  well  known  family  has  lived 
so  long  in  America  that  little  of  its  early 
history  can  be  learned  and  it  is  not  posi- 
tively known  from  what  country  the  found- 
ers of  the  American  branch  came,  though 
from  the  name,  the  nationality  is  supposed 
to  be  English.  Sufficient  has  been  learned, 
33 


however,  to  fix  the  date  of  immigration  to 
the  colonies  at  a  very  early  period,  inasmuch 
as  several  generations  have  been  identified 
with  the  settlement  and  development  of  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  United  States  and  for 
over  ninety  years  various  representatives 
of  the  family  have  figured  prominently  in 
the  history  of  Marion  and  other  counties  of 
Southern  Illinois.  Israel  Jennings,  the 
first  ancestor  of  whom  anything  definite  is 
known,  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  native 
of  Maryland,  where  his  birth  occurred  about 
the  year  1774.  When  a  youth  he  went  to 
Mason  county,  Kentucky,  and  settled  at 
Maysville,  where  about  1799  or  1800  he 
married  Miss  Mary  Waters,  of  whose  na- 
tivity or  genealogy  there  is  no  record.  After 
living  in  the  above  state  until  about  1818, 
Mr.  Jennings  moved  to  Illinois  and  located 
six  miles  southeast  of  Centralia,  the  country 
at  that  time  being  almost  as  nature  had  made 
it  with  only  a  few  sparse  settlements  long 
distances  apart,  the  majority  of  the  inhabit- 
ants consisting  of  straggling  bands  of  In- 
dians, whose  principal  village  was  near  the 
present  site  of  Walnut  Hill.  Entering  a 
tract  of  government  land,  he  at  once  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  task  of  developing 
a  farm  and  founding  a  home  in  which  laud- 
able undertaking  he  succeeded  admirably, 
for  in  due  time  he  became  not  only  the  lead- 
ing farmer  and  stock  raiser  of  his  section 
of  the  country  but  also  one  of  the  most  en- 
terprising and  public-spirited  citizens  of  Jef- 
ferson county,  to  which  this  part  of  the 
state  then  belonged.  It  is  a  matter  of  inter- 
est to  note  that  his  entry  was  the  second 


riOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY 


purchase  of  government  land  in  what  is  now 
Marion  county,  and  that  it  was  made  in 
1819,  one  year  after  Illinois  became  a  state. 
Mrs.  Jennings  departed  this  life  October  30, 
1845,  tne  mother  of  eight  children,  whose 
names  are  as  follows:  Israel,  Jr.,  who  is 
survived  by  eleven  children;  George,  de- 
ceased; Charles  Waters,  deceased,  who  had 
a  family  of  eight  children;  William  W.; 
Elizabeth,  who  married  William  Davidson; 
America,  wife  of  George  Davidson;  Mary, 
married  Edward  White,  and  Ann,  who  be- 
came the  wife  of  -Rufus  P.  McElwain.  All 
are  deceased.  William  W.  died  recently  at 
Alvin,  Texas.  Mr.  Jennings  was  again 
married,  but  the  second  union  was  without 
issue.  He  died  August  7,  1860. 

For  a  number  of  years  Israel  Jennings 
held  worthy  prestige  among  the  prominent 
citizens  of  Marion  county  and  took  an  ac- 
tive and  influential  part  in  the  development 
of  the  country.  He  was  a  leader  in  many 
enterprises  for  the  social  and  moral  ad- 
vancement of  his  fellow  men,  a  liberal  con- 
tributor to  churches  and  educational  institu- 
tions and  all  laudable  measures  for  the  good 
of  the  community  found  in  him  a  warm 
friend  and  earnest  advocate.  He  early  be- 
came prominent  in  public  affairs  and  in 
1827  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the 
Legislature,  being  the  third  representative 
from  Marion  county.  He  was  one  of  the 
leading  Democrats  of  the  county  and  his  in- 
fluence as  a  politician,  together  with  valu- 
able services  rendered  his  party,  made  him 
widely  known  and  led  to  his  appointment  in 
1834  as  postmaster  at  Walnut  Hill,  which 
position  he  held  for  many  years.  He  was 


more  than  ordinarily  successful  in  business 
matters  and  accumulated  a  handsome  for- 
tune, being  at  one  time  the  largest  land 
owner  in  the  county  and  one  of  the  only 
two  men  in  this  part  of  the  state  to  own 
slaves.  A  man  of  strong  character,  un- 
questioned integrity  and  upright  Christian 
principles,  he  exerted  a  wholesome  influ- 
ence on  all  with  whom  he  mingled  and  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  the  year  1860,  re- 
moved from  Marion  county  one  of  its  lead- 
ing citizens  and  prominent  men  of  affairs. 

Charles  Waters  Jennings,  third  son  of 
Israel  and  Mary  Jennings,  was  born  Janu- 
ary 8,  1802,  in  Mason  county,  Kentucky, 
and  accompanied  his  father  to  Illinois  in 
1818,  settling  within  a  half  mile  of  the  lat- 
ter and  like  him  becoming  a  successful  tiller 
of  the  soil.  He  was  married  on  December 
14,  1826,  to  Maria  Wood  Davidson,  who 
bore  him  the  following  children :  Josephus 
Waters,  deceased,  who  lived  near  the  home 
of  his  father ;  Harriet  married  B.  F.  Mar- 
shall and  died  at  Salem,  Illinois,  May  3, 
1901 ;  Sarah  married  Robert  D.  Noleman, 
of  Centralia,  both  deceased;  Mariah  Eliza- 
beth, deceased,  was  the  wife  of  the  late 
Judge  Silas  L.  Bryan,  of  Marion  county, 
and  mother  of  Hon.  William  Jennings  Bry- 
an; America,  deceased,  married  William  C. 
Stites,  then  a  resident  of  Marion  county; 
Nancy,  wife  of  Dr.  James  A.  Davenport, 
lives  in  Salem;  Docie,  now  Mrs.  A.  Van 
Antwerp,  lives  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and 
Z.  C.,  who  is  living  near  the  town  of 
Walnut  Hill.  Charles  W.  Jennings  died 
August  1 8.  1872. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


515 


Charles  Waters  Jennings  was  a  man  of 
high  standing  in  the  community,  successful 
as  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  and  his  char- 
acter was  ever  above  the  suspicion  of  re- 
proach. Courteous  in  his  relations  with  his 
fellows  and  the  soul  of  honor  in  all  his 
dealings,  he  measured  up  to  a  high  stand- 
ard of  manhood  and  citizenship  and  made 
the  world  better  by  his  presence.  By  good 
business  management  he  succeeded  in  amas- 
sing a  sufficiency  of  this  world's  goods  to 
place  him  in  easy  circumstances,  owning  at 
the  time  of  his  death  one  thousand  acres  of 
valuable  land,  the  greater  part  improved, 
and  the  source  of  a  liberal  income.  He  was 
called  from  earth  on  August  18,  1872,  his 
wife  following  him  to  the  grave  April  3d, 
of  the  year  1885. 

Josephus  Waters  Jennings,  the  oldest  of 
the  family  of  Charles  W.  and  Maria  W. 
Jennings,  was  born  on  the  homestead  near 
Walnut  Hill,  Marion  county,  October  29, 
1827.  He  was  reared  under  excellent  pa- 
rental influences,  received  the  best  educa- 
tion which  the  schools  during  his  childhood 
and  youth  afforded  and  while  still  a  young 
man,  engaged  in  merchandising  at  Walnut 
Hill,  to  which  line  of  trade  he  devoted  his 
attention  with  gratifying  success  until  1856. 
Disposing  of  his  business  that  year,  he 
moved  to  his  farm  near  by  and  during  the 
encuing  forty-four  years  followed  the  life  of 
a  tiller  of  the  soil  in  which  pursuit  he  was 
also  successful  as  his  continued  advancement 
bore  witness. 

Amanda  Couch,  whom  Mr.  Jennings 
married  on  the  24th  day  of  November,  1850, 


was  born  in  Marion  county,  Illinois,  Janu- 
ary 8,  1834,  being  the  daughter  of  Milton 
and  Nancy  (Baird)  Couch,  early  residents 
of  the  county  and  representatives  of  well 
known  and  highly  esteemed  families.  Dur- 
ing the  three  years  following  their  marriage, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jennings  lived  at  Walnut 
Hill,  but  at  the  expiration  of  that  time, 
changed  their  residence  to  a  farm  in  section 
26,  Centralia  township,  where  Mr.  Jennings 
engaged  in  agriculture  and  stock  raising  on 
quite  an  extensive  scale  and  met  with  finan- 
cial success  commensurate  with  the  energy 
which  he  displayed  in  all  of  his  undertak- 
ings. He  also  manifested  an  active  interest 
in  public  and  political  matters  and  was  long 
one  of  the  leading  Democrats  and  influential 
politicians  of  the  county,  besides  achieving 
much  more  than  local  reputation  in  party 
circles,  throughout  the  southern  part  of  the 
state.  He  served  for  some  years  as  As- 
sociate Judge  of  Marion  county,  the  duties 
of  which  position  he  discharged  very  accept- 
ably, also  filled  the  office  of  Supervisor  sev- 
eral terms,  and  in  1850  was  elected  Coroner. 
During  the  Civil  war  he  was  Deputy  Col- 
lector of  internal  revenue,  later  served  as 
Deputy  Sheriff  and  for  several  years  was 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  an  office  for  which 
his  sound  sense,  well  balanced  judgment  and 
love  of  justice  peculiarly  fitted  him.  His 
official  career  was  eminently  honorable  and 
he  proved  an  efficient  and  very  popular  pub- 
lic servant,  adorning  every  position  to  which 
he  was  called  and  fully  meeting  the  high  ex- 
pectations of  his  fellow  citizens. 

The  children,  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jennings, 


lilOCKAI'HICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


nine  in  number,  are  as  follows:  Mary  R., 
who  married  I.  N.  Baldridge,  of  Walnut 
Hill;  Charles  E.,  who  is  noticed  at  some 
length  further  on;  Frank  E.,  of  Centralia; 
Daisy,  deceased,  who  married  O.  V.  Kell, 
also  of  that  city ;  Hon.  William  S.  Jennings, 
ex-Governor  of  Florida;  Mrs.  Nannie  D. 
Stover,  Mrs.  Eva  Shaw  and  Thomas  J.  are 
three  living  at  Walnut  Hill,  and  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Wheeler,  whose  home  is  in  Kalamazoo, 
Michigan.  Mr.  Jennings  was  a  man  of  pro- 
found religious  convictions  and  in  early  life 
united  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
of  which  he  continued  a  faithful  and  con- 
sistent member  to  the  end  of  his  days.  He 
died  November  20,  1890,  in  the  full  assur- 
ance of  a  triumphant  resurrection.  His 
widow,  who  lives  on  the  old  homestead,  has 
reached  the  age  of  seventy-six  and  retains 
to  a  remarkable  degree  the  possession  of  her 
powers,  both  mental  and  physical.  She  is 
one  of  a  family  of  six  children,  three  are 
living.  Robert  Couch,  whose  home  is  at 
Marissa,  Illinois,  and  Porter,  who  resides  at 
the  town  of  Sparta,  this  state.  Milton 
Couch,  the  father,  was  a  son  of  James  and 
Elizabeth  Couch,  the  former  a  native  of 
North  Carolina  and  among  the  early  pio- 
neers of  southern  Illinois. 


ALEXANDER  W.  FISHER. 

An  illustration  of  skill  as  a  farmer  as  well 
as  the  ability  to  concentrate  efforts  along 
some  special  line  until  success  is  achieved 


in  that  undertaking  is  found  in  the  case  of 
our  subject,  who  is  not  only  a  successful 
farmer  as  that  term  is  understood  but  has 
also  made  a  specialty  of  breeding  Poland- 
China  hogs,  Mr.  Fisher  being  a  standard 
authority  in  this  remunerative  industry. 

Alexander  W.  Fisher  was  born  in 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  on  the  i6th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1870,  the  son  of  E.  A.  and  Susan 
(Louis)  Fisher,  both  of  whom  are  among 
the  county's  substantial  and  highly  respected 
citizens.  They  are  members  of  the  Metho- 
dist denomination  and  were  the  parents  of 
a  robust  family  of  eleven  children,  of  whom 
Alexander  was  the  eight  in  order  of  birth. 
This  family  circle  was  one  typical  of  its 
kind,  the  tie  of  kindred  fellowship  being 
strong,  and  the  fireside  brightened  with  the 
light  of  domestic  happiness  and  harmony. 

Our  subject  received  his  early  education 
in  the  Kagy  district  school,  but  farm  life  was 
also  an  instrument  in  his  trainings,  develop- 
ing in  him  that  sturdy  independence  and 
wholesome  self-reliance  that  has  character- 
ized his  subsequent  career. 

On  August  6,  1890,  Mr.  Fisher  was  mar- 
ried to  Nannie  H.  Stevens,  daughter  of  Le 
Roy  and  Mary  Stevens,  resident  of  this 
county.  She  is  the  youngest  of  five  chil- 
dren ,  is  a  woman  of  excellent  tastes  and 
refined  judgment,  and  is  proving  to  be  a 
most  excellent  mother.  In  this  latter  ca- 
pacity she  has  adorned  the  home  with  four 
children,  all  of  whom  show  the  results  of 
uplifting  parental  influence  and  affection. 
The  children  are:  Georgia  B.,  born  Octo- 
ber 27,  1891 ;  Milton  E.,  born  January  9, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


1894;  Clarence  S.,  born  February  16,  1895, 
and  Mamie  M.,  born  March  12,  1896;  Clar- 
ence S.  died  March  31,  1895. 

Mr.  Fisher  owns  and  operates  a  farm  of 
seventy  acres,  all  under  cultivation.  It  im- 
presses the  visitor  at  once  as  bearing  the 
marks  of  thrift  and  industry  and  shows 
economy  in  its  management.  The  Fisher 
homestead  is  one  where  neighbors  and 
friends  find  at  all  times  a  hearty  welcome, 
and  is  surrounded  with  an  atmosphere  of 
friendliness  and  sociability. 

Mr.  Fisher  takes  an  active  interest  in  the 
general  affairs  of  the  community  and  affili- 
ates with  the  Democratic  party,  but  has 
never  aspired  to  political  prominence.  He 
is  satisfied  to  discharge  his  obligations  as 
a  citizen  by  lending  his  support  at  the  bal- 
lot box  to  such  men  as  will  discharge  their 
official  duties  with  the  utmost  conscientious- 
ness and  integrity. 


CHARLES  EDGAR  JENNINGS. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  not  only 
gained  recognition  and  prestige  as  a  promi- 
nent and  successful  member  of  the  Marion 
county  bar,  but  has  also  kept  in  touch  with 
all  that  relates  to  the  material  progress  and 
general  prosperity  of  his  home  city,  being 
known  as  one  of  the  enterprising  and  pub- 
lic-spirited citizens  of  Salem,  having  con- 
tributed both  by  influence  and  tangible  aid 
to  all  legitimate  projects  which  have  tended 
to  conserve  the  best  interests  of  the  com- 


munity. In  the  legal  circles  of  Souther 
Illinois,  his  reputation  is  second  t 
none  of  his  contemporaries,  indeed  ther 
are  few  lawyers  in  the  state  whose  succes 
has  been  so  continuous  and  uninterrupted  c 
who  have  achieved  as  high  distinction  i 
their  profession.  Endowed  by  nature  wit 
in  active  and  brilliant  mind  which  has  bee 
cultivated  and  strengthened  by  much  stud 
and  discipline,  he  has  made  rapid  progres 
in  his  chosen  calling  and  today  he  stand 
admittedly  at  the  head  of  the  bar  in  the  fiel 
to  which  the  major  part  of  his  practice  i 
confined,  besides  yielding  a  commandin 
influence  among  the  leaders  of  his  profe; 
sion  in  other  parts  of  the  state. 

Charles  Edgar  Jennings,  second  child  an 
oldest  son  of  Josephus  Waters  and  Amand 
(Couch)  Jennings,  is  a  native  of  Mario 
county,  Illinois,  and  dates  his  birth  fror 
January  7,  1855.  After  receiving  a  pn 
liminary  education  in  the  public  schools,  h 
entered  Irvington  Illinois  Agricultural  Co' 
lege,  where  he  took  a  scientific  course  an 
from  which  he  graduated  June  16,  187; 
with  an  honorable  record  as  a  diligent  an 
critical  student.  He  taught  one  term  in  th 
public  schools,  prior  to  his  collegiate  cours< 
and  after  graduating  took  charge  of  th 
school  at  Walnut  Hill,  which  he  had  attend 
ed  in  his  childhood  and  youth,  meetini 
with  encouraging  success  as  an  instructo 
and  disciplinarian  and  fully  satisfying  bot 
pupils  and  patrons. 

Having  decided  to  make  the  legal  profe< 
sion  his  life  work,  Mr.  Jennings  in  187 
became  a  student  of  the  Union  College  o 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Law,  Chicago,  Department  of  North  Wes- 
tern University,  where  he  prosecuted  his 
studies  and  received  his  degree  on  June  5, 
1878,  the  diploma  from  this  institution  be- 
ing his  passport  to  admission  to  the  bar  by 
the  Supreme  Court  without  further  exam- 
ination. This  court  being  in  session  at 
Mount  Vernon  the  month  of  his  graduation, 
he  presented  his  diploma  and  was  duly  ad- 
mitted to  practice,  following  which  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  the  late  Judge 
Bryan  of  Salem,  which  lasted  until  the 
death  of  the  latter  in  1880  and  which  in  the 
meantime  became  known  as  one  of  the 
strongest  and  most  successful  legal  firms 
not  only  in  Marion  county,  but  in  Southern 
Illinois.  His  license  to  practice  which  bears 
the  date  of  June  n,  1878,  was  signed  by 
Hon.  Sidney  Breese,  the  distinguished  pio- 
neer jurist  of  Illinois,  this  being  among  the 
last  official  acts  in  the  long  and  eminently 
honorable  career  of  this  eminent  man. 

Mr.  Jennings  was  Master  in  Chancery 
from  1885  to  1889,  resigning  the  position 
the  latter  year  to  assume  his  duties  as 
State's  Attorney  to  which  office  he  was 
elected  in  1888  and  the  duties  of  which  he 
discharged  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  public  for  a  period  of 
twelve  years.  A  pronounced  Democrat,  he 
has  long  been  a  power  in  local  politics  and 
to  him  as  much  as  any  one  man  is  due  the 
success  of  his  party,  in  a  number  of  cam- 
paigns to  say  nothing  of  his  influence  in  con- 
tributing to  the  triumph  of  the  district,  state 
and  national  tickets.  As  stated  in  the  begin- 
ning Mr.  Jennings  has  kept  in  close  touch 


with  enterprises  and  measures,  having  for 
their  object  the  material  progress  and  social, 
intellectual  and  moral  advancement  of  the 
city  in  which  he  resides.  He  served  a  number 
of  years  on  the  local  school  board,  part  of 
the  time  as  president  of  the  body  and  dur- 
ing his  incumbency,  labored  earnestly  to 
promote  an  interest  in  educational  matters 
and  advance  the  standard  of  the  schools  of 
the  city  in  which  laudable  endeavor  his  suc- 
cess was  most  gratifying.  Believing  knowl- 
edge when  properly  disseminated,  to  be  tot 
the  perpetuity  of  the  state  and  the  happiness 
and  best  interests  of  the  people,  he  has  been 
untiring  in  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  institu- 
tions of  learning,  especially  those  of  the 
higher  grades,  and  his  advice  to  young  peo- 
ple has  been  to  take  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunities which  the  high  school,  the  college 
and  the  university  present  in  the  way  of  pre- 
paring for  the  duties  of  life  and  the  obliga- 
tions of  citizenship. 

Since  the  death  of  Judge  Bryan,  Mr.  Jen- 
nings has  been  alone  in  the  practice  of  law 
and  as  already  indicated  he  is  now  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  bar  of  Southern  Illinois, 
with  a  large  and  lucrative  professional  busi- 
ness in  the  courts  of  his  own  and  neigh- 
boring counties.  The  keynote  of  his  charac- 
ter seems  to  be  an  intense  and  absolute  fix- 
ety  of  purpose,  a  dominating  resolve  to  rise 
and  make  his  influence  felt  and  in  the  court 
as  well  as  the  public  arena,  he  has  not  been 
content  to  occupy  a  second  place.  He  moves 
in  only  one  direction  and  that  is  forward 
and  the  success  and  eminent  standing  al- 
ready achieved  bespeak  still  greater  ad- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


519 


vancement  in  his  profession  and  higher  hon- 
ors in  years  to  come. 

Mr.  Jennings  has  been  twice  married,  the 
first  time  on  May  5,  1880,  to  Daisy  Martin, 
youngest  child  of  Gen.  James  S.  Martin,  of 
Salem,  the  union  resulting  in  the  birth  of 
two  children;  Hazel,  and  a  son  that  died 
in  infancy.  Mrs.  Jennings  died  July  12, 
1894,  and  on  June  loth  of  the  year  1903, 
Mr.  Jennings  entered  the  marriage  relation 
with  Maude  Cunningham,  daughter  of  M. 
R.  Cunningham,  of  Salem. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Jennings  is  a  Mason  of 
high  degree,  having  passed  all  the  chairs  in 
the  local  lodge  to  which  he  belongs,  be- 
sides representing  it  at  different  times  in 
the  Grand  Lodge.  He  has  spent  his  entire 
life  within  the  bounds  of  his  native  county, 
has  labored  hard  to  reach  the  high  place  in 
professional  circles  which  he  now  occupies, 
and  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term,  he  is  a 
self-made  man  and  as  such  is  certainly  en- 
titled to  the  universal  esteem  in  which  he  is 
held  and  the  high  honors  with  which  his 
career  has  been  crowned. 


GEORGE  S.  FYFE. 

Although  the  character  of  the  immigrants 
that  come  to  America  today  seems  to  be 
changing,  yet  there  is  not  a  single  doubt 
but  that  in  years  past  some  of  the  most 
sturdy,  energetic  and  progressive  people  liv- 
ing upon  our  soil  were  the  ones  that  come  to 
us  from  foreign  lands.  They  have  brought 
to  us  not  only  the  spirit  of  thrift  and  en- 


durance, but  have  contributed  to  the  loyal 
American  spirit  to  a  degree  which  can 
hardly  be  overestimated.  Among  the  many 
worthy  of  mention  in  this  connection  we 
refer  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  S.  Fyfe,  of 
Alma,  Illinois.  Mr.  Fife  was  born  at  Dun- 
dee, Scotland,  January  20,  1820,  and  his 
life  experiences  have  been  most  interesting 
and  varied.  He  became  a  machinist  by 
trade,  serving  as  an  apprentice  in  his  native 
town,  at  the  end  of  which  period  he  went 
to  London,  and  there  followed  his  trade  for 
two  years,  but  not  being  fully  satisfied  with 
the  confinement  incident  to  the  work  in 
which  he  was  engaged,  he  kept  alert  for  an 
opportunity  for  a  wider  experience  and  this 
came  to  him,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  Turkish 
navy  as  an  engineer.  His  father,  George 
Fyfe,  was  a  sea  captain  before  him  and  the 
son  seemed  to  inherit  the  father's  spirit  for 
a  life  of  travel  and  adventure.  He  remained 
in  the  Turkish  navy  for  three  years  and 
during  this  time  and  thereafter  he  traveled 
in  many  countries,  spending  considerable 
time  in  Palestine  and  Egypt,  sailing  up  the 
Nile  from  Alexandria  to  Cairo,  where 
Moses  was  born,  and  where  Paul  wrote  his 
speech  to  the  Philistines.  Here  he  saw  the 
noble  Egyptian  obelisk,  that  famous  shaft 
of  stone  that  lay  for  centuries  prostrate  upon 
the  sands,  but  which  was  later,  -at  great 
expense,  taken  to  New  York  and  set  up  once 
more  to  mark  the  path  of  the  sun  by  day  and 
at  night  to  point  again  to  the  same  glittering 
stars  that  have  studded  the  clear  Egyptian 
skies  since  the  daybreak  of  time.  Here, 
also,  he  stood  under  the  shadows  of  the 
pyramids,  those  wonders  of  ages  past  that 


520 


i:i(M,U AI'IIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


have  been  the  marvel  of  mankind  through- 
out all  history. 

Mr.  Fyfe  also  had  a  brother  who  was  a 
sea  captain,  now  deceased,  and  another 
whose  home  was  in  Melbourne,  Australia. 

After  coming  to  America,  Mr.  Fyfe  spent 
some  time  in  Boston,  and  it  was  here  that  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Hutchinson  Spinks,  on 
February  5,  1852.  Miss  Spinks  is  also  of 
Scotch  descent,  having  emigrated  to 
America  from  her  native  land  when  sailing 
vessels  were  the  ones  most  used  for  cross- 
ing the  broad  Atlantic.  Ten  children  were 
born  to  this  union. 

When  Mr.  Fyfe  came  west  he  bought 
mostly  prairie  land  from  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad.  Mr.  Fyfe  now  has  a  fine 
farm  to  show  for  his  energy  and  application. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  have  used  good  judg- 
ment in  their  work,  and  Mrs.  Fyfe,  though 
seventy-seven  years  old,  has  never  worn 
glasses.  They  belong  to  the  Baptist  church, 
although  their  parents  before  them  were 
Scotch  Presbyterians.  Mr.  Fyfe  affiliates 
with  the  Republican  party  and  through  his 
calm  judgment  and  broad  minded  experi- 
ence has  done  much  to  advance  the  cause  of 
good  citizenship  in  the  community. 


HENRY  F.  KELCHNER. 

When  we  state  in  an  initiative  way  that 
the  honored  subject  of  this  sketch  has  re- 
sided for  fifty-six  years  in  Marion  county, 
having  devoted  his  attention  to  agricultural 


pursuits  during  that  time,  the  significance 
of  the  statement  is  evident  in  that  it  must 
necessarily  imply  that  he  is  one  of  the  pros- 
perous farmers  of  the  community. 

Henry  F.  Kelchner  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, September  23,  1828,  the  son  of  David 
and  Elizabeth  (Follmer)  Kelchner,  who 
were  the  parents  of  four  children :  Henry, 
our  subject  being  the  second  in  order  of 
birth.  He  has  one  brother  and  two  sisters. 
Our  subject  attended  the  common  schools 
in  his  native  community  in  the  Keystone 
state,  where  he  received  a  fairly  good  edu- 
cation, assisting  his  father  with  the  work 
about  the  place.  As  already  indicated  he 
came  to  Illinois  in  1852,  arriving  here  in 
the  month  of  June  and  after  working  at 
whatever  he  could  secure  that  was  honor- 
able and  remunerative,  he  married  on  Jan- 
uary n,  1855,  Lucy  C.  Lovell,  and  to  this 
union  these  children  were  born:  Robert  B., 
who  married  Belle  Ritter,  and  to  whom  one 
daughter  was  born;  Eugene  married  Hattie 
Samuels,  living  in  Tazewell  county,  this 
state,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one 
daughter;  Ida  married  George  Asher  and 
they  have  seven  children;  Katie  married  G. 
E.  Brandeberry,  and  is  the  mother  of  one 
son;  Harvey  F.  married  Clara  Millican,  the 
daughter  of  Filmore  and  Maggie  ( Porter) 
Millican. 

Henry  F.  Kelchner  was  one  of  the  sturdy 
and  patriotic  sons  of  the  North  who  be- 
lieved it  his  duty  to  do  what  he  could  in 
suppressing  the  great  rebellion,  consequent- 
ly he  enlisted  at  Springfield.  Illinois,  in 
September,  1861,  in  Company  K.  Thirty- 


RICH  LAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


521 


third  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  under 
Colonel  Hovey  and  Charles  E.  Lippencott, 
as  captain.  His  first  battle  was  at  Freder- 
icksburg  and  he  took  part  in  many  other 
battles  and  skirmishes  in  which  this  regi- 
ment was  engaged,  always  conducting  him- 
self as  a  brave  soldier.  He  was  mustered 
out  in  Springfield  in  September,  1864,  and 
as  a  reward  for  his  faithful  services  he  is 
remembered  by  his  government  with  a  pen- 
sion of  twenty  dollars  per  month. 

Our  subject  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  and 
highly  improved  farm,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  acres,  sixty-five  acres  of 
which  are  in  cultivation.  He  carried  on 
general  farming,  but  now  in  his  old  age  he  is 
leading  a  practically  retired  life  at  the  home 
of  his  son,  Harvey. 

Mr.  Kelchner  has  always  been  a  public- 
spirited  man  and  in  1882  he  was  nominated 
on  the  Union  Labor  ticket  for  Circuit  Clerk. 
He  has  very  ably  and  acceptably  filled  the 
offices  of  Town  Clerk,  School  Director  and 
Township  Treasurer. 

He  votes  a  mixed  ticket,  always  believing 
in  honesty  in  politics  and  preferring  to 
place  the  best  men  possible  in  local  and  na- 
tional offices.  He  is  a  Prohibitionist  at 
heart,  and  he  believes  in  a  Democratic  gov- 
ernment. Religiously  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Christian  church. 

Although  Mr.  Kelchner  is  eighty  years 
old  he  still  has  a  very  bright  mind  and  is 
well  read  and  keeps  abreast  of  the  times. 
Having  during  his  entire  life  been  closely 
identified  with  the  interests  and  develop- 
ment of  whatever  section  of  the  country  he 


lived  in.  By  close  application  to  the  duties 
which  lay  before  him,  he  has  won  his  way 
into  the  hearts  of  the  people  who  know  him. 


TILMON  J.  ROGERS. 

There  can  never  be  aught  but  apprecia- 
tion of  the  services  of  the  men  who  fol- 
lowed the  stars  and  stripes  on  the  sanguin- 
ary battle  fields  of  the  South  during  the 
most  crucial  epoch  of  our  national  history. 
One  of  the  honored  veterans  of  the  war  of 
the  Rebellion,  who  went  forth  as  represen- 
tative of  Marion  county  patriotism  is  the 
subject  of  this  tribute,  who  has  passed  the 
greater  portion  of  his  useful  life  in  this 
county. 

Tilmon  J.  Rogers  was  born  in  Maury 
county,  Tennessee,  February  24,  1842,  the 
son  of  Jesse  and  Elizabeth  (Alderson) 
Rogers,  the  former  a  native  of  Tennessee, 
where  he  was  born  in  1801.  The  latter  was 
also  born  in  that  state,  the  date  of  her  birth 
occurring  in  1811.  There  were  ten  chil- 
dren in  this  family,  an  equal  number  of 
boys  and  girls,  our  subject  being  the  eighth 
in  order  of  birth. 

Tilmon  J.  Rogers  came  with  his  parents 
to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  when  ten  years 
old,  in  1852.  The  family  rented  a  farm 
and  made  a  good  living  in  the  new  home. 

Our  subject  drove  an  ox  team  to  break 
the  ground  in  this  county,  and  assisted  with 
the  farm  work  until  he  reached  maturity, 
having  gone  to  school  but  very  little.  How- 
ever he  learned  to  spell,  read  and  write  but 


522 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


he  never  studied  arithmetic  a  day,  but  prac- 
tice in  the  business  world  has  been  his  edu- 
cator and  he  counts  interest  and  all  meas- 
urements mentally.  His  first  school  was  in 
Tennessee,  a  subscription  school.  He  has 
always  been  a  hard  worker  and  is  even  now 
a  strong  man  both  physically  and  mentally, 
keeping  well  posted  on  current  events  and 
is  therefore  an  interesting  conversationalist. 

Mr.  Rogers  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1866  with  Martha  C.  Clack,  daughter  of  B. 
B.  and  Cornelia  (Vanduzen)  Brown,  who 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  six  girls 
and  one  boy.  Mrs.  Rogers'  mother  was  born 
in  Edgar  county,  Illinois,  in  1825.  Seven  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  our  subject  and  wife, 
three  boys  and  four  girls,  namely:  Emory 
J.,  who  was  married  to  Lora  Keller,  is  the 
father  of  two  children,  both  girls;  Laura 
Stella  married  Frank  Arnold,  and  they  have 
five  children,  four  of  whom  are  living,  three 
boys  and  one  girl ;  Vantoliver  married  Lu- 
ella  Stevens,  and  they  have  one  son ;  Henry 
O.  married  first  Leona  Arnold,  by  whom  he 
has  one  daughter;  his  second  marriage  was 
to  Edith  Southward  and  one  daughter  has 
also  been  born  to  this  union ;  Martha  C. 
married  John  Davis;  Nellie  E.  married  Lu- 
ther Beard  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two 
sons;  Bessie  T.  died  at  the  age  of  eleven 
years.  These  children  all  received  fairly 
good  common  school  educations  and  are 
comfortably  situated  in  reference  to  this 
world's  affairs. 

Tilmon  J.  Rogers  was  one  of  the  patriotic 
citizens  of  the  fair  North  who  believed  that 
it  was  his  duty  and  privilege  to  offer  his 


services  and  life,  if  need  be,  in  defence  of 
his  country's  integrity,  which  was  threat- 
ened during  the  dark  days  of  the  sixties, 
consequently  he  enlisted  August  14,  1862,  in 
Company  E,  One  Hundred  and  Eleventh 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  under  J.  M. 
Martin,  and  was  in  the  service  nearly  three 
years,  having  taken  part  in  many  a  hard- 
fought  battle,  being  wounded  at  Resaca, 
Georgia,  May  14,  1864,  having  been  struck 
in  the  right  arm  by  a  musket  ball  which 
took  effect  near  the  shoulder.  He  was  in 
the  hospital  but  a  short  time  as  a  result  of 
this  wound.  He  was  in  a  number  of  en- 
gagements while  in  Sherman's  march  from 
Atlanta  to  the  sea.  He  was  discharged 
June  28,  1865,  at  Washington  City,  after 
which  he  went  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  where 
he  received  his  pay,  then  he  came  back  to 
Marion  county  and  took  up  farming,  at 
which  he  has  prospered  ever  since. 

In  politics  Mr.  Rogers  is  a  loyal  advocate 
of  the  principles  fostered  by  the  Democratic 
party,  and  while  he  has  never  found  time  to 
take  much  interest  in  active  political  affairs 
his  vote  is  always  cast  for  the  men  whom 
he  believes  will  best  serve  the  public  inter- 
ests. In  religious  matters  his  parents  were 
Missionary  Baptists  on  his  mother's  side. 
Personally  Mr.  Rogers  adheres  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  good  citizenship  and  believes  in  at- 
tending strictly  to  his  own  affairs. 

He  owns  a  valuable  and  highly  improved 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  acres, 
having  lived  on  the  same  since  the  fall  of 
1867,  and  during  his  lapse  of  years  he  has 
seen  this  county  undergo  great  changes. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


523 


ORVILLE  T.  WALTON. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  passed  his 
life  in  Marion  county,  and  as  a  representa- 
tive of  one  of  the  honored  families  early  set- 
tled in  this  section  he  is  well  entitled  to  rep- 
resentation in  this  volume. 

Orville  T.  Walton  was  bora  in  Patoka 
township,  Marion  county,  November  6, 
1868,  the  son  of  Iradell  and  Louisa  (Fos- 
ter) Walton,  both  natives  of  Illinois.  They 
lived  mostly  in  Patoka  and  Foster  town- 
ships, having  come  to  the  latter  in  1869  and 
settled  in  section  19.  He  first  purchased 
sixty  acres  and  later  sixty  acres  more  were 
added  and  then  another  sixty  acres,  still 
later,  forty-eight  acres,  all  in  Foster  town- 
ship and  twenty  acres  in  Patoka  township, 
having  always  been  a  farmer,  well  known 
and  highly  respected  by  all ;  an  active  Dem- 
ocrat, having  served  as  Town  Clerk  and 
Treasurer,  and  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  His  death 
occurred  April  17,  1897,  and  his  wife  passed 
to  her  rest  April  27,  1900.  The  subject's 
grandfather  and  grandmother  Walton  both 
died  of  cholera  in  1849.  Iradell  Walton 
and  wife  were  the  parents  of  eleven  chil- 
dren, namely:  Monroe,  a  farmer  in  Foster 
township,  who  married  Harriet  Friend,  the 
latter  dying  January,  1908;  Rosie  Maud, 
now  deceased,  married  Arthur  Irvin ;  Rachel 
married  Marshall  Livesay,  of  Foley,  Mis- 
souri; Lillian  married  Thomas  Bundy,  of 
Fayette  county,  Illinois;  Orville  T.,  our 
subject ;  Effie  married  Leonard  Arnold,  of 
Foster  township;  Abbie  is  the  wife  of  David 


M.  Giddeon,  of  Slater,  Missouri;  William 
A.,  who  married  Annie  Grouse,  of  Patoka, 
this  county;  Edna  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Meadows,  of  Patoka;  Delia  is  a  nurse,  liv- 
ing in  Foster  township ;  Robert  lives  on  the 
old  home  place  in  Foster  township  and  mar- 
ried Lizzie  Ballance. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  had  only  a 
limited  education,  attending  the  home 
schools  for  a  short  time.  He  remained  a 
member  of  the  family  circle  until  he  was 
twenty-three  years  old. 

Orville  T.  Walton  was  united  in  marriage 
March  17,  1891,  with  Florence  Chance,  of 
Foster  township,  daughter  of  Willis  J.  and 
Matilda  (Foster)  Chance.  They  were  both 
born  in  Marion  county  and  lived  in  Foster 
township.  They  are  farmers  and  have  four 
children,  namely :  Florence,  the  subject's 
wife;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Eli  Logan,  of  Pa- 
toka township;  Elza  is  a  traveling  salesman 
with  headquarters  at  Clay  Center,  Kansas ; 
John  is  living  at  home. 

The  subject  and  wife  are  the  parents  of 
two  sons,  Charles  Addis,  born  December 
27,  1895,  and  Kenneth  O.,  born  March  31, 
1899. 

After  the  subject's  marriage  he  located 
on  the  George  McHeny  place  in  Foster 
township,  where  he  remained  for  one  year, 
also  one  year  on  the  Chance  place  and  one 
on  the  Foster  place.  He  then  bought 
forty  acres  in  section  18,  the  J.  H.  Walker 
place,  where  he  lived  for  five  years  and  then 
moved  to  Harvey,  Illinois,  where  he  lived 
two  years,  when  he  moved  back  to  Foster 
township  in  the  fall  of  1907,  locating  where 


524 


lilOGKAPIIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


he  now  lives.  He  bought  the  John  Chick 
place,  consisting  of  forty  acres.  He  was  al- 
ways a  hard  worker  and  thrifty,  consequent- 
ly he  has  been  enabled  to  add  on  to  his 
place  until  he  now  has  ninety  acres  of  as 
good  land  as  can  be  found  in  this  locality, 
which  is  well  improved  and  managed  so  that 
abundant  harvests  are  reaped  from  year  to 
year.  He  raises  good  horses,  cattle  and 
hogs  and  carries  on  a  general  farming 
business.  He  has  ii  comfortable  dwelling 
and  convenient  out  buildings.  He  has  al- 
ways been  a  public-spirited  man  and  has 
ably  served  as  school  director  and  Town 
Clerk.  He  is  a  loyal  Democrat  and  a  worthy 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
and  is  regarded  by  his  neighbors  as  among 
the  leading  young  farmers  of  Foster 
township. 


PROF.  J.  H.  G.  BRINKERHOFF. 

The  biographer  in  wrting  of  the  repre- 
sentative citizens  of  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
has  found  no  subject  worthier  of  representa- 
tion in  a  work  of  the  province  of  the  one 
at  hand  than  Professor  Brinkerhoff,  author 
of  the  historical  portion  of  this  history,  who 
is  known  as  a  man  of  high  attainments,  and 
practical  ability,  as  one  who  has  achieved 
success  in  his  profession  principally  because 
he  has  worked  for  it.  His  prestige  in  the 
educational  circles  of  this  locality  stands  in 
evidence  of  his  ability  and  likewise  stands 
as  a  voucher  for  intrinsic  worth  of  char- 
acter. He  has  used  his  intellect  to  the  best 


purpose,  has  directed  his  energies  in  legiti- 
mate channels,  and  his  career  has  been 
based  upon  the  wise  assumption  that  nothing 
save  industry,  perseverance,  sturdy  in- 
tegrity and  fidelity  to  duty  will  lead  to  suc- 
cess. The  profession  of  teaching  which  our 
subject  has  made  his  principal  life  work 
offers  no  opportunities  to  the  slothful,  only 
to  such  determined  spirits  as  that  of  Mr. 
Brinkeroff.  It  is  an  arduous,  exacting,  dis- 
couraging profession  to  one  who  is  unwill- 
ing to  subordinate  other  interests  to  its  de- 
mands, but  to  the  true  and  earnest 
devotee  it  offers  a  sphere  of  action  whose 
attractions  are  equal  to  any  and  whose  re- 
wards are  unstinted.  That  the  subject  pos- 
sesses the  qualities  enumerated  is  undoubted 
owing  to  the  success  he  has  achieved  and  the 
high  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  all  who 
know  him. 

Prof.  J.  H.  G.  Brinkerhoff  was  born  De- 
cember 14,  1844,  in  Hackensack,  New  Jer- 
sey, and  he  came  to  Illinois  with  his  father 
in  1852,  who  settled  in  Grandview,  Edgar 
county,  where  the  subject's  father  estab- 
lished a  plow  and  wagon  shop,  which  he 
conducted  for  four  years.  In  1856  his 
father  moved  on  a  farm  where  young  Brink- 
erhoff was  inured  to  the  hard  work  of  the 
farm  on  that  day.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  those  early  days  when 
opportunities  for  higher  learning  were 
limited.  Being  desirous  of  making  the  most 
of  his  life  work,  he  later  attended  Steele's 
Academy  and  the  Kansas  high  school,  also 
the  Indiana  State  Normal  School.  He  de- 
cided to  take  up  the  profession  of  law  and 


•ROF.  J.  H.  G.  BRINKERHOFF 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


525 


subsequently  entered  McKendree  College 
and  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law 
from  that  institution,  but  believing  that 
teaching  was  best  suited  to  his  tastes  he  ac- 
cordingly began  that  line  of  work  in  1864 
and  he  followed  that  profession  with  un- 
abated success  for  a  period  of  thirty  years, 
becoming  known  as  one  of  the  ablest  educa- 
tors of  this  section  of  the  state.  During 
that  long  stretch  of  continuous  service  he 
never  lost  a  day  on  account  of  sickness. 
For  ten  years  he  was  'at  the  head  of  the 
city  schools  in  Lebanon,  Illinois,  and  for 
the  same  length  of  time  held  the  same  posi- 
tion in  Salem.  Owing  to  his  high  educa- 
tional attainments,  his  close  application  to 
duty  and  his  native  ability  in  this  line  of 
work,  he  was  a  favorite  with  both  pupils 
and  their  parents  and  his  services  were  al- 
ways in  great  demand. 

Professor  Brinkerhoff  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Amanda  S.  Clark  at  Mascoutah, 
St.  Clair  county,  Illinois,  in  1873.  She  is 
a  representative  of  a  well  known  and 
influential  family  of  that  county.  To  this 
union  seven  cihldren  have  been  born,  four 
sons  and  three  daughters,  one  daughter 
dying  in  infancy.  The  other  six  are  all 
living  in  Salem. 

In  1878  our  subject  united  with  the 
Christian  church  and  he  has  for  many  years 
preached  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  as  occasion 
permitted. 

Professor  Brinkerhoff  is  a  descendant  of 
sterling  old  Knickerbocker  Dutch  stock,  the 
founder  of  the  family  having  settled  in 
Long  Island  in  1632,  and  in  1685  he  re- 


moved to  a  farm  on  the  Hackensack  river 
in  New  Jersey,  which  farm  remained  in  pos- 
session of  the  family  until  after  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  The  paternal  great-grand- 
father of  the  subject  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
New  Jersey  Continentals  and  he  was  in  ac- 
tive service  during  the  war  except  for  a 
period  of  eighteen  months  when  he  was  a 
prisoner  of  war  on  the  Jersey  prison  ship 
in  the  East  river,  from  which -he  finally  es- 
caped by  jumping  overboard  and  swimming 
to  the  New  York  side  of  the  river.  The 
family  have  always  been  patriotic,  law- 
abiding  and  firm  believers  in  the  right  of 
man  to  govern  himself. 


HENRY  C.  FOSTER. 

Among  the  sturdy  and  enterprising  farm- 
ers of  Foster  township,  Marion  county,  is 
the  gentleman  whose  name  appears  above, 
whose  life  has  been  one  of  industry  and 
strict  adherence  to  honorable  principles, 
which  has  resulted  in  gaining  a  comfortable 
living  and  at  the  same  time  winning  the 
respect  of  his  fellow  men. 

Henry  C.  Foster  was  born  in  Clinton 
county,  Illinois,  January  29,  1842,  the  son 
of  William  Henry  and  Nancy  (Lowe)  Fos- 
ter, the  former  of  Georgia  and  the  latter  of 
Tennessee.  William  Henry  Lowe  came  as 
a  boy  with  his  parents  to  Illinois  and  lo- 
cated in  Clinton  county,  where  they  were 
among  the  early  pioneers.  They  later  came 
to  Foster  township,  Marion  county,  and 


526 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


purchased  wild  land  and  made  extensive  im- 
provements on  the  same.  The  subject's 
father  grew  up  in  Foster  township  and  re- 
ceived only  a  limited  education,  having 
scarcely  any  chance  to  attend  school.  He 
married  here  and  lived  at  the  old  homestead. 
Although  he  at  one  time  conducted  a  store, 
he  devoted  his  life  to  farming  pursuits.  He 
was  a  Republican  but  never  aspired  to  office. 
He  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The  follow- 
ing children  were  born  to  them:  William, 
deceased,  married  Pyrena  Nichols;  John 
was  in  Company  I,  One  Hundred  and  Elev- 
enth Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  who  lived 
in  Clinton  county,  Illinois,  after  the  war  un- 
til his  death;  Jane,  who  married  David 
Nichols,  of  Foster  township,  the  former  is 
now  deceased;  Elizabeth,  deceased,  married 
David  Nichols,  of  Foster  township ;  Andrew 
J.  was  in  Company  F,  Seventh  Illinois  Cav- 
alary,  having  served  four  years  and  four 
months,  who  located  in  Kinmundy  after  the 
war,  where  he  has  since  resided;  Henry  C, 
our  subject;  Irwin  W.,  a  farmer  of  Labette 
county,  Kansas,  who  was  in  the  Union  army 
during  the  Civil  war;  Winfield  Scott  is 
single  and  living  in  Foster  township. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  had  little 
chance  of  attending  school.  He  lived  at 
home  until  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years.  On  September  30,  1869,  he  married 
Cynthia  A.  Garrett,  of  Foster  township, 
and  a  daughter  of  Moses  and  Hannah 
(Morris)  Garrett,  both  natives  of  Georgia. 
They  were  pioneers  of  Foster  township,  this 
county,  where  they  devoted  their  lives  to 


farming.  Four  children  have  been  born  to 
the  subject  and  wife,  namely :  Charles  H., 
who  has  always  lived  at  home;  Nola  mar- 
ried S.  Williams,  of  Foster  township,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Flossie 
and  Relzia;  Fannie  C.  married  Jake 
Thomas,  of  Foster  township,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  five  children,  namely :  James, 
Carrie,  Nona,  Eva  and  Van ;  James  Emery, 
the  subject's  youngest  child,  is  living  in 
Foster  township.  He  married  Maude  Hol- 
land, of  Patoka,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren :  Basel,  Waneta,  deceased,  and 
Harrell. 

One  of  the  patriotic  men  of  this  state" who 
felt  it  his  duty  to  offer  his  services  in  de- 
fense of  the  flag  was  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  who  enlisted  in  Company  F,  Seventh 
Illinois  Cavalry,  at  Camp  Butler,  where  they 
drilled  for  awhile,  after  which  they  were 
sent  to  Nashville,  Tennessee.  The  subject 
was  in  the  second  battle  of  Corinth.  He 
was  on  an  eight  hundred  mile  march  from 
Lagrange,  Tennessee,  to  Baton  Rouge, 
Louisiana,  which  took  sixteen  days,  having 
been  in  many-  skirmishes  all  along  the 
march.  He  was  taken  sick  and  went  home 
on  sixty  days'  furlough.  He  rejoined  his 
company  at  Germantown,  Tennessee,  and 
went  up  the  Mississippi  river  and  was  in 
Tennessee  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
was  sick  a  great  deal  and  his  eyes  were  af- 
fected, having  lost  the  sight  in  the  left  one. 
He  was  discharged  November  9,  1865,  at 
Springfield,  Illinois,  after  gallantly  serving 
in  the  Union  ranks.  After  the  war  he  lo- 
cated in  Foster  township,  and  in  1878 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


527 


bought  the  farm  where  he  now  lives,  this 
having  been  his  home  since  that  time.  The 
place  consists  of  one  hundred  acres  in  sec- 
tion 23.  He  has  made  all  the  improvements, 
his  farm  now  ranking  with  any  in  the  town- 
ship. He  has  always  been  considered  a  first 
class  farmer.  He  has  a  substantial  and  com- 
fortable residence  and  everything  about  his 
place  shows  good  management.  He  is  a 
Republican  in  politics.  He  ably  served  as 
School  Director  for  many  years.  He  is  a 
faithful  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 


JONATHAN  A.  GREEN. 

The  subject  of  this  biography  has  always 
been  an  honest  and  hard-working  man,  and 
the  success  that  crowns  his  efforts  is  well 
merited.  He  is  liberal  and  public-spirited, 
well  known  and  highly  respected  in  the  coirh 
munity  which  has  been  his  home  all  his  life. 

Jonathan  A.  Green  was  born  in  Foster 
township,  Marion  county,  Illinois,  August 
13,  1867,  the  son  of  Monroe  Green,  who 
was  the  son  of  Jonathan  Green,  of  Tennes- 
see. He  came  to  Marion  county,  this  state, 
in  an  early  day  and  secured  government 
land,  locating  in  Foster  township.  He 
cleared  the  land  and  made  a  home  here, 
having  always  been  a  farmer.  Monroe 
Green  was  also  a  farmer  all  his  life.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Cumberland  Presby- 
terian church  and  a  Democrat;  was  well 
known  and  highly  respected.  He  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  having  been  a 


member  of  Company  D,  One  Hundred  and 
Eleventh  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry.  His 
first  wife  was  the  mother  of  four  children, 
namely:  Jonathan  A.,  our  subject;  Cyrus, 
a  farmer  in  Foster  township,  this  county; 
Anna,  who  married  Elmer  Arnold,  of  Fos- 
ter township;  Jennie,  who  married  Samuel 
Arnold,  is  deceased;  Eliza  (Jones)  Green 
was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Ann 
Jones.  They  were  early  settlers  in  Marion 
county,  Illinois. 

Jonathan  A.  Green  was  educated  in  the 
local  public  schools,  having  been  raised  on 
his  father's  farm,  where  he  remained  until 
he  was  married  December  31,  1885,  to 
Anna  Chick,  a  native  of  Ohio,  the  daughter 
of  John  and  Lucinda  (Carter)  Chick,  of  the 
Buckeye  state,  who  came  to  Illinois  in  1875 
where  the  former  died. 

Four  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  namely;  Ora,  Ola  May,  John 
and  Dowe. 

After  the  subject's  marriage  he  purchased 
his  present  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-six  acres  in  Foster  township,  which  was 
partly  improved.  The  subject  has  made 
many  important  changes  on  the  place,  which 
now  ranks  among  the  best  in  the  township, 
being  very  productive  and  producing  ex, 
cellent  crops  from  year  to  year  through  the 
skillful  management  of  Mr.  Green,  who  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  best  farmers  in  a 
general  way  in  the  community. 

Mr.  Green  has  faithfully  served  his  town- 
ship as  Supervisor  for  two  terms  and  has 
always  taken  a  great  deal  of  interest  in  pol- 
itics, having  held  many  minor  local  offices. 


11IOGRAPIIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  at  Vernon,  Illinois, 
and  was  formerly  a  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  is  well 
informed  on  current  topics  and  he  is  wide- 
ly known  and  liked  in  Foster  and  adjoining 
townships  or  wherever  his  acquaintance 
extends. 


FRANCIS  M.  ROBB. 

One  of  the  influential  citizens  of  Foster 
township,  Marion  county,  is  the  gentleman 
to  whose  career  attention  is  now  directed, 
and  it  may  be  said  that  the  agricultural  in- 
terests of  the  county  have  few  if  any  more 
able  representatives. 

Francis  M.  Robb  was  born  in  Kinmundy 
township,  Marion  county,  Illinois,  the  pres- 
ent site  of  the  village  of  Kinmundy,  Sep- 
tember 22,  1847,  the  son  of  Samuel  and 
Agnes  (Pruitt)  Robb,  the  former  of  Ten- 
nessee and  the  latter  of  Virginia.  Samuel 
was  the  son  of  Eli  Robb,  a  native  of  Ten- 
nessee, who  came  to  Marion  county,  Il- 
linois, in  1820  and  settled  where  Kinmundy 
now  stands.  He  secured  land  which  he  con- 
verted into  a  valuable  farm  and  made  a 
comfortable  home  here,  where  he  died  in 
1854  of  cholera.  He  was  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  this  county.  He  was  a  Democrat 
and  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Samuel  Robb,  the  father  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  twelve  years  old  when 
his  father,  Eli  Robb,  came  to  this  county, 
the  former  receiving  only  a  limited  educa- 


tion and  lived  the  rest  of  his  life  on  a  farm 
in  this  county,  owning  a  large  tract  of  land, 
and  he  was  a  stock  dealer.  He  was  a  strong 
Democrat  and  was  well  known  throughout 
the  county,  and  his  death  occurred  in  1881. 
The  subject's  mother,  Agnes  (Pruitt)  Robb, 
was  the  daughter  of  Robert  and  Martha 
Pruitt,  who  came  to  Marion  county  in  a 
very  early  day,  about  1812,  settling  in  what 
is  now  Meacham  township,  where  they  got 
government  land,  but  later  went  to  Mis- 
souri. Samuel  Robb  and  wife  were  the  par- 
ents of  nine  children,  namely:  Francis  M., 
our  subject;  Martha,  deceased;  William, 
deceased;  Permelia;  Eli,  deceased;  Robert, 
Mary,  Edwin,  and  an  infant,  both  deceased. 

The  subject  has  spent  all  of  his  life  in 
Marion  county,  where  he  received  only  a 
limited  education.  He  has  always  been  a 
farmer  and  is  considered  one  of  the  best  in 
the  township  by  his  neighbors.  He  first  got 
government  land  in  Kinmundy  township, 
and  in  1882  moved  to  Foster  township, 
where  he  now  lives  and  owns  two  hundred 
and  forty  acres  on  which  he  has  made  all 
the  improvements  and  which  he  has  devel- 
oped into  a  very  fine  farm,  being  well 
fenced,  and  the  crops  have  been  so  skillfully 
rotated  that  the  original  richness  of  the  soil 
has  been  retained.  He  has  a  substantial  and 
pleasant  home,  a  convenient  barn  and  many 
good  out  buildings. 

Mr.  Robb  was  united  in  marriage  in  1867 
with  Julia  Lowe  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Margaret  (Arnold) 
Lowe,  both  now  deceased.  They  were  na- 
tives of  Tennessee,  having  come  to  Marion 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


529 


county,  Illinois,  at  an  early  date,  locating  on 
a  farm  in  Foster  township. 

Eight  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  named  in  order  of  birth  as 
follows:  Hattie,  the  wife  of  J.  Arnold; 
Delia,  the  wife  of  Charles  Doolen ;  Margar- 
et ;  Agnes,  the  wife  of  Emmet  Jones ;  Emma 
the  wife  of  Guy  Arnold;  Lulu,  the  wife  of 
Frank  Jones;  Ella,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Eli,  who  married  Josie  Ballance,  a  farmer. 

The  subject  and  wife  are  faithful  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
The  subject  is  a  loyal  Democrat,  and  was 
Supervisor  of  this  township  for  two  terms. 
He  has  also  held  other  minor  local  offices. 
He  is  a  faithful  member  of  the  Masonic 
lodge  at  Kinmundy. 

Mr.  Robb  is  honest  in  all  his  dealings 
with  his  fellow  man  and  public-spirited,  and 
he  has  many  friends  in  Marion  county. 


JAMES  McNICOL. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  member  of 
that  sturdy  citizenship  from  the  lands  of 
hills  and  heather,  bonny  Scotland,  from 
which  rugged  country  so  many  hardy  sons 
have  gone  forth  to  bless  humanity  in  vari- 
ous ways,  and  he  is  in  every  way  typical  of 
those  whose  lives  benefit  all  with  whom 
they  come  in  contact. 

James  McNicol  was  born  on  the  Isle  of 
ArraiT,  Scotland,  in  March,  1847,  the  son 
of  Archibald  and  Anna  (McBride)  McNic- 
ol, both  natives  of  Arran,  as  was  also  the 
34 


grandparents  of  the  subject.  The  ancestors  of 
our  subject  were  farmers.  Archibald  Mc- 
Nicol and  family  came  to  America  in  the 
early  sixties  on  the  steamship  Caledonia. 
They  landed  in  New  York  City  and  then 
went  to  St.  Louis  county,  Illinois,  where 
Alexander  McBride,  the  brother  of  Mrs.  Mc- 
Nicol, lived.  The  father  of  the  subject  rented 
land  there  for  a  while,  and  then  came  to 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  where  he  bought 
land  two  miles  west  of  Patoka.  This  place 
was  wild  and  consisted  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres.  He  later  went  back  to  St.  Louis 
county,  where  he  remained  several  years, 
after  which  he  went  to  North  Dakota  where 
he  secured  government  land  in  Benson 
county,  living  there  for  a  period  of  eight 
years,  when  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Pierce 
county,  Washington,  where  he  lived  with 
his  children  until  his  death  in  1897.  His 
wife  died  in  1896. 

They  were  the  parents  of  five  sons  and 
two  daughters,  namely:  May  is  living  in 
Buckley,  Pierce  county,  Washington ;  Mag- 
Buckley,  Pierce  county,  Washington,  as  does 
also  Alexander,  who  is  a  merchant;  John, 
the  fourth  child,  married  Mary  Hulsey,  and 
he  is  in  partnership  with  his  brother  in  a 
store  at  Buckley,  Washington;  William 
who  was  a  mill  man  at  Buckley,  Washing- 
ton, was  killed  in  1900;  Archie  died  at  Pa- 
toka ;  James,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  and 
Alexander  are  twins  and  the  third  and 
fourth  members  of  the  family. 

Mr.  McNicol,  our  subject,  received  only 
a  limited  schooling  and  he  remained  at 
home  until  his  marriage  in  the  fall  of  1865, 


53° 


I'.KXIK.U'IIICAL    AND    KK.M  I  MSCK.NT    HISTORY    OF 


to  Ella  J.  Simcox,  a  native  of  Kentucky, 
the  daughter  of  W.  K.  and  Agnes  Rebecca 
Simcox,  natives  of  Kentucky.  They  came 
to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in  about  1866, 
and  settled  in  Patoka  township.  The  sub- 
ject's wife  passed  to  her  rest  April  6,  1902. 
Nine  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McNicol,  one  of  whom  is  deceased.  They 
are :  William,  a  farmer  in  Foster  township, 
who  married  Lola  Caldwell;  Archibald, 
who  has  remained  single,  is  a  ranchman  in 
Montana;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  C.  H.  Ar- 
nold of  Sterling,  Colorado;  Jessie  is  the 
wife  of  Luther  Caldwell,  of  Foster  town- 
ship ;  Agnes  is  the  wife  of  Cyrus  E.  Arnold, 
of  Foster  township;  Maggie  is  living  at 
home,  as  are  also  James  and  Warren ;  Ruth 
is  deceased. 

After  his  marriage  the  subject  located  in 
Foster  township,  Marion  county,  where  he 
has  since  resided,  having  purchased  land 
here.  In  1876  he  went  to  Benson  county, 
North  Dakota,  and  took  up  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  government  land,  where 
he  remained  for  six  years,  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising,  which  he  made  a  suc- 
cess. He  sold  out  there  and  returned  to 
Foster  township,  this  county,  where  he  pur- 
chased land,  now  owning  'an  excellent  farm 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty-nine  acres,  all  in 
Foster  township.  It  is  under  a  high  state 
of  improvement  and  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  model  farms  of  Marion  county,  being 
in-  every  way  in  first  class  condition  and 
showing  that  a  man  of  rare  soundness  of 
judgment  and  business  ability  has  managed 
it.  He  raises  abundant  crops  of  corn,  wheat, 


hay  and  oats.  No  small  part  of  his  income 
is  derived  from  live  stock,  for  he  is  a  most 
excellent  judge  of  stock  and  some  fine  vari- 
eties of  Poland  China  hogs  and  Red  Poland 
cattle  are  to  be  found  about  the  place.  He 
carries  on  a  general  fanning  business  with 
that  rare  discretion  which  always  insures 
success. 

While  our  subject  has  never  aspired  to 
office  he  has  held  several  local  public  po- 
sitions. He  is  an  independent  voter,  pre- 
ferring to  cast  his  ballot  for  the  man  he  be- 
lieves will  best  serve  the  public,  rather  than 
for  the  party.  He  is  a  faithful  member  of 
the  Christian  church  of  Patoka.  Mr.  Mc- 
Nicol's  life  has  been  one  of  industry, 
scrupulous  honesty  and  integrity. 


ALBERT  G.  PORTER. 

Among  the  enterprising  and  progressive 
citizens  of  Marion  county,  Illinois,  is  the 
gentleman  whose  name  forms  the  caption  of 
this  ketch,  who  has  engaged  in  various  lines 
of  business  activity  in  this  county  and  is 
known  as  one  of  the  leading  liverymen  of 
the  locality,  at  present  managing  an  exten- 
sive livery  stable  in  Kinmundy,  while  he 
maintains  a  fine  home  there,  and  the  years 
of  his  residence  has  but  served  to  strengthen 
the  feeling  of  confidence  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens. Although  yet  a  young  man,  scarcely 
one-third  of  the  years  usually  allotted  to 
human  life  having  passed  over  him,  our  sub- 
ject has  shown  what  a  rightly  directed  priii- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


531 


ciple,  coupled  with  honesty    and    integrity, 
can  do  toward  winning  definite  success. 

Albert  G.  Porter  was  born  in  this  county 
October  14,  1880,  the  son  of  Emmett  D. 
and  Rachael  (Henry)  Porter,  the-  father  a 
native  of  Ohio,  and  the  mother  of  Illinois. 
There  were  seven  children  in  this  family, 
all  of  whom  lived  to  maturity.  The  father 
of  the  subject  was  a  soldier  in  an  Ohio  regi- 
ment during  the  Civil  war  and  after  being 
mustered  out  returned  to  Ohio  and  soon 
thereafter  came  to  Fayette  county,  Illinois, 
and  after  remaining  there  for  a  time  came 
to  Marion  county.  He  engaged  in  the  hard- 
ware business  while  living  in  Fayette  county 
and  when  he  came  to  Marion  county,  he 
went  into  the  livery  business  and  after  man- 
aging the  same  for  about  two  years  he  sold 
out  and  became  agent  for  a  marble  works 
establishment.  Later  he  handled  fire  insur- 
ance and  became  adjuster  of  claims,  holding 
his  position,  official  and  otherwise,  until  his 
death,  having  faithfully  served  the  company 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  its  members 
for  a  period  of  thirty  years,  which  is  a  sure 
criterion  of  his  ability  and  integrity.  He 
was  fifty-six  years  old  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  The  mother  of  the  subject,  a 
woman  of  many  beautiful  traits  of  charac- 
ter, is  still  living  in  1908,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
nine  years.  There  were  four  children  in 
this  family,  all  of  them  reaching  maturity 
and  all  but  one  are  married  and  have  fam- 
lies.  They  are  Harry  E.,  who  is  at  the 
time  of  this  writing  thirty-six  years  old,  and 
a  traveling  salesman ;  he  is  married  and  has 
one  child.  Charles  H.,  the  second  child  of 


the  parents  of  the  subject,  was  in  busi- 
ness in  the  city  of  Chicago.  He  is  now 
in  the  fruit  and  poultry  business  at  Los 
Angeles,  California,  having  made  a  pro- 
nounced success  of  this  business  from  the 
first.  One  sister,  Nellie,  is  now  the  wife  of 
Gus  Elbow,  of  Oklahoma  City,  and  the 
mother  of  one  child.  Her  husband  is  an  at- 
torney. Our  subject  was  the  fourth  child 
in  order  of  birth.  He  attended  the  common 
schools  in  Kinmundy,  until  he  was  nineteen 
years  of  age,  and  received  a  fairly  good  edu- 
cation, which  has  since  been  greatly 
strengthened  by  home  study  and  by  coming 
in  contact  with  the  world.  He  also  attend- 
ed a  business  college  in  Centralia,  Illinois, 
after  leaving  the  public  schools  and  thereby 
received  a  good  business  education.  He 
also  read  medicine  for  one  year,  and  then 
attended  to  various  matters  until  1908, 
when  he  opened  up  a  livery  business  in  Kin- 
mundy, which  he  is  at  present  conducting, 
having  built  up  an  extensive  business. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  on 
March  3,  1907.  to  Maud  L.  West,  a  native 
of  this  county,  and  the  daughter  of  Charles 
H.  and  Rosa  (Dillon)  West.  Mr.  West  is 
a  native  of  Indiana.  He  was  a  farmer  and 
stock  raiser,  having  made  the  raising  of 
Hereford  cattle  a  specialty  for  a  number  of 
years,  but  is  now  living  in  honorable  re- 
tirement, making  his  home  in  Kinmundy. 
having  sold  his  principal  farm,  but  he  still 
owns  several  orchard  farms,  consisting  of 
hundreds  of  acres. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Porter  have  one  infant  son. 
Thev  own  their  nicelv  furnished  home.  The 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


mother  of  the  subject  also  owns  her  home 
and  is  living  by  herself.  Mr.  Porter  is  a 
young  man  to  whom  the  future  holds  out 
much  of  promise,  being  industrious,  quick 
to  grasp  an  opportunity,  and  it  would  be 
hard  to  find  among  the  younger  generation 
of  business  men  in  Marion  county,  a 
worthier  subject  than  he. 


GUSTIN  L.  EAGAN. 

The  family  of  which  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  is  an  honored  representative  has  been 
known  in  Marion  county  since  the  pioneer 
period  and  the  record  they  have  made  has 
been  one  of  which  Mr.  Eagan  can  justly  be 
proud,  for  his  ancestors  left  a  priceless  heri- 
tage to  their  posterity,  the  memory  of  names 
and  deeds  which  time  can  neither  obliterate 
nor  dim. 

Gustin  L.  Eagan  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1857,  the  son  of  Henry 
and  Margaret  (Hatten)  Eagan.  Grand- 
father Isaac  Eagan,  who  was  born  in  Ten- 
nessee, came  to  Illinois,  settling  in  Kinmun- 
dy,  when  a  young  man.  He  drove  a  stage 
coach  through  Salem  and  to  the  south,  and 
later  became  a  farmer  and  lived  until  about 
the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  He  was  the 
father  of  nine  children,  eight  of  whom  lived 
to  be  men  and  women.  His  wife  was  also 
about  seventy-five  years  old  when  she  was 
called  to  her  rest.  They  were  members  of 
the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church. 
Grandfather  donated  ground  for  the  local 


church  in  Kinmundy,  the  deed  having  been 
made  to  the  trustee  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church  and  their  successors, 
for  the  use  of  this  denomination.  The 
Presbyterians  are  now  seeking  to  take  the 
property  from  the  hands  of  the  original 
grantees  to  be  used  by  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Grandfather  Eagan  was  a  Demo- 
crat, a  man  of  industry,  leaving  consider- 
able property  of  value  which  reverted  to 
his  heirs. 

Grandfather  Hatten  was  a  native  of 
North  Carolina  and  lived  and  died  in  that 
state.  Grandmother  Hatten  moved  to  Ma- 
rion county,  this  state,  where  she  settled, 
after  her  husband's  death.  She  lived  to 
be  about  sixty-five  years  old.  There  were 
four  child --en  in  the  Hatten  family,  one  of 
them  becoming  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war, 
having  served  in  an  Illinois  regiment,  serv- 
ing out  his  time  and  receiving  an  honorable 
discharge. 

The  subject's  father  was  born  in  Marion 
county  and  always  lived  here.  He  was  a 
wagon-maker,  also  manufactured  plows,  for 
many  years  making  all  the  wagons  and 
plows  used  in  this  part  of  the  country,  fol- 
lowing his  trade  periodically  all  his  life,  also 
owned  a  small  farm.  He  was  called  from 
his  earthly  labors  when  forty-eight  years 
old,  the  subject's  mother  being  only  a  year 
older  than  her  husband  when  she  was  called 
to  the  spirit  land.  They  were  Cumberland 
Presbyterians,  and  were  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  eight  of  whom  lived  to  maturity. 
Henry  Eagan  was  a  Democrat  in  his  po- 
litical beliefs. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


533 


Gustin  L.  Eagan,  our  subject,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools,  which  he  left 
when  eighteen  years  old,  and  began  the 
blacksmith's  trade.  Following  in  the  foot- 
steps of  his  father,  he  soon  became  a  very 
skilled  artisan  and  upheld  the  high  reputa- 
tion for  first  class  work  that  his  worthy 
father  had  so  long  borne.  At  this  writing, 
Mr.  Eagan  is  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Ea- 
gan, one  of  the  most  popular  and  conve- 
nient places  for  the  accommodation  of  tran- 
sients to  the  city  that  can  be  found  in  the 
county,  being  known  as  a  place  of  home- 
like comfort,  and  where  courteous  treat- 
ment is  extended  to  all.  As  a  result  of  these 
facts  this  house  has  become  widely  known 
to  the  traveling  public,  and  Mr.  Eagan  en- 
joys a  liberal  patronage.  Besides  this,  line 
of  business  he  still  successfully  conducts  his 
blacksmith  shop,  enjoying,  as  usual,  a  lib- 
eral patronage  from  Kinmundy  and  sur- 
rounding country.  He  has  been  able  to  lay 
by  a  comfortable  competency  for  his  old 
age. 

Mr.  Eagan  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1889  to  Jennie  Darney,  a  native  of  Ohio, 
whose  father  died  in  Illinois,  after  which 
event  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Eagan  moved 
back  to  Ohio,  where  she  died.  Mr.  Dar- 
ney came  to  America  from  France.  He  was 
a  soldier,  having  seen  service  in  the  Franco- 
German  war.  The  family  of  our  subject 
and  wife  consists  of  four  interesting  chil- 
dren, named  as  follows:  Beulah,  who  was 
born  in  1891,  is  the  wife  of  F.  H.  Spillman, 
and  the  mother  of  one  child;  Mascelline, 
who  was  born  in  1893,  graduated  from  the 


local  schools  in  1907;  Lawrence  was  born 
in  1895,  and  is  living  at  home;  Henry  was 
born  in  1897,  died  in  infancy. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  politics  he 
is  a  stanch  Democrat,  and  faithfully  served 
as  Alderman  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
has  also  been  Trustee,  Collector  and  Super- 
visor. Mr.  Eagan  was  Mayor  of  Kin- 
mundy from  1906  to  1908.  In  all  these  of- 
ficial capacities  he  discharged  his  duties 
with  great  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  He  is  held 
in  high  favor  by  the  people  of  Marion 
county,  where  he  is  well  known  and  where 
he  labors  for  the  advancement  of  the  gen- 
eral good. 


SEYMOUR  ANDREWS. 

Nearly  a  century  has  dissolved  in  the 
mists  of  time,  the  most  remarkable  century 
in  all  of  the  history  of  the  race  of  mankind, 
since  our  honored  and  venerable  subject  first 
saw  the  light  of  day.  Heaven  has  bounte- 
ously lengthened  out  his  life  until  he  has 
seen  the  crowning  glory  of  this  the  most 
wonderful  epoch  of  all  the  aeons  of  time, 
rewarding  him  with  an  unusual  span  of 
years  as  the  result  of  virtuous  and  consist- 
ent living  in  his  youth  and  years  of  his  man- 
hood, until  now  in  the  golden  evening  of 
his  life,  surrounded  by  comfort  and  plenty 
as  a  result  of  his  earlier  years  of  industry 
and  frugality,  Mr.  Andrews  can  take  a  ret- 


534 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


respective  glance  down  the  corridors  of  the 
relentless  and  irrevocable  past  and  feel  that 
his  has  been  an  eminently  useful,  successful 
and  happy  life,  a  life  which  was  not  devoid 
of  obstacle  and  whose  rose  held  many  a 
thorn,  but  with  indomitable  courage  he 
pressed  onward  with  his  face  set  in  deter- 
mination toward  the  distant  goal  which  he 
has  so  grandly  won;  a  life  of  sunshine  and 
shadow,  of  victory  and  defeat,  but  nobly 
lived  and  worthily  rewarded  as  such  lives 
always  are  by  the  Giver  of  all  good  and  pre- 
cious gifts,  who  has  given  our  subject  the 
longest  span  of  years  of  any  citizen  in  Ma- 
rion county,  Illinois,  a  great  gift,  indeed,  of 
which  Mr.  Andrews  is  duly  grateful.  He 
was  one  of  the  hardy  pioneers,  a  member  of 
the  famous  band  of  "forty-niners"  who 
crossed  the  trackless  plains  that  stretched 
to  the  "sundown  seas,"  whose  courageous 
feats  have  been  sung  in  song  and  exploited 
in  story,  for  "there  were  giants  in  those 
days." 

Seymour  Andrews  was  born  in  Jefferson 
county,  Illinois,  January  17,  1825,  the  son 
of  Nelson  and  Jane  (Gaston)  Andrews,  the 
former  a  native  of  Oneida  county,  New 
York,  where  he  was  born  in  1799.  There 
were  ten  children  in  his  family,  an  equal 
number  of  boys  and  girls,  of  whom  our  sub- 
ject is  the  oldest  in  order  of  birth.  The  sub- 
ject's mother,  who  was  born  in  South  Caro- 
lina, was  one  of  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren. Nelson  Andrews  came  west  with 
his  parents  in  1819,  and  settled  in 
Jefferson  county,  Illinois.  They  built 
a  raft  in  Olean,  New  York,  constructed  a 


rude  cabin  on  it  and  floated  down  the  Mo- 
nongahela  river  to  Cincinnati.  This  was  in 
1818.  They  stopped  and  made  shingles  and 
sold  timber  and  rafts.  They  made  a  flat  boat 
there  and  floated  to  Shawneetown,  where 
they  hitched  their  two  ponies  onto  a  large 
wagon  and  drove  to  the  vicinity  of  what  is 
now  known  as  Dix,  Jefferson  county.  Arra 
Andrews,  brother  of  Nelson  Andrews,  who 
is  the  father  of  Seymour  Andrews,  made  the 
first  plat  of  Salem  and  surveyed  it.  Jane 
Gaston's  father,  Samuel  Gaston,  the  grand- 
father of  Seymour  Andrews,  was  one  of  the 
first  commissioners  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  locate  the  county  seat  of  Clinton 
county,  which  is  Carlyle,  Illinois. 

During  the  days  of  Nelson  and  Jane  An- 
drews a  company  of  Rangers  visited  this 
part  of  the  state  between  the  years  1820  and 
1825.  They  drove  out  the  Goings  family 
from  Jefferson  county  by  whip.  Members 
of  this  family  were  said  to  be  noted  coun- 
terfeiters, horse  thieves  and  harbored  all 
such  people  at  their  home  near  that  of  Sam- 
uel Gaston,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  our 
subject. 

Seymour  Andrews  was  married  to  Mar- 
tha C.  Hendrixon,  of  Jefferson  county,  Illi- 
nois, August  15,  1844,  and  they  are  now, 
1908,  the  oldest  married  couple  in  this  coun- 
ty, having  enjoyed  a  harmonious  wedded 
life  of  over  sixty-four  years;  they  are  both 
in  fairly  good  health  and  enjoying  a  se- 
rene and  comfortable  old  age.  The  follow- 
ing children  were  born  to  them :  Harvey  T., 
deceased;  Elizabeth  J.,  deceased,  married 
John  Morsman  and  had  one  son,  Charles,  a 


HIGHLAND.    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


535 


dentist  in  Minnesota;  Truman  B.  mar- 
ried Amanda  McClellan  and  has  three 
children,  all  married ;  Sidney  W.  married 
Belle  Mathews  and  is  living  in  Arkansas, 
where  he  is  postmaster  at  Walnut  Ridge, 
and  is  the  father  of  two  children ;  Margaret 
married  G.  J.  Goetch,  of  Centralia,  Illinois, 
and  she  is  the  mother  of  two  children ;  Ida 
L.  married  T.  L.  Baltzell,  who  lives  in  Los 
Angeles,  California;  Altha  married  G.  C. 
Matsler,  of  Centralia,  and  lives  with  her  par- 
ents, her  husband  being  a  telegraph  operator 
on  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  Rail- 
road; the  eighth  and  ninth  children  both 
died  in  infancy. 

As  already  indicated  Mr.  Andrews 
crossed  the  plains  to  California  before  the 
days  of  the  trans-continental  railways.  This 
was  in  1850  and  the  trip  was  made  with  an 
ox  team,  in  company  with  John  Parkinson, 
James  Parkinson  and  Preston  McCullough. 
They  left  Walnut  Hill  April  3,  1850,  with 
four  yoke  of  oxen  and  arrived  in  California 
after  much  hardship  and  adventure  August 
loth,  the  same  year,  having  been  on  the  road 
over  four  months.  They  wintered  four 
miles  from  the  famous  Sutter  mill  and 
crossed  the  old  ditch  where  gold  was  first 
discovered  many  times. 

Having  been  a  hard  worker  and  an  indus- 
trious man  all  his  life,  Mr.  Andrews  always 
made  a  comfortable  living  and  was  enabled 
to  lay  up  a  competency  to  insure  his  old  age 
free  from  want.  He  has  faithfully  and  ably 
served  his  community  as  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  the  past  sixteen  years.  He  is  also  a 
notary  public  and  handles  a  successful  line 
of  fire  insurance. 


The  parents  of  the  subject  belonged  to 
the  Christian  church,  but  our  subject  is  not 
a  member  of  any  orthodox  church.  Howev- 
er, he  is  a  believer  in  the  principles  of  the 
golden  rule  and  in  good  to  all  men.  In  poli- 
tics he  cast  his  first  Democratic  ballots  in 
1848  and  1852,  but  upon  the  organization 
of  the  Republican  party  became  a  stanch 
supporter  of  the  same  and  has  always  main- 
tained the  same  political  faith. 


SAMUEL  L.  DWIGHT. 

One  of  the  central  figures  of  the  judiciary 
of  southern  Illinois  is  the  honorable  gentle- 
man whose  name  forms  the  subject  of  this 
review.  Prominent  in  legal  circles  and 
equally  so  in  public  matters  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  his  own  jurisdiction,  with  a  repu- 
tation in  one  of  the  most  exacting  of  pro- 
fessions that  has  won  him  a  name  for  dis- 
tinguished service  second  to  that  of  none  of 
his  contemporaries,  there  is  today  no  more 
prominent  or  highly  esteemed  man  in  Ma- 
rion county,  which  he  has  long  dignified 
with  his  citizenship. 

Samuel  L.  Dwight  was  born  March  15, 
1841,  at  Mount  Vernon,  Jefferson  county, 
Illinois,  the  son  of  Lewis  and  Mahala  Pen- 
nington  (Casey)  Dwight.  The  subject's 
mother  was  the  daughter  of  Governor  Za- 
doc  Casey,  of  Illinois.  She  was  born  while 
her  father  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
at  Vandalia,  capitol  of  Illinois  at  that  time. 
He  originated  the  bill  to  create  the  county 
of  Marion,  naming  the  same  after  his  fa- 
ther's Revolutionary  commander,  Francis 


536 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Marion,  of  historic  fame.  Lewis  Dwight 
was  born  in  Massachusetts  and  educated  in 
that  state.  However,  he  graduated  at  Yale 
University,  after  which  he  came  to  Jeffer- 
son county,  Illinois,  and  taught  school  for 
a  number  of  years.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years,  after  a  very  useful  and  ac- 
tive life.  Samuel  L.  Dwight  was  reared 
with  the  family  of  Governor  Casey  and  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Mount  Ver- 
non,  Illinois,  having  taken  one  year's  course 
of  study  at  McKendree  College.  Being  am- 
bitious from  the  first,  he  applied  himself  in 
a  most  diligent  manner  to  his  studies  and 
became  well  educated.  Early  deciding  to 
enter  the  law  as  a  profession,  he  began  the 
study  of  the  same  with  Tanner  and  Casey 
at  Mount  Vernon.  But  when  our  national 
horizon  was  darkened  with  the  clouds  of  re- 
bellion in  the  early  sixties  our  subject  left 
Blackstone  behind,  severed  home  ties  and 
offered  his  services  in  defense  of  his  coun- 
try's integrity,  having  enlisted  in  Company 
I,  Sixtieth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
so  gallant  were  his  services  that  he  was  mus- 
tered out  at  the  close  of  the  war  as  captain 
of  the  same  company.  He  served  one  and 
one-half  years,  having  taken  part  in  many 
engagements  and  faithfully  performing 
what  service  he  could. 

After  his  career  in  the  army  Mr.  Dwight, 
in  July,  1866,  left  the  farm  at  Mount  Ver- 
non, Illinois,  and  resumed  the  study  of  law, 
this  time  under  his  uncle,  Colonel  Lewis  F. 
Casey,  who  had  married  an  aunt  of  Samuel 
E.  Dwight,  and  the  daughter  of  Governor 
Casey. 


Our  subject  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1868,  and  he  entered  into  partnership  with 
Colonel  Casey,  with  whom  he  continued  in 
a  most  successful  manner  until  the  death  of 
Colonel  Casey  early  in  the  eighties,  the  pres- 
tige of  this  firm  having  gradually  grown 
until  their  practice  was  equal  to  that  of  any 
other  firm  in  the  county. 

In  1870  Samuel  L.  Dwight  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  General  Assembly  and  served  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  his  constituents  for 
one  term.  After  the  death  of  his  former  law 
partner  he  carried  on  the  business  of  the 
firm  successfully,  practicing  law  in  all  the 
local  courts  until  1897,  when  he  was  elected 
to  the  bench  of  the  Fourth  Judicial  Circuit 
of  Illinois,  and  so  faithfuly  did  he  discharge 
the  duties  of  the  same  that  he  was  re-elected 
to  the  office  in  1903  for  another  term  of  six 
years,  and  is,  therefore,  at  this  writing,  1908, 
still  holding  the  position.  His  tenure  of  of- 
fice has  been  marked  by  a  remarkable  clear- 
ness of  decision  and  fairness  to  all  parties, 
his  decisions  having  seldom  met  with  disap- 
proval at  the  hands  of  a  higher  tribunal,  for 
he  came  to  the  bench  well  qualified  for  its 
exacting  duties  and  responsibilities  and  from 
the  beginning  his  judicial  career  was  char- 
acterized by  such  a  profound  knowledge  of 
the  law  and  an  earnest  and  conscientious  de- 
sire to  apply  it  impartially  that  he  was  not 
long  in  gaining  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  the  attorneys  and  litigants  and  earning 
for  himself  an  honorable  reputation  among 
the  leading  jurists  of  the  state.  From  the 
first  his  labors  were  very  arduous  and  many 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


537 


important  cases  were  tried  in  his  court,  in 
addition  to  which  he  was  also  frequently 
called  to  other  circuits  to  sit  on  cases  in 
which  larger  interests  were  involved. 

The  happy  and  harmonious  domestic  life 
of  Judge  Dwight  dates  from  September  4, 
1872,  when  he  was  married  to  M.  Irene 
Noleman,  the  cultured  and  accomplished 
daughter  of  Capt.  R.  D.  Noleman  and  Sarah 
A.  Jennings,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Dwight 
having  been  the  daughter  of  Charles  W. 
Jennings.  R.  D.  Noleman  was  for  many 
years  a  leading  citizen  and  business  man  of 
Centralia. 

Fraternally  Judge  Dwight  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  Order,  the  Knights  of  Py- 
thias, the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
and  the  Modern  Woodmen.  Both  he  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  Their  beautiful  home  is  fre- 
quently the  gathering  place  for  numerous 
friends  and  admirers  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Dwight. 

Judge  S.  L.  Dwight  is  ready  at  all 
times  to  make  any  reasonable  sacrifice  for. 
the  cause  in  which  his  interests  are  enlisted, 
He  is  not  only  an  able  and  reliable  coun- 
selor, with  a  thorough  acquaintance  of  the 
principles,  intricacies  and  complexities  of 
jurisprudence,  but  his  honesty  is  such  that 
he  has  frequently  advised  against  long  and 
expensive  litigation,  and  this,  too,  at  the 
loss  of  liberal  fees  which  he  could  otherwise 
have  earned.  His  treatment  of  the  case  he 
has  in  hand  is  always  full  of  comprehension 


and  accurate,  his  analysis  of  the  facts  clear 
and  exhaustive,  and  he  seems  to  grasp  with- 
out effort  the  relation  and  dependence  of  the 
facts,  and  so  groups  them  as  to  enable  him 
to  throw  their  combined  force  upon  the 
point  they  intend  to  prove.  He  is,  withal,  a 
man  of  the  people,  proud  of  his  distinction 
as  a  citizen  of  a  state  and  nation  for  whose 
laws  and  institutions  he  has  the  most  pro- 
found admiration  and  respect. 


DOUGLAS  C.  BROWN. 

Every  human  being  either  submits  to  the 
controlling  influence  of  others  or  wields  an 
influence  which  touches,  controls,  guides  or 
misdirects  others.  If  he  be  honest  and  suc- 
cessful in  his  chosen  field  of  endeavor,  in- 
vestigation will  brighten  his  fame  and  point 
the  way  along  which  others  may  follow 
with  like  success.  Consequently  a  critical 
study  of  the  life  record -of  the  gentleman 
whose  name  forms  the  caption  of  this  para- 
graph may  be  beneficial  to  the  reader,  for 
it  has  been  one  of  usefulness  and  honor. 

Douglas  C.  Brown,  the  well  known  prin- 
cipal of  Brown's  Business  College  of  Cen- 
tralia, and  also  superintendent  of  the  Cairo 
and  Marion  business  colleges,  the  largest  and 
most  modern  institutions  of  their  kind  in 
southern  Illinois,  was  born  in  Clay  county, 
this  state,  January  28,  1860,  the  son  of  Wil- 
liam and  Lucy  (Murphy)  Brown,  the  sub- 
ject being  the  second  child  in  a  family  of 


538 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


four  children.  The  parents  of  these  chil- 
dren died  when  Douglas  C.  was  but  a  child 
and  he  was  reared  by  an  uncle,  John  A. 
Flick,  with  whom  he  remained  until  of  age. 
His  early  education  began  at  Xenia,  in  Clay 
county,  which  was  continued  at  Danville  in 
the  Normal  School,  later  at  McKendree  Col- 
lege, Lebanon,  Illinois.  In  all  the  schools 
he  attended  he  made  a  splendid  record  for 
scholarship.  Having  been  ambitious  from  the 
first,  he  applied  himself  in  a  most  assiduous 
manner  to  his  text-books  and  always  stood 
high  in  his  classes. 

After  leaving  school  Mr.  Brown  began 
teaching  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  His 
first  schools  were  taught  in  Clay  county,  lat- 
er in  Fayette  county.  His  last  public  school 
work  was  as  superintendent  of  the  Vandalia 
schools,  which  position  he  held  for  five  years. 
His  educational  work  continued  for  a  period 
of  twelve  years,  during  which  time  he 
achieved  a  broad  reputation  as  an  able  ed- 
ucator and  his  services  were  in  great  demand. 
He  left  the  work  in  the  public  schools  for 
the  purpose  of  opening  a  business  college, 
which  he  subsequently  launched  at  Vandalia, 
having  conducted  the  same  for  two  years, 
making  a  success  from  the  start,  for  his  fame 
as  an  educator  was  by  that  time  so  firmly 
established  that  whatever  school  his  name 
was  associated  with  was  bound  to  be  a  suc- 
cess. After  his  experience  with  the  Vanda- 
lia school  he  associated  himself  with  Prof. 
G.  W.  Brown,  in  the  Decatur  Business  Col- 
lege, remaining  there  three  years.  Our  sub- 
ject then  took  charge  of  the  bookkeeping  de- 
partment of  Brown's  Business  College  at 


Peoria,  Illinois,  which  he  ably  conducted  for 
three  years,  after  which  he  came  to  the  Cen- 
tralia  Business  College  in  the  fall  of  1898. 
Each  of  the  above  schools  has  been  highly 
successful  and  has  turned  out  thousands  of 
pupils  well  prepared  to  play  their  parts  in 
the  business  and  commercial  world.  The 
patronage  that  Prof.  Douglas  C.  Brown  now 
enjoys  is  largely  due  to  his  own  outlay  of 
time,  talent  and  business  sagacity,  coupled 
with  indomitable  energy  and  persistency. 
The  average  daily  attendance  and  the  en- 
rollment of  the  school  in  Centralia  is  two 
hundred  each  year.  The  pupils  who  have 
graduated  in  this  school  have  and  are  con- 
stantly taking  good  positions  in  the  various- 
branches  of  business  for  which  they  have 
prepared. 

The  domestic  life  of  our  subject  dates 
from  October  12,  1881,  when  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Maud  Bryan,  the  accom- 
plished and  refined  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Harriett  (Hartman)  Bryan,  of  Xenia,  Illi- 
nois. To  this  happy  union  six  children  have 
been  born,  named  in  order  of  birth  as  fol- 
lows: Clyde  L,  William  H.,  Harriet  M., 
.Harry,  Dean  C.  and  Robert  E.  Clyde  L. 
married  Carrie  Scheiber,  of  Peoria,  Illinois. 
Harriet  married  O.  A.  Rosborough,  Wil- 
liam H.  is  in  the  United  States  navy  at  this 
writing  (1908),  being  a  yeoman,  or  book- 
keeper and  stenographer  in  the  office  of  Ad- 
miral Sperry  of  the  flagship  Connecticut. 

Mr.  Brown  owns  a  modern,  commodious, 
nicely  furnished  and  pleasant  home  in  Cen- 
tralia, which  is  frequently  the  gathering 
place  for  numerous  friends  and  admirers  of 


RICH  LAND,    CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


539 


the  Brown  family,  each  member  of  which 
is  noted  for  his  hospitality  and  cordiality. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Prohibitionist. 
In  religious  matters  he  supports  the 
Christian  church.  He  is  a  most  companion- 
able gentleman  and  all  who  come  within  the 
range  of  his  influence  are  profuse  in  their 
praise  of  his  admirable  qualities,  and  the 
high  regard  in  which  he  is  held  not  only  pro- 
fessionally but  socially  indicates  the  posses- 
sion of  attributes  and  characteristics  that  en- 
title him  to  the  highest  esteem. 


C.  D.  TUFTS. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  forms  the  cap- 
tion of  this  sketch  did  not  seek  any  royal 
road  to  the  goal  of  prosperity  and  independ- 
ence, but  began  in  legitimate  ways  to  ad- 
vance himself  and  the  result  is  that  he  is 
now  numbered  among  the  successful  news- 
paper men  of  Southern  Illinois,  having  de- 
voted practically  his  entire  life  to  the  man- 
agement of  an  old  and  popular  paper,  the 
Democrat,  published  at  Centralia,  and  he 
has  been  a  molder  of  public  opinion,  having 
been  a  faithful  defender  of  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  people  of  this  vicinity  at  all 
times. 

C.  D.  Tufts  was  born  in  Centralia,  Illi- 
nois, January  27,  1864,  the  son  of  Samuel 
P.  and  Zerelda  (Goodwin)  Tufts,  the  for- 
mer having  been  born  in  Fitchburg,  Massa- 
chusetts, January  28,  1827.  The  latter  was 
born  in  Indiana  October  6,  1833.  They 
were  married  October  4,  1857,  in  Marion 


county,  Illinois.  Four  of  their  children  are 
now  (1908)  living,  namely:  Gay  L. ;  C.  D., 
our  subject ;  Elsie  M.,  and  Zerelda  D.  Elsie 
M.  married  Ray  Greene,  of  Sterling,  Illi- 
nois. They  have  no  children.  Samuel  P. 
Tufts  passed  to  his  rest  October  4,  1903, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  His  widow 
is  still  living  and  enjoys  excellent  health ; 
she  is  a  woman  of  beautiful  Christian  char- 
acter, being  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 

The  early  education  of  C.  D.  Tufts  was 
obtained  in  the  Centralia  high  school,  in 
which  he  graduated  in  1882.  He  has  pub- 
lished the  Democrat  since  1883,  having  had 
charge  of  the  office  since  then.  His  father 
was  formerly  the  editor  of  this  paper,  which 
was  established  in  1869.  Samuel  P.  Tufts 
had  charge  of  the  paper  when  it  was. burned 
out  in  1871,  and  he  re-established  it  as  a 
weekly.  It  has  been  conducted  as  a  daily 
and  weekly  since  1892.  The  circulation  has 
gradually  increased  from  the  first  until  it 
now  consists  of  one  thousand  and  two  hun- 
dred on  both  the  daily  and  weekly.  The  pa- 
per has  always  been  popular  with  the  people 
of  Marion  county,  having  been  a  faithful 
defender  of  the  local  interests.  It  is  ably 
and  carefully  edited,  and  the  news  service  is 
prompt  and  of  the  best.  The  mechanical  ap- 
pearance of  the  paper  shows  that  the  best 
and  most  modern  equipment  is  used  in  the 
plant. 

Mr.  Tufts  has  been  honored  with  many 
official  positions,  all  of  which  he  has  dis- 
charged with  ability.  He  was  president  of 
the  Board  of  Education  of  Centralia  for  one 
term,  also  president  of  the  Illinois  Press  As- 


540 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


sociation  for  one  term.  During  Governor 
John  P.  Altgeld's  administration  he  was  pri- 
vate secretary  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
for  a  period  of  four  years.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Democratic  State  Central  Com- 
mittee and  is  at  present  Master  in  Chancery 
of  Marion  county.  He  has  long  been  an  able 
exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  his  support  can  always  be  depend- 
ed upon  in  furthering  the  local  interests  of 
this  party. 

In  his  fraternal  relations,  Mr.  Tufts  is  a 
member  of  Centralia  Lodge  No.  201, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Cen- 
tralia Council,  No.  93,  Royal  Arch  Masons; 
Centralia  Council,  No.  28,  Royal  and  Select 
Masters;  Cyrene  Commandery  No.  23, 
Knights  Templar.  He  is  in  command  of  the 
Commandery.  Mr.  Tufts  is  also  a  member  of 
Centralia  Lodge  No.  394,  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks ;  also  a  member  of 
Helmet  Lodge  No.  26,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
of  Centralia.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Order 
of  Eastern  Star  and  the  Pythian  Sisters,  of 
Centralia  lodges. 

Mr.  Tufts  is  a  man  of  sunny  disposition, 
affable,  approachable  and  makes  friends  eas- 
ily, which 'he  has  no  trouble  in  retaining. 
While  strong  in  his  views,  he  is  always  will- 
ing to  be  fair  and  is  candid  at  all  times  and 
under  all  circumstances.  He  enjoys  an  ex- 
tensive acquaintance  all  over  the  state  of 
Illinois  among  men  of  all  classes,  and  he  is 
held  in  high  favor  by  all  who  know  him  for 
his  honesty  of  purpose,  pleasing  manners 
and  the  future  to  such  a  man  cannot  help 
but  be  replete  with  abundant  success. 


THOMAS  L.  JOY. 

Examples  that  impress  force  of  character 
on  all  who  study  them  are  worthy  of  rec- 
ord. By  a  few  general  observations  may 
be  conveyed  some  idea  of  the  high  standing 
of  Thomas  L.  Joy,  as  a  business  man  and 
public  benefactor,  or,  an  editor  of  unusual 
felicity  of  expression  and  whose  wonderful- 
ly facile  pen  delights  thousands  of  readers, 
although  now  retired  from  the  active  af- 
fairs of  everyday  life  and  spending  the  last 
half  of  his  years  of  strenuous  and  eminently 
useful  life  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  peace  and 
quietude  to  which  he  is  so  justly  entitled, 
and  which  he  has  so  nobly  earned.  United 
in  his  composition  are  so  many  elements  of 
a  solid  and  practical  nature,  which  during  a 
series  of  years  have  brought  him  into  promi- 
nent notice,  and  earned  for  him  a  conspicu- 
ous place  among  the  enterprising  men  of 
the  county  of  his  residence,  that  it  is  but 
just  recognition  of  his  worth  to  speak  at 
some  length  of  his  life  and  achievements. 

Thomas  L.  Joy,  retired  editor  of  the  Even- 
ing Sentinel  of  Centralia,  Illinois,  was  born 
in  Equality,  this  state,  September  15,  1850, 
the  son  of  Ephraim  E.  Joy,  a  Southern  Illi- 
nois Methodist  preacher  of  wide  celebrity. 
He  raised  a  company  in  1862  for  the  pur- 
pose of  taking  part  in  the  Union  service.  It 
was  assigned  to  a  regiment  of  Illinois  vol- 
unteers. Mr.  Joy  was  ordered  to  Fort  Doug- 
las to  be  sworn  in  as  captain  of  the  com- 
pany. Upon  reaching  the  place  he  received 
the  sad  news  that  his  wife  was  lying  at  the 
point  of  death.  This  cut  his  war  record  and 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


541 


he  hastened  home  to  his  dying  companion 
and  two  little  sons,  Andrew  F.  and  Thomas 
L.  The  grandfather  of  the  subject  was  a 
Baptist  minister  whose  work  was  also  con- 
fined to  the  southern  part  of  this  state.  The 
Joy  family  has  been  well  known  and  influen- 
tial in  the  affairs  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
Prairie  state  since  it  was  first  settled. 

The  early  education  of  Thomas  L.  Joy 
was  obtained  in  the  district  schools  and 
small  towns,  as  his  father  itinerated  from 
place  to  place.  His  last  school  was  at  Shi- 
loh,  St.  Clair  county.  He  received  a  fairly 
good  education,  which  was  later  supplement- 
ed by  extensive  home  reading  and  by  com- 
ing in  contact  with  the  world. 

Mr.  Joy  served  his  apprenticeship  as  a 
practical  printer  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  with 
the  Woodward  and  Tiernan  Printing  Com- 
pany, of  that  city.  Being  a  young  man  of 
great  energy  and  executive  ability,  Mr.  Joy 
established  the  Carmi  Times,  at  Carmi,  Illi- 
nois, with  his  brother,  Andrew  F.  Joy,  in 
1872.  Our  subject,  who  made  a  success  of 
this  venture,  later  sold  his  interest  to  his 
brother,  Andrew  F.  Joy,  in  1882.  In  1880 
the  Joy  brothers  established  the  Cairo  Daily 
and  Weekly  News.  Thomas  L.  took  full 
charge.  In  1881  he  closed  out  the  paper  and 
returned  to  Carmi  and  later  purchased  the 
Mt.  Carmel  Republican,  which  he  conduct- 
ed for  over  five  years,  with  his  usual  suc- 
cess. He  came  to  Centralia  October  20, 
1888,  and  bought  one-half  interest  in  the 
Sentinel;  the  firm  name  was  then  Joy  & 
Hitchcock,  the  firm  continuing  for  five 
months,  when  Hitchcock  retired,  H.  F.  Till- 


man  taking  his  place,  continuing  for  a  pe- 
riod of  two  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
time  our  subject  bought  his  interest  and  con- 
tinued to  publish  the  paper  with  increasing 
success  until  1906,  when  he  leased  his  paper 
to  his  son,  Verne  E.  Joy.  The  latter  took 
complete  charge  of  the  business  on  January 
i,  1907. 

While  engaged  on  the  Sentinel  Thomas 
L.  Joy,  for  a  period  of  five  years,  published 
the  Sandoval  Times,  a  weekly  paper  at  San- 
doval,  Marion  county,  which  was  liberally 
patronized.  He  also  published  the  Odin 
News  and  the  Patoka  Enterprise,  each  a 
weekly  paper,  with  a  good,  active  circula- 
tion. Mr.  Joy  was  a  very  busy  man  in  over- 
seeing all  these  papers,  but  his  wonderful 
executive  ability,  his  capacity  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  a  vast  amount  of  work  and 
his  persistent  qualities  enabled  him  to  carry 
them  all  to  successful  issue,  and  he  was  for 
many  years  the  molder  of  public  opinion  in 
Marion  county,  and  became  known  as  one 
of  her  foremost  and  most  influential  citi- 
zens. He  is  still  a  regular  contributor  to 
the  Sentinel.  His  articles  are  terse  and 
pithy — always  interesting.  He  enjoys  his 
quiet  home  life  in  his  beautiful  home  in  Cen- 
tralia, where  hospitality  and  good  cheer  are 
always  dispensed.  He  is  an  admirable  con- 
versationalist and  keeps  abreast  of  the  times 
in  all  matters. 

The  domestic  life  of  Thomas  L.  Joy  dates 
from  September  14,  1873,  when  he  was  unit- 
ed in  marriage  with  Lizzie  V.  (Lockwood) 
Joy,  of  Wayne  county,  Illinois.  She  is  the 
refined  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth 


542 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


(Wiley)  Lockwood,  of  Wayne  county,  Illi- 
nois, long  well  known  and  influential  in  their 
community. 

Our  subject  has  always  been  a  stanch  Re- 
publican and  ever  ready  to  foster  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  party,  doing  what  he  could  to 
insure  the  success  of  the  same  in  his  county 
and  his  counsel  has  been  frequently  sought 
and  in  the  affairs  of  the  party  at  home.  In 
religion  he  follows  his  father's  early  train- 
ing. 


J.  F.  KNIGHT. 

Mr.  Knight  has  long  maintained  his 
home  in  this  county,  and  while  he  has  been 
benefited  himself  in  a  very  material  way 
through  his  efforts  in  a  varied  line  of  work, 
he  has  ever  done  what  he  could  in  the  up- 
building of  the  community  at  large,  and  to- 
day he  stands  as  one  of  the  substantial  and 
foremost  citizens  of  Sandoval,  where  he  is 
held  in  high  favor  by  everyone. 

J.  F.  Knight  was  born  in  Wenona,  Illi- 
nois, May  23,  1867,  the  son  of  John  and 
Susan  (Ingersoll)  Knight.  The  subject's 
grandfather,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and 
of  German  lineage,  was  a  farmer  and 
lived  and  died  in  the  old  Keystone  state. 
He  was  the  father  of  eight  children,  all  of 
whom  lived  to  maturity.  Eli  Knight  was  a 
soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  having  enlisted  .in 
a  Pennsylvania  regiment  and  served  three 
years,  His  brother,  Thomas  Knight,  was 
also  a  soldier  in  the  Federal  ranks.  They 
were  both  Lutherans  in  their  church  rela- 


tions. Grandfather  Knight  lived  to  an  ad- 
vanced age,  and  grandmother  Knight 
reached  the  age  of  ninety-four  years. 
Grandfather  Ingersoll  was  from  New  York. 
He  came  to  Illinois  in  the  fifties  and  settled 
in  Wenona,  where  he  lived  the  balance  of 
his  life,  having  reached  the  great  age  of 
ninety-six  years.  Grandmother  Ingersoll 
met  death  in  an  unfortunate  manner,  by 
being  killed  when  sixty-five  years  old. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  raised  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  after  his  marriage  to  his 
first  wife  he  came  to  Illinois  and  settled  in 
Wenona.  While  in  Pennsylvania  he  worked 
at  the  miller's  trade,  but  after  he  came  to 
Illinois  he  worked  at  farming,  and  he 
reached  the  age  of  fifty-two  years.  The 
subject's  mother  lived  to  be  sixty-four  years 
old.  She  was  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church.  Three  children  were  born  to  John 
Knight  by  his  first  wife,  and  the  same  num- 
ber by  his  second.  He  was  a  Democrat  and 
served  as  County  Clerk  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  early  education  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  Ma- 
rion county.  He  later  attended  the  South- 
ern Illinois  Normal  School,  where  he  gained 
a  good  education,  having  applied  himself  in 
a  diligent  manner  to  his  text-books.  Tak- 
ing the  advice  of  Horace  Greeley,  who  told 
the  young  men  of  the  East  to  seek  their 
fortune  in  the  West,  Mr.  Knight  went  to 
California  after  he  left  school,  and  for  some 
time  kept  books.  But  he  later  returned  to 
Illinois  and  worked  his  father's  farm  for  a 
period  of  seven  years,  then  bought  land  in 
Marion  county  and  sold  live  stock,  and  later 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


543 


engaged  in  the  livery  business  in  Sando- 
val,  which  he  conducted  for  seven  years.  He 
owns  an  excellent  farm  in  this  county,  con- 
sisting of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of 
highly  improved  land.  He  also  owns  an- 
other farm  which  he  rents,  having  the  man- 
agement of  the  first  mentioned.  Mr. 
Knight  was  also  engaged  in  the  ice  business 
for  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  He  owns 
ten  houses  in  Sandoval,  which  he  rents,  and 
ilso  owns  a  beautiful  and  modern  residence. 
All  this  he  has  made  practically  unaided, 
having  been  a  careful  business  man  and  ex- 
ercised the  best  of  judgment  in  all  his  busi- 
ness transactions. 

Mr.  Knight  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1891  to  Stella  Reinhardt,  a  native  of  this 
county,  and  the  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Frederick  (Deitz)  Reinhardt,  natives  of 
Germany.  Mr.  Reinhardt  came  to  America 
in  an  early  day  and  settled  in  Marion 
county.  He  was  a  weaver  in  the  old  coun- 
try, but  took  up  the  baker's  trade  here. 
There  were  five  children  in  his  family. 

Two  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife.  The  first,  Merle,  was  born 
in  April,  1893,  and  is  in  high  school  at  this 
writing,  1908.  The  second,  Norman,  was 
born  in  1896.  They  are  both  bright  and  in- 
teresting children. 

The  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  also  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Woodmen, 
having  passed  all  the  chairs  in  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows. In  his  political  relations  he  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat, and  has  long  taken  an  active  part  in 
his  party's  affairs.  He  is  at  present  Town- 


ship Supervisor  and  has  been  Tax  Collector. 
He  was  president  of  the  Village  Board  for 
three  terms,  and  he  was  Alderman  for  sev- 
eral terms.  In  his  official  capacities  he  gave 
the  people  of  this  community  the  best  possi- 
ble service  and  gained  the  approval  of  all. 


JAMES  HUNTER,  M.  D. 

The  medical  profession  in  Marion  county 
has  an  able  representative  in  the  subject  of 
this  review,  who  is  to  be  considered  one  of 
the  leading  physicians  of  the  community  of 
Sandoval,  where  he  at  present  maintains  his 
home,  where  he  has  long  been  established  in 
practice.  He  has  been  closely  identified  with 
the  civic  and  social  affairs  of  Sandoval  and 
he  controls  a  large  and  representative  prac- 
tice throughout  this  part  of  the  county, 
where  he  is  held  in  the  highest  esteem  as 
a  physician  and  surgeon  and  as  a  public- 
spirited  and  loyal  citizen. 

Dr.  James  Hunter  was  born  in  Randolph 
county,  Illinois,  in  1837,  the  son  of  Alexan- 
der and  Martha  (Kell)  Hunter.  Grand- 
father Hunter  was  from  Ireland.  He  first 
settled  in  South  Carolina  after  coming  to 
this  country,  and  it  is  supposed  that  he  died 
there.  In  that  state  Grandfather  Kell  was 
born.  He  moved  to  Randolph  county,  Illi- 
nois, having  devoted  his  life  to  farming. 
About  1830  he  bought  a  farm  there,  set- 
tling among  the  pioneers,  reared  his  family 


544 


lilOC.KAl'IIICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


of  two  children,  both  girls,  and  died  there  at 
the  age  of  sixty-seven  years.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

The  father  of  our  subject  was  born  in 
South  Carolina  and  came  to  Illinois  when 
twenty-eight  years  old,  settling  in  Randolph 
county,  where  he  bought  land  and  on  which 
he  lived  until  his  death,  which  occured  when 
he  was  twenty-nine  years  old.  His  wife 
passed  away  at  the  age  of  forty.  Their 
family  consisted  of  three  children,  our  sub- 
ject being  the  only  survivor.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Alexander  Hunter  were  both  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  church. 

Doctor  Hunter  was  reared  in  Randolph 
county,  Illinois,  and  attended  the  public 
schools  there,  working  on  his  grandfather's 
farm  in  the  meantime,  until  he  was  seven- 
teen years  old.  He  early  decided  that  his 
life  should  be  devoted  to  the  healing  art,  and 
actuated  by  this  laudable  ambition  he  began 
the  study  of  medicine  under  the  direction 
and  instruction  of  Dr.  Hopkins,  of  Sparta, 
Illinois,  having  remained  with  him  for  one 
year.  He  then  took  two  courses  of  lectures 
in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  at  Cincin- 
nati and  began  practice  in  Randolph  county 
in  1858,  where  he  remained  with  gratifying 
results  attending  his  efforts  for  a  period  of 
five  years.  He  then  located  in  another  part 
of  the  same  county,  where  he  remained  a 
short  time. 

Much  to  the  regret  of  his  patients 
and  numerous  friends  in  Randolph  county, 
he  moved  to  Newport,  Kentucky,  in  1864, 
and  took  up  practice  there,  where  he  re- 
mained for  four  years,  his  success  having 
been  instantaneous.  He  located  in  Switzer- 


land county,  Indiana,  where  he  practiced 
with  most  flattering  results  for  a  period  of 
nineteen  years,  after  which  he  came  back  to 
Randolph  county,  Illinois.  He  then  spent  five 
years  at  Irvington,  Washington  county,  hav- 
ing come  to  Marion  county  in  1890,  and 
has  been  practicing  here  ever  since,  having  a 
lucrative  business  and  a  growing  practice.  To 
further  qualify  himself  Doctor  Hunter  at- 
tended the  medical  department  of  the  Nash- 
ville State  University  and  graduated  from 
the  same  in  1879.  Recently  the  doctor  was 
appointed  to  the  chair  of  Theory  and  Prac- 
tice in  the  Hypocranium  Medical  College,  a 
night  school  in  St.  Louis. 

Doctor  Hunter  was  married  in  1857  to 
Miss  N.  J.  Askins,  of  Sparta,  Illinois.  Two 
of  Mrs.  Hunter's  brothers  were  soldiers  in 
the  Civil  war,  having  enlisted  from  Illinois. 
They  served  their  time  out  and  were  hon- 
orably discharged. 

Six  children  were  born  to  the  subject  and 
wife,  four  girls  and  two  boys.  The  doctor 
has  four  grandchildren  living.  One  of  his 
daughters  lives  in  San  Francisco,  California, 
another  lives  in  St.  Louis,  one  in  Boston  and 
another  in  New  York.  They  are  all  well 
situated  in  reference  to  this  world's  affairs. 

Our  subject  is  a  Mason  and  a  Woodman. 
He  has  filled  most  of  the  chairs  in  the  Ma- 
sonic lodge.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  church  and  are  lib- 
eral supporters  of  the  same. 

Doctor  Hunter  takes  an  active  part  in  poli- 
tics, having  been  a  liberal  supporter  in  the 
Democratic  ranks  all  his  life.  He  has  faith- 
fully served  his  community  as  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  the  past  twelve  years.  What  his 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS 


545 


hands  and  mind  have  found  to  do  he  has 
done  with  his  might,  and  having  attained  a 
commanding  position  among  his  contempo- 
raries, he  wears  his  honor  in  a  becoming 
manner  and  is  today  one  of  the  prominent 
citizens  of  Marion  county. 


GEO.  WASHINGTON  DOWNEY,  M.  D. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  gained  pres- 
tige in  the  healing  art,  which  is  always  the 
outcome  of  close  application  and  the  ability 
to  apply  theory  to  practice  in  the  treatment 
of  diseases.  Good  intellectual  training,  thor- 
ough professional  knowledge,  have  made  the 
subject  of  this  review  successful  in  this  chos- 
en calling,  having  been  in  practice  here  for 
over  a  quarter  of  a  century,  during  which 
time  he  has  built  up  a  lucrative  patronage. 

Dr.  G.  W.  Downey  was  born  in  Prince- 
ton, Indiana,  March  i,  1832,  the  son  of  Wil- 
liam and  Anna  (Davis)  Downey.  Grand- 
father Downey,  who  was  a  millwright, 
which  trade  he  followed  all  his  life,  was 
born  in  Ireland,  came  to  America  and  set- 
tled in  Virginia,  where  he  spent  the  remain- 
der of  his  life,  and  where  he  reared  his 
children,  being  survived  by  six  children,  who 
lived  to  maturity.  There  were  three  min- 
isters in  the  family.  Grandfather  Davis, 
who  was  also  from  Ireland,  came  to  America 
and  settled  in  Tennessee,  later  removing 
to  Indiana,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  days,  devoting  his  life  to  farming,  living 
to  an  advanced  age  and  rearing  a  family 
consisting  of  four  daughters. 
35 


The  father  of  our  subject,  who  was  born 
in  Virginia,  moved  to  Indiana  when  he 
reached  manhood  and  followed  his  trade, 
that  of  millwright,  having  learned  it  from 
his  father,  but  feeling  that  he  was  called  to 
higher  work,  he  abandoned  this  and  devel- 
oped into  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  min- 
ister of  considerable  notoriety,  living  to  be 
over  sixty  years  old.  He  was  the  father  of 
twelve  children,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  the  youngest.  The  wife  of  Rev. 
Downey  passed  away  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
four  years. 

Doctor  Downey  attended  school  in  Indi- 
ana and  when  a  young  man  worked  out  as 
a  day  laborer,  his  family  being  poor,  making 
it  necessary  for  him  to  earn  his  own  living, 
but  while  somewhat  unpleasant,  it  was  good 
discipline  for  him  and  he  developed  an  in- 
dividuality which  made  greatly  for  subse- 
quent success.  Saving  what  he  could  with 
a  view  to  obtaining  a  higher  education,  he 
was  enabled  in  a  few  years  to  enter  college 
at  Newberry,  Indiana.  Believing  that  his 
true  life  work  lay  along  medical  lines,  he 
began  the  study  of  medicine  in  Indiana.  He 
took  a  medical  course  in  Chicago  and  later 
in  Iowa,  having  made  a  good  record  for 
scholarship  in  both. 

Our  subject  practiced  medicine  for  a  pe- 
riod of  four  years  before  the  breaking  out  ot 
the  Civil  war,  in  which  he  took  conspicuous 
part,  having  been  one  of  the  patriotic  volun- 
teers who  went  forth  to  battle  for  the  na- 
tion's rights.  He  enlisted  in  October,  1861, 
in  Company  F,  Fifty-sixth  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry,  and  served  two  years.  He  was  in 


546 


BIOGRAPHICAL   AND  REMINISCENT   HISTORY   OF 


the  great  battle  of  Corinth,  having  been 
through  the  siege  there;  also  took  part  in 
other  engagements  and  marches  in  which  his 
regiment  participated,  and  was  discharged 
on  account  of  disease  contracted  while  in 
line  of  duty. 

After  the  war  our  subject  returned  to  prac- 
tice, locating  in  Hamilton  county,  Illinois, 
later  removing  to  Washington  county,  then 
to  Marion  county  in  1882,  and  has  been  in 
practice  here  ever  since.  Wherever  he  has 
practiced  he  has  left  an  honorable  name  and 
a  reputation  as  a  high  class  physician  and  a 
conscientious  citizen. 

Doctor  Downey  was  united  in  marriage  in 
1858  to  Margaret  Pace,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Pace,  whose  people  were  originally  from 
Kentucky.  Seven  children  were  born  to  our 
subject  and  wife,  two  of  whom  are  deceased. 
Those  living  are:  Annie,  the  widow  of  Cy- 
rus Hamilton;  Homer  is  married  and  has 
two  children ;  Ada  is  the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Knox 
and  the  mother  of  three  children ;  Corrine  is 
married  and  has  one  child;  George  is  the 
fifth  child  and  youngest.  A  singular  coin- 
cidence in  the  history  of  the  Pace  family  is 
the  fact  that  Mrs.  Downey's  grandmother 
on  the  father's  side  of  the  house  fell  and 
broke  a  hip;  Mrs.  Downey's  father  also  fell 
and  broke  a  hip ;  later  his  twin  brother  broke 
his  hip  in  a  similar  manner ;  then  his  daugh- 
ter fell  and  broke  her  hip;  later  Mrs.  Dow- 
ney's brother  fell  and  broke  his  hip;  finally 
Mrs.  Downey  fell,  breaking  her  hip,  from 
which  she  has  become  a  life  cripple.  In 
each  case  it  was  the  right  hip. 

Our  subject    is  a  member  of   the  ancient 


and  honorable  Masonic  fraternity.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist 
church,  the  latter  having  been  a  church  mem- 
ber since  she  was  fourteen  years  old.  In 
politics  Doctor  Downey  is  a  Republican,  and 
he  has  the  interests  of  his  community  at 
heart,  ever  laboring  for  its  development 
along  political,  religious  and  educational 
lines.  His  comfortable  and  well  furnished 
home  in  Sandoval  is  frequented  by  his  many 
friends  and  those  of  the  family,  and  holds 
high  rank  in  this  community. 


EDWIN  L.  WELTON. 

The  record  of  a  life  well  spent,  of  tri- 
umph over  obstacles,  of  perseverance  under 
difficulties  and  steady  advancement  from  a 
modest  beginning  to  a  place  of  distinction 
in  the  industrial  world,  when  imprinted  on 
the  pages  of  a  history,  present  to  the  youth 
of  a  rising  generation  a  worthy  example. 
Such  a  life  is  that  of  the  gentleman  whose 
name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  review, 
who  is  at  this  writing  encumbent  of  the  re- 
sponsible position  of  postmaster  of  the  city 
of  Centralia,  Illinois,  and  the  able  and  con- 
scientious manner  in  which  he  has  ever 
looked  after  the  interests  of  this  city  have 
called  forth  much  praise  from  his  fellow 
townsmen. 

Edwin  L.  Welton  was  born  at  New  Al- 
bany, Indiana,  May  16,  1857,  the  son  of 
Tandy  and  Mary  E.  (Carlan)  Welton,  the 
former  having  been  born  in  Harrison 


RICHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION   COUNTIES,  .ILLINOIS. 


547 


county,  Indiana,  January  4,  1827,  and  is 
still  living  in  the  Hoosier  state.  The  mother 
of  the  subject  was  born  near  New  Albany, 
Indiana,  in  1832.  They  became  the  par- 
ents of  eleven  children,  of  whom  Edwin  L., 
our  subject,  was  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth. 
There  were  six  boys  and  five  girls,  seven  of 
whom  are  living. 

The  early  education  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  obtained  in  the  common  schools 
of  New  Albany.  He  early  began  working 
on  a  farm  and  later  in  the  Ohio  Falls  Iron 
Works  at  New  Albany.  He  came  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  young  manhood  without 
a  dollar,  but  possessing  courage  and  energy 
he  set  to  work  and  his  subsequent  career  has 
been  a  most  successful  one.  He  now  owns 
a  costly  and  well  furnished  home  in  Cen- 
tralia,  besides  considerable  other  property 
in  real  estate,  and  his  rental  income  pays 
over  one  thousand  dollars  a  year  on  his  in- 
vestment. He  arrived  in  Centralia  Febru- 
ary n,  1879. 

After  coming  to  this«state  our  subject 
worked  for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  for 
a  period  of  seventeen  years  and  for  thirteen 
years  was  an  engineer  on  the  road,  having 
been  one  of  the  most  trusted  and  efficient 
employes  of  this  company.  He  also  worked 
for  some  time  in  the  nail  mills  of  Centralia. 

Our  subject  supports  his  aged  father  and 
mother,  which  he  has  done  for  years.  He 
subscribed  the  first  one  hundred  dollars  for 
the  erection  of  the  present  Catholic  hospital 
erected  in  Centralia  the  latter  part  of  1908. 

Our  subject  met  with  the  misfortune  to 
lose  his  left  eye  nine  years  ago  by  the  ex- 


plosion of  a  lubrication  glass  on  an  engine. 

Edwin  L.  Welton  first  married  Addie  J. 
Andrews,  of  Centralia,  October  17,  1882,  by 
whom  one  son  was  born,  Dwight  E.,  whose 
birth  occurred  July  22,  1884.  He  lived 
eight  months  and  seventeen  days,  having 
died  in  March,  1885.  The  subject's  first 
wife  passed  to  her  rest  October  15,  1887. 
Mr.  Welton  was  married  a  second  time,  his 
last  wife  being  Isabel  H.  See,  the  wedding 
occurring  January  31,  1894.  To  this  union 
five  children  have  been  born.  The  first  died 
in  infancy.  The  names  of  the  others  are 
Helen  F.,  Frederick  E.,  Winifred  L.  and 
Edna  L.,  all  living  at  home  and  attending 
school  in  1908.  Mrs.  Welton  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  C.  M  ^nd  Anna  M.  See,  of  Alma. 

Mr.  Welton  was  elected  Township  Col- 
lector in  1902,  the  duties  of  which  he  faith- 
fully performed,  as  he  did  also  while  serv- 
ing as  a  member  of  the  School  Board  of 
Centralia  from  1887  to  1889.  He  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  of  Centralia  in  1903  and 
has  faithfully  continued  to  serve  the  people 
of  this  city  under  Roosevelt's  administra- 
tion, still  being  the  incumbent  of  this  office 
in  1908,  and  according  to  the  consensus  of 
opinion  is  one  of  the  best  postmasters  the 
city  has  ever  had,  possessing  as  he  does  a 
remarkable  executive  ability  and  being  of 
a  pleasing  address  he  is  popular  with  all 
classes. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Republican, 
having  always  voted  this  ticket  and  done 
what  he  could  in  furthering  the  interests  of 
his  party.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  Blue 


548 


i:icx;K APHICAL    AXD   RKMIXISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


Lodge,  also  Chapter,  Council  and  Com- 
mandery.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias,  the  Modern  Woodmen  and  the 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers  and 
Firemen.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  Order  of  Eastern  Star. 

Our  subject's  people  and  also  those  of  his 
wife  were  Methodists.  Mrs.  Welton  is  an 
active  member  of  this  church.  Mr.  Welton, 
while  not  affiliated  with  any  special  church, 
contributes  liberally  to  the  support  of  the 
Methodist  church  and  worships  there  with 
his  family,  being  a  stanch  believer  in  prac- 
tical, every-day  Christianity,  a  man  of  gen- 
erous disposition  who  has  always  given  his 
aid  and  influence  to  enterprises  for  the  pub- 
lic good,  and  since  becoming  a  resident  of 
Centralia  he  has  contributed  largely  to  the 
material  advancement  of  the  city  and  to  the 
social  and  moral  welfare  and  he  keeps 
abreast  of  the  times  in  all  matters  in  which 
the  public  is  interested.  No  act  inconsistent 
with  the  strictest  integrity  has  ever  been 
imputed  to  him,  nor  has  his  name  ever  been 
connected  with  any  measure  or  movement 
that  would  not  bear  closest  and  most  crit- 
ical scrutiny.  Thus  far  his  official  career  has 
fully  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  his  friends 
in  urging  his  selection  for  the  position  which 
he  holds. 


ALFRED  LIVESAY. 

Although  the  unmarred  life-chapter  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  has  been  closed  and 
the  seal  set  thereon  forever  by  the  "grim 


reaper,"  his  influence  for  good  still  pervades 
the  lives  of  those  with  whom  he  was  asso- 
ciated, for  his  life  was  led  along  high  planes 
of  endeavor  and  resulted  in  not  only  the  ac- 
complishment of  good  for  himself  and  fam- 
ily, but  also  his  neighbors. 

Alfred  Livesay  was  born  in  Tennessee 
February  15,  1822,  and  when  seven 
years  of  age  he  came  to  Washing- 
ton county,  Illinois,  at  the  age  of 
seven  years,  and  in  about  1866  he  came  to 
Marion  county,  locating  in  Patoka  township. 
Our  subject  was  the  son  of  John  Wesley  and 
Margaret  (Lyons)  Livesay,  both  natives  of 
Tennessee,  who  came  to  Marion  county,  Illi- 
nois, where  they  spent  the  remainder  of 
their  lives,  dying  on  the  same  place  on  which 
they  settled. 

Our  subject  made  nearly  all  the  improve- 
ments of  his  place,  having  been  a  hard 
worker  and  an  excellent  manager.  He  was 
always  a  Democrat,  but  never  sought  pub- 
lic office.  Entering  the  ministry,  he  was  a 
Methodist  preaches  .for  several  years,  doing 
much  good  and  becoming  widely  known  as 
an  earnest  expounder  of  the  Gospel,  but  he 
gave  up  preaching  quite  a  while  before  his 
death,  abandoning  the  ministry  owing  to 
failing  health.  He  had  the  distinction  of 
serving  one  year  and  one  month  in  the  Mex- 
ican war,  during  which  he  contracted  sick- 
ness from  which  he  never  fully  recovered. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  an  extensive  stock 
raiser  and  was  highly  successful  at  his  work 
wherever  it  was  applied,  being  a  man  of 
good  judgment  and  always  industrious.  He 
was  a  cousin  of  Dr.  Thomas  Livesay,  one 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


549 


of  the  leading  physicians  of  Marion  county 
and  a  man  respected  by  all. 

After  receiving  such  common  schooling 
as  the  times  afforded  our  subject  worked  at 
various  things,  principally  farming,  until  he 
married,  February  26,  1846,  in  Washington 
county,  Hannah  Logan,  who  was  born  in 
Washington  county  September  30,  1830, 
and  to  this  union  the  following  children 
have  been  born ;  William  T.  married 
Eliza  Seward  and  are  the  parents  of 
four  children  and  live  in  Stanley,  Iowa; 
Elizabeth  R.  is  single  and  takes  care  of  her 
mother;  Isaac  B.,  who  married  Leticia  Rock 
and  who  has  two  children,  lives  in  Kansas; 
Pearl  married  Joseph  Larimer  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  two  children ;  Hester  A.  mar- 
ried Perry  Davidson,  of  Marion  county,  and 
she  is  the  mother  of  five  children;  Ransom 
P.  married  Louisa  Suter  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  five  children;  Marshall  A.  mar- 
ried Rachael  Walton  and  they  have  nine 
children;  Liddie,  deceased,  married  Robert 
Quale,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  liv- 
ing children  and  two  deceased;  Harvey  R. 
married  Mollie  Chick  and  they  are  the  par- 
ents of  five  children ;  Allen  H.,  who  remained 
single,  died  when  forty-four  years  old ;  Dan- 
iel R.  married  Laura  Cruse  and  they  have 
three  children;  Etta  married  James  Smith 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  eight  chil- 
dren, four  of  whom  are  living;  Clinton  O. 
marreid  Elvira  McHaney  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  seven  children,  one  of  whom 
is  deceased. 

Alfred  Livesay  departed  this  life,  after  a 
strenuous  and  useful  career,  on  April  22, 


1883,  honored  and  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him,  and  his  place  in  the  neighborhood  has 
since  been  greatly  missed,  for  he  was  a  good 
and  useful  man,  who,  while  laboring  to  ad- 
vance the  interests  of  himself,  did  not  fail 
to  do  what  he  could  in  promoting  the  wel- 
fare of  the  public.  He  left  his  family  about 
six  hundred  acres  of  well  improved  land. 
Mrs.  Livesay  now  manages  in  a  most  suc- 
cessful manner  one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
acres,  all  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 
She  is  a  woman  of  rare  business  tact  and 
ability,  although  she  is  now  well  advanced 
in  old  age,  and  she  has  a  wonderful  mem- 
ory and  is  an  interesting  conversationalist. 
She  draws  a  pension  of  twelve  dollars  per 
month.  She  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  the 
people  of  Patoka  township  for  her  many 
commendable  traits  of  character  and  beau- 
tiful life. 


JACOB  COPPLE. 

It  is  hard  for  the  present  generation  to 
properly  appreciate  the  brave  deeds  of  the 
"boys  in  blue,"  who  sacrificed  so  much  on 
the  altar  of  patriotism  during  the  sixties, 
but  as  years  go  by  the  immensity  of  their 
deeds  will  be  realized  to  a  fuller  extent  and 
each  veteran  will  be  accorded  full  measure 
of  credit  and  praise.  The  gentleman  whose 
name  appears  above  is  a  member  of  this 
great  number  of  patriots. 

Jacob  Copple  was  born  in  Clark  county, 
Indiana,  December  23,  1835,  the  son  of  An- 
drew and  Christina  (Fine)  Copple,  both  na- 


550 


BIOGRAPHICAL   AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY   OF 


tives  of  North  Carolina,  who  were  among 
the  pioneers  in  the  vicinity  of  Walnut 
Hill,  Illinois,  where  they  lived  for  a 
short  time,  then  moved  to  Raccoon 
township,  Marion  county.  He  secured  wild 
land  and  developed  a  good  farm,  on  which 
he  and  his  wife  both  died.  He  was  a  Demo- 
crat, but  held  no  office,  and  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  church.  The  subject's 
mother  was  twice  married,  first  to  James 
Snow,  and  she  had  two  sons  by  this  mar- 
riage, William  and  James,  the  former  a 
farmer  and  the  latter  a  minister  in  the  Chris- 
tian church  for  many  years.  They  are  both 
deceased. 

Four  children  were  born  to  Andrew  Cop- 
pie  and  wife,  namely:  Jacob,  our  subject; 
John  L.,  deceased,  who  lived  in  Raccoon 
township  on  a  farm  and  was  also  a  black- 
smith; Simpson  is  living  in  Hood  River, 
Oregon,  a  retired  farmer;  Mary  Elizabeth 
is  the  widow  of  Robert  Sanders,  who  lives 
in  Raccoon  township. 

Our  subject  had  only  a  limited  amount  of 
schooling  in  his  youth,  but  he  became  self- 
educated  and  he  taught  five  terms  of  winter 
schools  in  a  most  successful  manner.  He 
was  married  in  March,  1856,  to  Malinda  F. 
McCullough,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  the 
daughter  of  Thomas  McCullough,  of  Ten- 
nessee, who  were  among  the  early  settlers 
in  Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  having  located 
on  a  farm.  Mr.  McCullough  lived  to  be 
over  eighty  years  old.  His  wife  survived 
him,  dying  in  1844.  The  subject's  wife 
died  November  20,  1901.  Seven  children 
were  born  to  them,  five  of  whom  grew  to 


maturity,  namely:  Rebecca  J.,  who  married 
J.  H.  Creed,  and  who  lived  in  Centralia 
township,  died  in  1884,  after  becoming  the 
mother  of  three  children;  Charles  L.,  a  ho- 
tel keeper  living  near  Portland,  Oregon,  is 
married  and  has  four  sons:  Theopolis  V.,  a 
farmer  living  in  Raccoon  township,  is  sin- 
gle; Samuel  A.,  a  farmer  in  Raccoon  town- 
ship, married  Florence  Copple  and  has  three 
children ;  George  F.,  deceased,  married  Min- 
nie McMillin,  and  became  a  farmer  near 
Walnut  Hill.  These  children  were  educat- 
ed in  the  home  schools  and  are  all  fairly 
well  situated  in  reference  to  business  and 
homes. 

Mr.  Copple,  as  already  intimated,  was  a 
soldier  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  hav- 
ing enlisted  on  April  6,  1865,  in  Company 
H,  Fifty-third  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry. 
He  first  went  to  New  York  City,  being  sick 
with  the  measles,  and  came  home  in  1865, 
and  was  sick  until  the  spring  of  1866.  He 
had  moved  to  Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  in 
1 86 1,  and  he  lived  there  until  1881,  when  he 
moved  to  Raccoon  township,  where  he 
bought  the  Robert  Rainey  farm.  His  fine 
farm  now  consists  of  one  hundred  and 
twelve  acres  and  he  carries  on  general  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising  in  a  most  successful 
manner,  having  his  farm  highly  improved 
and  carefully  tilled.  He  has  always  been  a 
farmer  and  has  taken  much  interest  in  pub- 
lic affairs.  He  has  been  School  Director 
and  he  cast  his  first  vote  for  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, but  since  1876  he  has  been  a  Populist 
and  he  has  the  splendid  record  of  having 
been  a  member  of  the  Christian  church  for 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY    AXD   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


the  past  fifty  years.  Our  subject  has  been 
retired  since  1900,  when  he  bought  a  home 
in  Walnut  Hill,  where  he  has  since  lived. 


JOSEPH  PORTER  ROOT. 

One  of  the  venerable  and  highly  respected 
citizens  of  Marion  county  is  he  whose  name 
appears  above,  a  man  whose  life  has  been 
led  along  useful  and  conservative  lines,  re- 
sulting in  good  to  those  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact  and  resulting  in  success  to  him- 
self and  family. 

Joseph  Porter  Root  was  born  August  4, 
1828,  in  Orange  county,  Vermont,  the  son 
of  King  and  Elizabeth  (Bacheldor)  Root, 
both  natives  of  Orange  county,  Vermont, 
the  former's  father  and  mother  also  being 
natives  of  that  county.  Jethro  Bacheldor 
was  the  subject's  maternal  grandfather.  He 
and  his  wife  were  both  natives  of  New 
Hampshire.  The  subject's  father,  who  grew 
up  and  married  in  Vermont,  was  a  very  ac- 
tive man.  a  great  drummer,  and  a  farmer 
by  occupation.  Both  he  and  his  wife  died 
in  Vermont ;  the  latter  was  a  member  of  the 
Free  Will  Baptist  church.  The  former  was 
a  Democrat.  They  were  the  parents  of  thir- 
teen children,  twelve  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity and  married.  The  subject  had  one 
brother,  Lawton,  a  farmer,  who  came  west 
in  about  1838,  going  to  Chicago  and  down 
the  Mississippi  river  and  through  Southern 
Illinois  and  in  two  years  went  back  to  Ver- 
mont. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  receive 
only  a  limited  schooling  when  a  boy,  live 
at  home  with  his  parents  until  he  reache 
manhood.  In  early  life  he  worked  as  a  tun 
er  at  the  lathe  and  made  tool  handles.  I 
1852  he  came  west  unaccompanied  and  k 
cated  in  Marion  county-  where  Centralia  noi 
stands.  The  country  was  then  wild  and  h 
has  seen  the  development  of  the  community 
taking  no  small  part  in  the  great  work.  Thei 
was  no  railroad  in  the  county  when  he  cam 
here.  He  went  into  partnership  with  Rot 
ert  Hensley  in  1854  and  put  up  a  steam  saw 
mill  on  Fulton  creek,  the  first  mill  in  tte 
locality.  Lumber  was  sawed  here  for  th 
Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  to  b 
used  in  the  construction  of  round  house; 
shops  and  buildings  in  general.  Our  sul 
ject  operated  the  mill  for  about  two  year; 
when  he  sold  it  and  went  into  partnershi 
with  Josiah  Gilkey  and  they  made  wh« 
barrows  and  such  implements  by  hand  an 
later  took  up  painting.  He  secured  Ian 
and  started  to  make  a  home. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  o 
June  14,  1856,  to  Sarah  Ann  Stradley,  o 
Ashville.  North  Carolina,  who  was  bor 
November  20,  1832,  the  daughter  of  Davi 
and  Mary  (Bruce)  Stradley,  the  forme 
having  been  born  in  England  and  the  latte 
in  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Stradley  was  sen 
by  a  syndicate  to  Mexico  to  look  after  thei 
interests  in  a  silver  mine,  and  he  remaine 
there  three  years.  He  had  relatives  in  Norti 
Carolina,  where  he  went  and  in  which  stat 
he  was  married,  and  later  came  to  Marioi 
county.  Illinois,  settling  in  Centralia  town 


552 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ship,  where  he  got  land,  where  he  and  his 
wife  both  died. 

The  wife  of  the  subject,  a  woman  of  many 
beautiful  traits  of  character,  passed  to  her 
rest  August  24,  1898. 

After  his  marriage  our  subject  lived  in 
Centralia  township,  having  cleared  land  and 
made  a  good  and  comfortable  home  and 
where  he  lived  in  ease  until  the  death  of  his 
wife,  since  which  time  he  has  lived  among 
his  children.  Eight  children  were  born  to 
the  subject  and  wife  as  follows:  Mary  E., 
born  August  8,  1857,  married  Oliver  P. 
Moore;  they  live  in  Jefferson  county,  Illi- 
nois, and  are  the  parents  of  eight  children, 
one  deceased.  Erastus  S.,  the  second  child, 
was  born  September  20,  1859,  married  Celia 
Wood ;  they  live  in  Centralia,  this  county, 
and  are  the  parents  of  eight  children,  two 
being  deceased;  King  David  was  born  Oc- 
tober 24,  1861,  married  Orphelia  Van  Hou- 
ten,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren and  make  their  home  in  Centralia; 
Charles  Burdette,  who  was  born  September 
n,  1863,  married  Edith  Creed;  he  is  a 
farmer  and  teacher  in  Centralia  township, 
being  the  parents  of  three  children,  one  child 
being  deceased.  Joseph  Elmer,  the  fifth 
child,  was  born  May  8,  1866,  is  a  farmer  in 
Centralia  township,  married  Mary  Bates, 
and  they  have  three  children  living  and  one 
dead.  Jethro  Bacheldor,  the  sixth  child,  was 
born  March  4,  1870,  and  married  Mollie 
Burge,  of  Centralia,  and  they  have  five  chil- 
dren. Ella  B.  was  born  April  25,  1872,  mar- 
ried Lloyd  Burge,  living  at  Hyattville,  Wyo- 
ming, and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  chil- 


dren; Cyrus,  the  youngest  child,  was  born 
October  6,  1878,  married  Grace  Burge,  of 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  the  daughter  of  Jar- 
rett  and  Susan  (Warren)  Burge,  both  of 
this  county.  They  were  of  Virginia  and 
Tennessee  stock.  Jarrett  Burge  lived  all  of 
his  life  in  Marion  county,  this  state,  on  a 
farm.  He  now  lives  one  mile  east  of  Odin. 
His  wife  died  in  January,  1904. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cyrus  Root  are  the  parents 
of  three  children,  namely :  Earl,  Evelyn  and 
Lavinia.  Our  subject  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  representative  farmers  of  Centralia 
township,  having  always  devoted  his  life  to 
the  farm.  However,  he  has  been  practically 
retired  since  1898.  He  is  a  Democrat;  his 
wife  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 
Mr.  Root  is  a  remarkably  well  preserved  man 
for  his  advanced  age,  still  hale  and  hearty. 
He  is  a  great  reader  and  is  well  posted.  He 
started  in  life  in  a  small  way,  but  being  in- 
dustrious and  a  good  manager,  he  has 
achieved  success  and  is  today  one  of  the 
substantial  men  of  the  county. 


CHARLES  F.  DEW. 

The  gentleman  whose  career  is  briefly 
sketched  in  the  following  lines  is  an  in- 
fluential member  of  the  Marion  County  Bar, 
who  by  reason  of  his  professional  success 
has  been  honored  from  time  to  time  with  po- 
sitions of  responsiblity  and  trust.  He  also 
holds  worthy  prestige  as  a  citizen,  being  in- 
terested in  whatever  tends  to  benefit  his  fel- 


RICHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION   COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


553 


low  men,  and  in  matters  of  public  import. 
His  reputation  as  an  influential  factor  and 
trusted  leader  is  duly  recognized  and  ap- 
preciated. 

Charles  F.  Dew  is  one  of  Illinois'  native 
sons  and  a  descendant  of  an  old  Virginia 
family  that  was  first  represented  in  the  West 
by  his  grandfather,  Rev.  John  Dew,  a 
Methodist  minister  of  much  more  than  local 
repute  and  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his 
church  in  the  central  and  southern  parts  of 
the  state.  This  eminent  pioneer  divine  was 
the  intimate  associate  and  co-laborer  of  the 
celebrated  Peter  Cartwright,  whom  he  as- 
sisted in  evangelistic  work  among  the  early 
settlers,  and  his  name  frequently  occurs  in 
the  latter's  autobiography  and  personal  rem- 
iniscences. He  was  not  only  an  able  and 
earnest  preacher,  but  also  a  prominent  edu- 
cator and  to  his  efforts  more  perhaps  than 
to  those  of  any  other  man  is  due  the  found- 
ing of  McKendree  College,  of  which  he  was 
the  first  president.  Subsequently  he  served 
for  many  years  on  the  board  of  directors  of 
that  institution  and  was  untiring  in  promot- 
ing its  interests  by  every  means  at  his  com- 
mand. He  migrated  from  Virginia  in  a  very 
early  day  and  settled  originally  near  Tren- 
ton, Clinton  county,  but  spent  the  greater 
portion  of  his  time  in  ministerial  work  in 
different  parts  of  the  state  and  establishing 
churches,  many  of  which  are  still  in  exist- 
ence and  flourishing  organization. 

Henry  P.  Dew,  son  of  the  above  and 
father  of  the  subject,  was  born  in  St.  Clair 
county,  Illinois,  in  the  year  1833.  He  mar- 
ried in  1 86 1,  Sarah  C.  Arrowsmith,  whose 


birth  occurred  in  June,  1838,  and  who  bore 
him  three  children,  namely:  Edward,  died 
in  early  years,  Lulu,  who  also  died  young, 
and  Charles  F.,  whose  name  introduces  this 
sketch.  Henry  P.  Dew  departed  this  life 
at  Odin,  Illinois,  in  the  year  1872,  his  wife, 
who  is  still  living,  makes  her  home  with 
Charles  F.,  her  only  surviving  child.  The 
Arrowsmiths  moved  to  Illinois  from  Ohio 
and  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Marion 
county,  the  parents  of  Mrs.  Dew  locating 
near  Salem  in  1848.  Mr.  Arrowsmith  pur- 
chased land  and  in  due  time  became  a  pros- 
perous farmer  and  praiseworthy  citizen.  He 
reared  a  family  of  eight  children,  three  sons 
and  five  daughters,  and  with  his  good  wife 
has  for  a  number  of  years  been  sleeping  the 
sleep  of  the  just. 

Charles  F.  Dew  was  born  March  20,  1866, 
in  Washington  county,  Illinois,  and  received 
his  preliminary  education  in  the  public 
schools,  this  training  being  afterwards  sup- 
plemented by  a  course  in  the  high  school  of 
Centralia,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1883. 
Actuated  by  an  earnest  desire  to  add  to  his 
scholastic  knowledge,  he  subsequently  en- 
tered McKendree  College,  where  he  prose- 
cuted his  studies  until  completing  the  pre- 
scribed course  and  receiving  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Science,  after  which  he  engaged 
in  educational  work,  devoting  the  ensuing 
ten  years  to  teaching  in  the  schools  of  Illi- 
nois, Missouri  and  Minnesota. 

Mr.  Dew  achieved  honorable  distinction 
as  an  educator,  and  while  in  the  profession 
taught  in  the  schools  of  St.  Louis,  Kansas 
City,  and  served  for  some  time  as  superin- 


554 


MIOCKAPHICAL   AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


tendent  of  the  public  schools  of  Rush  City, 
Minnesota,  in  the  meantime  receiving  from 
his  alma  mater  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Science.  Although  a  natural  teacher  and 
fond  of  the  work,  he  had  no  intention  of 
making  it  his  permanent  calling.  Accord- 
ingly, in  1893,  he  retired  from  the  school 
room  and  began  the  study  of  law  in  the  of- 
fice of  Judge  William  Stoker,  of  Centralia. 
After  three  years  of  close  application,  un- 
der the  direction  of  that  able  lawyer  and 
jurist,  he  took  the  required  examination  at 
Springfield  and  received  his  license  to  prac- 
tice in  the  state  and  federal  courts,  his  ad- 
mission to  the  bar  bearing  the  date  of  1896. 
The  year  in  which  he  was  granted  his  li- 
cense, Mr.  Dew  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession  at  Centralia,  and  after  expe- 
riencing the  usual  difficulties  which  beset  the 
young  attorney  at  the  beginning  of  his  ca- 
reer, he  forged  rapidly  to  the  front  among 
the  successful  lawyers  of  the  city,  and  in 
due  time  built  up  a  large  and  satisfactory 
legal  business.  His  habits  of  study  and  con- 
centration together  with  his  previous  ex- 
perience as  a  teacher  were  greatly  in  his 
favor  and  he  brought  to  his  profession  a 
well  disciplined  mind,  which  enabled  him  to 
grow  in  public  favor  within  a  comparatively 
brief  period.  In  connection  with  the  duties 
of  his  calling,  he  became  actively  interested 
in  political  affairs  and  it  was  not  long  until 
he  acquired  considerable  political  prestige, 
not  only  locally,  but  in  district  and  state 
matters  as  well.  In  recognition  of  valuable 
political  resources  as  well  as  by  reason  of 
his  fitness  for  the  position,  he  was  elected 


City  Attorney  of  Centralia,  and  so  ably  did 
he  discharge  his  official  functions  that  he 
was  twice  chosen  his  own  successor.  His 
record  while  looking  after  the  interest  of 
the  municipality  was  without  a  blemish  and 
compared  favorably  with  those  of  his 
predecessors. 

As  a  lawyer  Mr.  Dew  stands  deservedly 
high  and  his  career  thus  far  has  been  char- 
acterized by  continuous  advancement  and  a 
success  such  as  few  of  his  professional  ex- 
perience attain.  He  is  well  grounded  in  the 
principles  of  jurisprudence  and  by  critical 
study  has  become  so  familiar  with  the  lead- 
ing authorities  that  he  experiences  little  dif- 
ficulty in  applying  his  knowledge  to  practice 
or  in  successfully  competing  with  older  and 
more  experienced  men.  He  is  regarded  as  a 
safe  and  judicious  counselor,  careful  and 
methodical  in  the  preparation  of  legal  pa- 
pers and  all  matters  entrusted  to  him  are 
sure  to  receive  his  earnest  attention  and  to  be 
attended  to  with  promptness  and  dispatch. 

Mr.  Dew  is  a  man  of  scholarly  tastes  and 
an  influential  factor  in  the  literary  life  of 
Centralia.  His  office  in  the  Ramer  Build- 
ing on  North  Locust  street  is  not  only  fre- 
quented by  clients  and  those  deserving  legal 
advice,  but  it  is  also  a  favorite  resort  of  the 
intellectually  inclined,  for  therein  are  fre- 
quently considered  and  discussed  matters  of 
high  import  in  which  only  men  of  like  tastes 
and  inclinations  have  an  interest.  Mr.  Dew 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and 
the  order  of  Woodmen,  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  represents  his  religious 
creed.  Although  earnest  in  his  views  and 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


555 


with  the  courage  of  his  convictions  on  all 
subjects,  he  is  a  man  of  liberal  ideas  and 
only  requires  the  same  respect  for  his  own 
opinions  that  he  accords  to  the  opinions  of 
those  who  may  differ  from  him.  Mr.  Dew 
was  happily  married  on  the  25th  day  of  No- 
vember, 1908,  to  Hattie  H.  Porter,  of  Cen- 
tralia,  daughter  of  William  and  Rose  R. 
(Ray)  Porter,  early  settlers  of  Salem.  Mrs. 
Dew's  grandfather  was  one  of  the  large 
land  owners  of  Marion  county  and  for  many 
years  a  leading  citizen  of  the  county  in  which 
he  lived. 


SAMUEL  SHOOK. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  for  many 
years  ranked  among  the  modern  agricul- 
turists of  this  section  of  the  state,  where  his 
entire  life  has  been  spent,  resulting  in  the 
accomplishment  of  a  comfortable  living  for 
himself  and  family. 

Samuel  Shook  was  born  in  Centralia 
township,  Marion  county,  September  15, 
1845,  the  son  of  Amos  and  Martha  (Shel- 
ton)  Shook,  the  former  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  latter  of  Georgia.  Amos 
Shook  came  to  Illinois  when  a  boy  with  his 
uncle,  Samuel  Shook,  and  located  near  Belle- 
ville, when  the  present  state  was  still  a  ter- 
ritory. The  uncle  procured  land  in  Centra- 
lia township,  being  among  the  very  first  set- 
tlers here,  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  He 
developed  a  farm,  making  a  comfortable 
home.  His  neighbors  were  Indians  and  wild 
beasts,  consequently  he  never  went  any  place 


without  his  rifle.  He  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  life  farming  in  Centralia  township. 
He  was  a  Baptist  preacher,  the  first  in  the 
locality,  preaching  around  in  the  homes  in 
log  cabins.  Amos  Shook,  the  subject's  father, 
who  had  little  chance  to  attend  school, 
grew  up  in  Centralia  township  and  was  a 
farmer  all  his  life,  a  leading  Democrat  in 
his  community,  but  held  no  public  office.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Christian  church.  He 
died  in  1877,  and  his  wife  passed  to  her 
rest  in  1846.  He  was  twice  married,  his 
second  wife  being  Susan  Whitchurch,  of 
Centralia  township,  the  daughter  of  William 
Whitchurch,  of  St.  Clair  county,  this  state, 
having  been  pioneers  of  that  county. 

Eight  children  were  born  to  Amos  Shook 
and  his  first  wife,  two  of  whom  are  now 
living,  namely:  Sallie,  deceased;  Martha 
Jane;  Roanna,  deceased;  David,  deceased; 
Lucy  Ann,  deceased;  James  H.,  a  farmer  in 
Wayne  county,  Illinois;  Morris,  deceased; 
Samuel,  our  subject.  Two  children  were 
born  to  Amos  Shook  and  his  second  wife, 
Robert  and  Ivy,  both  deceased. 

Our  subject  had  only  a  limited  schooling 
in  the  early  subscription  schools,  but  he  made 
the  best  use  possible  of  his  opportunities  and 
is  today  a  well  read  man. 

Mr.  Shook  was  happily  married  March 
9,  1865,  to  Julia  A.  Garren,  of  Jefferson 
county,  Illinois,  having  been  born  there  in 
1846,  the  daughter  of  Alexander  and  Betsy 
(Copple)  Garren,  natives  of  Indiana,  who 
came  to  Centralia  township,  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  having  been  pioneers  of  that  locality. 
Mr.  Garren  died  in  Marion  county  and  his 


556 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


wife's  death  occurred  in  Jefferson  county. 
He  was  twice  married,  his  second  wife  be- 
ing Roxanna  Hudlow,  a  widow.  Four  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Alexander  Garren  and  his 
first  wife,  namely:  William,  John,  Eli,  all 
three  deceased ;  Julia  Ann,  the  subject's  wife. 
The  following  children  were  born  to  Alex- 
ander Garren  and  his  second  wife,  namely: 
Riley,  who  lives  in  Missouri;  Robert  and 
Phoebe,  both  deceased ;  Alexander,  Jr.,  a  liv- 
eryman at  Walnut  Hill ;  Lewis,  deceased. 

Eight  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  five  of  whom  are  now  living, 
namely:  Melvin,  a  farmer  at  Lane,  South 
Dakota ;  Albert,  a  farmer  in  Centralia  town- 
ship; Ira,  deceased;  Plannie,  deceased; 
George,  deceased;  Frank,  a  farmer  on  the 
old  home  place;  Elmer,  a  farmer  at  Lane, 
South  Dakota;  Myrtle  May,  living  in  Cen- 
tralia township. 

After  the  subject's  marriage  he  located 
where  he  now  lives  in  Centralia  township 
and  erected  a  substantial  house  and  barn 
and  made  all  of  the  improvements  on  the 
place,  which  are  extensive  and  equal  to  any 
in  the  county.  He  has  lived  on  this  place 
continuously  since  that  time.  He  has  al- 
ways been  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  having 
been  highly  successful  at  each,  being  con- 
sidered by  his  neighbors  and  those  who  know 
him  as  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  the 
township  and  an  excellent  judge  of  live 
stock.  He  is  a  Democrat,  but  has  held  no 
offices.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church. 

The  subject  is  one  of  those  patriotic  citi- 
zens who  felt  it  their  duty  to  offer  their 


services  in  defense  of  their  country  during 
the  sixties,  consequently  he  enlisted  in  1864 
in  Company  F,  Forty-eighth  Regiment,  Illi- 
nois Volunteer  Infantry,  at  Centralia.  He 
was  sent  to  Scottsboro,  Alabama,  and  was 
wounded  three  times,  first  at  Resaca,  hav- 
ing been  shot  through  the  right  shoulder.  He 
was  later  wounded  at  Fort  McAlister,  hav- 
ing been  shot  through  the  right  leg,  at  which 
battle  he  was  also  shot  through  the  left 
thigh.  He  was  under  Sherman  and  Gen. 
John  A.  Logan  in  the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps, 
Fourth  Brigade  and  Fourth  Division.  He 
took  part  in  all  the  battles  and  engagements 
of  his  regiment.  After  he  was  wounded  he 
was  first  sent  by  boat  to  Bedford,  South 
Carolina,  later  to  New  York,  and  then  to 
Quincy,  Illinois,  where  he  was  discharged 
May  13,  1865. 

Mr.  Shook  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  Post  No.  55,  at  Cen- 
tralia, Illinois;  also  a  member  of  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at  Wal- 
nut Hill,  this  state;  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
at  Centralia,  also  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Ben- 
efit Association. 


HENRY  L.  RHODES. 

No  compendium  such  as  the  province  of 
this  work  defines  in  its  essential  limitations 
will  serve  to  present  in  detail  the  interesting 
life  career  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  who 
is  well  known  in  Marion  county,  where  he 
has  long  maintained  his  home,  being  now  a 
retired  railroad  man  and  a  leading  member 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOL- 


557 


of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  No.  101 
— a  man  who  is  entitled  to  the  respect  of 
his  fellow  men  owing  to  the  well  ordered 
life  he  has  led. 

Harry  L.  Rhodes  was  born  at  Port  Jar- 
vis,  Orange  county,  New  York,  May  24, 
1829,  the  son  of  Simeon  and  Jane  (Mc- 
Daniels)  Rhodes,  the  latter  of  Scotch-Irish 
ancestry,  the  former  a  native  of  New  York 
and  of  German  ancestry.  Two  children 
were  born  to  them,  Henry  L.,  our  subject, 
being  the  oldest  of  the  two.  When  eight 
years  old  our  subject  went  on  the  tow  path 
where  he  remained  for  ten  years.  When 
eighteen  years  old  he  was  captain  of  a  boat 
on  the  Erie  canal.  After  he  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Erie  Railroad  which  was  taking 
the  place  of  the  boat,  and  was  afterward 
conductor  for  seven  years  on  the  New  York 
&  Erie  Railroad.  In  April,  1856,  he  came 
to  Centralia  and  was  conductor  on  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  for  a  period  of  thirty- 
four  years,  then  retiring  to  private  life.  He 
gave  these  roads  the  very  best  of  service 
and  was  regarded  by  them  as  among  their 
best  and  most  trusted  employes.  By  his 
economy  and  industry  and  his  judicious  in- 
vestments, he  acquired  a  handsome  compe- 
tence and  is  now  considered  one  of  the  well- 
to-do  men  of  Centralia,  where  he  has  a  good 
home,  nicely  and  comfortably  furnished. 
His  success  has  been  worthy  his  honorable 
business  career. 

Henry  L.  Rhodes  married  in  Port  Jarvis, 
New  York,  in  1853,  to  Sarah  E.  Smith, 
and  the  following  children  have  been  born 
to  this  union :  George  H. ;  Libbie  is  the 


wife  of  B.  F.  Statlemey'er,  of  St.  Louis; 
William  A.  died  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota, 
when  twenty-three  years  old. 

Our  subject  came  to  Illinois  in  1856  and 
began  railroading  as  a  passenger  conductor 
on  the  Illinois  Central,  where  he  remained 
for  a  period  of  forty-three  years.  He  was 
also  train  master  for  six  years. 

Having  ever  taken  considerable  interest 
in  the  development  of  Marion  county  in  all 
lines,  especially  politically,  he  was  elected 
Mayor  of  Centralia  which  office  he  very  ably 
and  acceptably  filled  for  two  terms.  He  ex- 
ercises the  franchise  of  men  and  measures 
of  the  Republican  party,  and  he  feels  a  deep 
interest  in  all  political  affairs  and  is  well  in- 
formed on  all  the  leading  issues  of  the  day. 
He  has  been  a  frequent  delegate  to  the 
county,  congressional  and  state  conventions, 
and  in  1896  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republi- 
can National  Convention. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rhodes  attend  the  Presby- 
terian church  at  Centralia,  which  they  liber- 
ally support.  Mr.  Rhodes  is  a  Master  Ma- 
son, having  filled  all  the  stations  in  the  local 
Blue  Lodge.  He  was  made  mark  master, 
past  master,  most  excellent  master  and 
Royal  Arch  Mason  of  No.  93 ;  then  council 
of  No.  28,  having  filled  the  highest  offices, 
of  these  illustrious  masters  for  five  years. 
He  went  to  the  Commandery  and  served 
six  terms  as  eminent  commandery  of  the 
Scottish  Rite,  thirty-third  degree,  and  as  a 
life  member  served  as  sovereign  grand  and 
inspection  general  in  the  thirty-third  and 
last  degree.  Mr.  Rhodes  is  one  of  Cen- 
tralia's  best  known  men. 


558 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    KKM  I  X  ISCK  \T    HISTORY    OF 


FATHER  JOHN  H.  BRUNS. 

Although  yet  a  young  man  the  gentleman 
whose  name  introduces  this  biographical 
sketch  has  accomplished  much  toward  ameli- 
orating the  condition  of  his  fellow  men, 
often  laboring  with  disregard  for  his  own 
welfare  if  thereby  he  might  attain  the  ob- 
ject he  sought — to  make  some  one  better, 
happier.  Such  a  life  as  his  is  rare  and  is 
eminently  worthy  of  emulation,  being 
singularly  free  from  all  that  is  deteriorating 
or  paltry,  for  his  influence  is  at  all  times 
uplifting  and  thousands  of  people  have  been 
made  better  for  having  known  him. 

Father  John  H.  Bruns,  who  has  done 
such  a  commendable  work  in  promulgating 
the  interests  of  the  Catholic  church  and 
school  in  Centralia,  Illinois,  was  born  in 
Borken,  Germany,  June  30,  1870,  the  son 
of  Joseph  and  Adalaid  (Rademacher) 
Bruns,  .being  the  oldest  child  of  a  family  of 
eight  children.  He  came  to  America  in 
1880.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in 
the  common  schools  of  Europe  and  partly  at 
Pinckneyville,  Illinois.  Under  the  Fran- 
ciscan Fathers  at  Tentrepolis,  near  Effing- 
ham,  he  studied  the  classics  and  graduated 
in  1891  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts 
and  as  the  valedictorian  of  his  class.  He  af- 
terward took  a  degree,  Master  of  Arts,  in  a 
school  of  philosophy  at  Quincy,  Illinois. 
Then  he  took  a  tree  years'  course  in  theology 
at  St.  Francis,  near  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 
Being  ambitious  our  subject  applied  himself 
in  a  most  assiduous  manner  to  his  studies 
and  made  an  excellent  record  in  all  those 
schools. 


Father  Bruns  was  ordained  to  the  priest- 
hood June  16,  1895,  and  soon  thereafter  as- 
signed to  be  assistant  pastor  at  St.  Peter's 
cathedral,  Belleville,  Illinois,  where  he  re- 
mained for  a  period  of  eight  years,  having  in 
the  meantime  accomplished  much  in  the 
builing  up  of  this  organization  and  winning 
a  lasting  monument  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people  of  that  church.  He  was  appointed 
pastor  at  Centralia  August  20,  1903,  and  is 
at  this  writing,  1908,  carrying  on  the  work 
here  with  that  discretion,  energy  and  de- 
votion that  insures  abundant  success.  Many 
improvements  have  been  inaugurated  since 
his  coming,  among  which  might  well  be 
mentioned  the  installation  of  a  new  and 
modern  heating  system  in  the  church  and 
school,  an  addition  to  the  school  building, 
costing  about  three  thousand  and  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  the  purchase  of  a  cemetery  at 
a  cost  of  one  thousand  and  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, also  the  purchase  of  a  hospital  site  at 
a  cost  of  four  thousand  dollars.  He  has  la- 
bored faithfully  in  the  building  up  of  the 
church  and  the  school,  the  former  now  rep- 
resenting one  hundred  and  sixty  families, 
and  there  are  at  this  writing  one  hundred 
and  fifty-six  pupils  enrolled  in  the  school. 
Three  teachers  are  employed  and  the  course 
includes  the  eighth  grade  work  and  a  com- 
plete course  of  bookkeeping.  Six  sisters  are 
employed  to  take  care  of  the  sick.  When 
the  work  on  the  new  hospital  is  completed 
a  large  number  of  sisters  of  the  highest 
efficiency  will  be  constantly  engaged  to  care 
for  the  sick  and  those  who  are  brought  for 
treatment.  The  church  building  is  one  of 
the  handsomest  in  the  city  and  would  be 


REV.  JOHN  H.  BRUNS. 


ST.  MARY'S  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 
Centralia,  Illinois. 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


559 


a  pride  to  any  city,  having  cost  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  parsonage  cost  four 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  school  building 
proper  cost  five  thousand  dollars,  the  second 
floor  of  the  school  building  having  an  ele- 
gant hall  and  stage,  where  entertainments 
and  other  exercises  are  held,  such  as  socials 
for  the  church  and  the  school.  The  original 
building  of  the  hospital  will  cost  when  com- 
pleted about  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 
It  will  be  so  built  that  new  additions  can 
be  added  without  marring  the  beauty  and 
unity  of  any  part. 

It  has  been  no  small  task  to  do  what 
Father  Bruns  has  done.  It  required  much 
hard  work  and  a  zeal  and  perseverance  that 
only  those  who  were  closely  connected  with 
and  took  active  part  in  the  work  of  the 
parish  can  clearly  understand  and  appreciate. 
Beside  the  business  end  of  the  work,  he  has 
been  busy  in  building  up  the  parish  and 
raising  the  spiritual  standing  of  the  congre- 
gation, which  is  now  in  a  good  condition, 
both  temporal  and  spiritual. 

In  the  purchase  of  property,  the  erection 
of  buildings  and  in  looking  after  the  trans- 
actions attendant  upon  them  he  has  shown 
business  tact  and  energy,  as  well  as  a  spirit 
of  devotion  to  his  church.  His  acts,  both 
spiritual  and  temporal,  have  met  with  the 
united  approval  of  his  own  people  and  all 
others.  But  these  are  too  well  known  to 
require  further  detailed  mention,  and  the 
writer  knows  that  whatever  of  good  the 
reverend  priest  may  have  accomplished  he 
would  far  rather  have  it  engraved  on  the 
hearts  of  the  people  than  to  be  put  into 


print,  and  that  the  approval  of  his  own 
conscience  and  of  his  Divine  Master  are  the 
reward  he  wishes  for  his  labors  in  behalf  of 
the  church. 


LEWIS  H.  REED. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  well  earned 
the  honor  to  be  addressed  as  one  of  the 
progressive,  public-spirited  men  of  Marion 
county,  since  from  the  beginning  of  his 
residence  here  he  has  been  conspicuously  ac- 
tive, securing  for  himself  the  comforts  of 
life  and  home  and  an  ample  competence 
for  his  declining  years.  Mr.  Reed's  home 
is  at  Centralia,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the 
drug  business  and  wherever  he  is  known  he 
is  held  in  the  highest  esteem  owing  to  his 
life  of  honor  and  industry. 

Lewis  H.  Reed  was  born  in  Vermilion 
county,  Indiana,  December  20,  1849,  the 
son  of  John  W.  and  Sarah  (Ralston)  Reed, 
the  former  having  been  born  August  3, 
1822,  in  Stokes  county,  North  Carolina. 
He  came  to  Indiana  in  1832  with  his  par- 
ents, whose  family  consisted  of  six  children, 
five  boys  and  one  girl,  of  whom  the  subject 
of  this  sketch  was  the  third  in  order  of  birth. 
His  mother  was  born  February  7,  1827,  in 
Brown  county,  Ohio,  near  Georgetown,  and 
she  came  to  Indiana  when  quite  small,  her 
family  having  located  in  Vermilion  county. 
She  was  one  of  a  family  of  five  children, 
being  the  youngest  child.  John  W.  Reed 
was  a  Republican  and  a  member  of  the 


56o 


;i(K,KAI'HICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Methodist  Protestant  church.  His  wife  was 
a  Presbyterian  in  her  youth,  having  been 
so  reared,  but  later  in  life  became  a  Metho- 
dist Protestant.  There  were  eight  children 
in  the  family  of  the  parents  of  our  subject, 
six  boys  and  two  girls,  the  subject  being 
the  oldest  in  order  of  birth. 

Lewis  H.  Reed  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Vermilion  county,  Indiana. 
He  worked  on  his  father's  farm  until  twenty 
years  old.  He  then  entered  Ascension  Semi- 
nary in  Sullivan,  Sullivan  county,  Indiana. 
After  obtaining  a  good  education,  having 
made  a  splendid  record  for  scholarship  in 
the  last  named  school,  he  began  teaching, 
which  profession  he  followed  with  great 
success  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  during 
which  time  he  became  well  known  as  an  able 
educator  and  his  services  were  in  great  de- 
mand, having  taught  many  successful  terms 
in  both  Illinois  and  Indiana. 

Believing  that  a  better  field  for  his  talents 
was  to  be  found  in  the  drug  business  he 
entered  the  same  on  March  28,  1879,  in 
St.  Bernice,  Indiana.  He  continued  in  the 
drug  business  at  St.  Bernice  until  1888, 
having  built  up  an  excellent  trade  and  mak- 
ing a  success  of  the  business  from  the  first. 
During  that  time  he  held  the  office  of  post- 
master under  President  Rutherford  B. 
Hayes,  having  begun  in  May,  i88i,and  con- 
tinued the  same  with  much  credit  to  himself 
and  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  concerned 
for  five  years,  five  months  and  fifteen  days, 
when  he  resigned  and  moved  to  Mississippi, 
having  remained  one  winter  at  Ocean 
Springs.  In  1889  he  removed  to  Centralia, 


Illinois,  and  held  the  office  of  Town  Clerk 
for  two  terms,  in  a  manner  that  elicited 
praise  on  every  hand. 

Mr.  Reed  is  still  in  the  drug  business, 
having  one  of  the  best  equipped  and  neatest 
stores  in  Centralia  and  he  has  an  excellent 
patronage  numbering  many  customers 
throughout  the  county.  Owing  to  his  court- 
eous treatment  of  customers  and  his  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  the  drug  business  his 
trade  is  always  all  that  could  be  desired. 

Mr.  Reed  united  in  marriage  to  Isabella 
Benefiel  on  July  13,  1881.  She  is  the 
daughter  of  Robert  and  Mary  (Ingram) 
Benefiel,  of  Carlisle,  Indiana.  She  was  edu- 
cated in  Edgar  county,  Illinois.  Her  father 
met  an  untimely  death  by  being  killed  by  a 
horse. 

Mrs.  Reed  is  a  member  of  the  Pythian 
Sisters,  Lotus  Temple  No.  8,  having 
passed  all  the  chairs.  She  is  a  teacher  in 
the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  Sun- 
day school,  having  been  identified  with 
Sunday  school  work  for  many  years.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  and  the 
Missionary  societies  of  the  church.  Both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reed  are  faithful  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Politically  our  subject  is  a  loyal  Repub- 
lican and  he  takes  a  great  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  his  party.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
Queen  City  No.  179,  having  been  identi- 
fied with  the  same  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years  and  having  passed  all  the  chairs.  He 
has  been  representative  to  the  Grand  Lodge 
twice  at  Springfield,  Illinois.  He  is  also 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


a  past  chief  patriarch  of  the  Centralia  En- 
campment No.  75,  having  represented  the 
Encampment  twice  at  Springfield.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  Helmet  lodge  No.  26, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  has  passed  all  the 
chairs  in  the  same. 


JULIUS  REINHARDT. 

Mr.  Reinhardt  is  one  of  those  characters 
whose  integrity  and  personality  must  force 
them  into  an  admirable  notoriety,  which 
their  modesty  never  seeks,  who  command 
the  respect  of  their  contemporaries  and  their 
posterity  and  leave  the  impress  of  their  in- 
dividuality upon  the  lives  of  those  with 
whom  they  come  in  contact. 

Julius  Reinhardt,  jeweler  and  musician  of 
Centralia,  Marion  county,  and  one  of  the 
representative  business  men  and  honorable 
citizens  of  this  locality,  was  born  in  Leba- 
non, Illinois,  May  16,  1874,  the  son  of 
Charles,  Sr.,  and  Marie  (Blass)  Reinhardt. 
The  father  of  the  subject  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, near  Saxony,  and  the  subject's 
mother  was  born  in  Bavaria,  Germany. 
They  came  to  America  when  young  and 
were  married  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  They 
are  now  both  deceased,  the  father  having 
been  called  from  his  earthly  labors  in  1905 
and  the  mother  passed  to  her  rest  in  1904. 
There  were  eight  children  in  their  family, 
seven  of  whom  are  living  in  1908,  our  sub- 
ject being  the  youngest  in  order  of  birth. 
36 


The  early  education  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  of 
Lebanon,  Illinois.  Later  he  attended  Mc- 
Kendree  College,  taking  a  business  course 
in  this  institution  and  making  a  splendid 
record  for  scholarship. 

The  domestic  life  of  our  subject  dates 
from  September  12,  1900,  when  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Alberta  Allmon,  the 
representative  of  an  influential  family  of 
Salem,  Illinois,  and  to  this  union  two  sons 
and  one  daughter  have  been  born,  namely: 
Edwin  A.,  Virginia  M.,  and  Julian,  the  two 
oldest  being  in  school  at  this  writing,  1908. 

Mr.  Reinhardt's  business  life  properly  be- 
gan in  1889,  when  he  launched  in  the  jew- 
elry business  in  Centralia,  having  first  lo- 
cated in  Buck's  drug  store,  conducting  a  re- 
pair shop.  Since  that  time  Mr.  Reinhardt 
has  been  known  as  a  conscientious  as  well 
as  a  skilled  workman.  He  conducted  this 
business  for  a  period  of  three  years,  when 
he  conducted  a  similar  business  with  like 
success  for  a  period  of  two  years  in  Zar- 
beck's  hardware  store.  He  started  in  with 
a  stock  of  jewelry  in  1889  and  he  has 
gradually  built  up  a  trade,  having  been  ex- 
tensively patronized  from  the  first,  until  he 
now  has  a  very  extensive  and  beautiful  stock 
of  goods  in  commodious  and  elegant  quar- 
ters, and  he  enjoys  a  liberal  income,  al- 
ways treating  his  numerous  customers  with 
the  utmost  courtesy  and  giving  them  full 
value  received,  having  an  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  the  jewelry  business  and  giving 
them  the  benefit  of  this  knowledge  by  plac- 


562 


IHOCKAI'HICAI.    AM)    RKM  I  X ISCKXT    HISTORY    OF 


ing  the  best  goods  obtainable  in  his  store. 

In  politics  Mr.  Reinhardt  is  strictly  inde- 
pendent. There  are  many  features  of  each 
of  the  great  parties  which  commend  them- 
selves to  him,  but,  from  his  observation  and 
experience,  he  has  decided  that  far  more 
depends  on  the  man  than  on  the  platform. 
It  has  often  been  demonstrated  that  party 
pledges  have  never  yet  been  fabricated  out 
of  indestructible  material  and  sensible  peo- 
ple know  that  more  reliance  can  be  placed 
upon  the  word  and  work  of  a  truly  honest 
man  than  upon  the  most  sacred  pledge  of 
the  best  political  party  that  was  ever  or- 
ganized. Hence  the  man  and  not  the  party 
should  be  the  first  consideration  of  the  voter. 
That  the  subject  is  a  man  of  much  origin- 
ality of  thought  is  clearly  evidenced  by  the 
position  he  takes  in  politics. 

The  parents  of  the  subject  were  Presby- 
terians, but  Mr.  Reinhardt  is  not  affiliated 
with  any  church  organization,  but  his  sup- 
port can  always  be  depended  upon  in  the 
advancement  of  any  movement  looking  to 
the  religious,  moral,  civic  or  educational 
welfare  of  the  community.  In  his  fraternal 
relations  he  is  a  member  of  'the  modern 
Woodmen. 

Mr.  Reinhardt  is  a  musician  and  is  a 
member  of  the  McNeil's  orchestra  of  the 
Pittenger  Grand  Opera  House  in  Centralia, 
one  of  the  leading  musical  organizations  in 
this  part  of  the  state.  Our  subject  has  thor- 
oughly mastered  the  English  language,  be- 
ing able  to  speak  either  English  or  German 
fluently.  He  is  a  man  of  genial  personality, 
a  perfect  type  of  the  true  gentleman. 


JOHN  L.  DAVIS. 

A  man  of  marked  individuality,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  review  is  a  typical  representative 
of  that  large  and  enterprising  class  of  busi- 
ness men  to  whom  the  great  commonwealth 
of  Illinois  owes  much  of  its  prosperity  and 
development,  and  his  record  shows  him  to 
have  been  faithful  in  the  performance  of  his 
duty  in  the  community,  to  his  neighbors  and 
to  himself. 

John  L.  Davis  was  born  in  Centralia, 
Marion  county,  April  30,  1858,  the  son  of 
Thomas  P.  and  Wilhemina  C.  (Beal)  Da- 
vis, the  former  having  been  born  in  Tennes- 
see, March  n,  1827.  The  mother  of  the 
subject  was  born  in  Steinfeld,  Germany, 
April  8,  1835.  They  were  married  in  Belle- 
ville, Illinois,  in  1853,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  ten  children,  eight  boys  and  two 
girls,  our  subject  being  the  second  child  in 
order  of  birth.  The  subject's  father  was  a 
carpenter  and  contractor  in  Centralia,  to 
which  place  he  came  in  1855.  His  death 
occurred  in  1899,  and  that  of  his  wife  No- 
vember 6,  1908.  Thomas  P.  Davis  was  a 
soldier  during  the  Civil  war,  enlisting  in 
1862  in  Company  H,  Eightieth  Illinois  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  as  a  private.  He  served 
with  bravery  and  valor  in  many  hard-fought 
battles  in  which  his  regiment  participated, 
and  became  corporal  of  his  company.  He 
was  mustered  out  in  the  fall  of  1864. 

John  L.  Davis  worked  first  on  the  fruit 
farms  in  Centralia  township,  until  he  was 
eighteen  years  old,  having  in  the  meantime 
attended  the  public  schools  in  Centralia, 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION   COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


563 


where  he  received  a  fairly  good  education, 
having  applied  himself  in  a  most  diligent 
manner  to  his  text-books.  He  went  to  work 
on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  when  a 
young  man  and  continued  in  the  employ  of 
the  same  until  1901,  having  given  this  com- 
pany entire  satisfaction.  Two  years  were 
spent  in  the  shoe  business,  and  in  1901  he 
returned  to  the  same  business  and  he  is  now 
to  be  found  daily  in  his  store  where  he  has  a 
liberal  patronage  owing  to  his  courtesy  and 
his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  shoe  business, 
always  giving  his  customers,  many  of  whom 
come  from  remote  parts  of  Marion  county, 
the  worth  of  their  money,  for  he  handles  a 
high-class  line  of  goods.  His  store  is  well 
kept,  everything  about  it  showing  system 
and  careful  management.  The  store  is  lo- 
cated at  144  East  Broadway. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mary  C.  Marsh,  December  16,  1880.  She 
is  the  refined  daughter  of  R.  L.  T.  and 
Catherine  (Sherwood)  Marsh,  who  were 
the  parents  of  four  children,  our  subject's 
wife  being  the  second  in  order  of  birth. 

The  pleasant  and  comfortable  home  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis  has  been  brightened 
by  the  birth  of  the  following  children: 
Thomas  M.,  who  married  L.  Myrtle  Denny, 
living  at  Cliffs,  Washington;  Ralph  R.,  who 
married  Edith  Pease,  and  who  is  living  in 
Springfield,  Idaho;  John  June  is  assistant 
State  Entomologist  at  Urbana,  Illinois; 
Harley  A.  is  in  the  Art  Institute  at  Chicago, 
Illinois;  Reba  C.  is  now  (1908)  at  home 
and  is  attending  high  school  at  Centralia. 

John  L.  Davis,  our  subject,  is  a  member 


of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Lodge 
No.  201 ;  the  Royal  Arch  Chapter  No.  93 ; 
Council  No.  28 ;  Commandery  No.  23 ; 
Oriental  Consistory  of  Chicago.  He  also 
belongs  to  the  Order  of  Railway  Conduc- 
tors, Centralia  Division,  No.  112. 

In  politics  Mr.  Davis  is  a  Republican  and 
takes  a  great  interest  in  local  affairs,  always 
desiring  good  men  in  the  county  offices  and 
lending  his  aid  in  placing  them. 

In  religious  matters  Mr.  Davis  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Baptist  church,  as  is  also  his 
wife  and  children. 

He  has  been  frequently  called  upon  to 
serve  the  public  in  some  official  capacity, 
and  has  very  ably  held  the  office  of  Alder- 
man for  one  term  and  has  been  on  the  Board 
of  Education  for  three  terms,  during  which 
time  the  interests  of  the  city  and  the  schools 
were  carefully  considered  by  Mr.  Davis  and 
much  good  accomplished  by  his  suggestions, 
which  were  usually  followed  out.  He  has 
filled  all  the  chairs  of  the  lodges  of  his  mem- 
bership to  the  Consistory,  and  is  now  treas- 
urer in  all  these  four  lodges  of  which  he  is 
a  very  loyal  member.  He  has  been  secretary 
of  the  railroad  division  of  the  lodge  of  Rail- 
road Conductors  since  1890,  and  also  was 
its  first  secretary,  from  1884  to  1886.  He 
was  also  chief  conductor  from  1886  to  1888. 


LUCIAN  O.  WILSON. 

Among  the  popular  citizens  of  Centralia, 
Marion  county,   Illinois,   is   the  gentleman 


564 


AND  RKM  INISCKXT  HISTORY  OF 


whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this 
sketch,  the  well  known  assistant  postmas- 
ter, who  was  born  in  New  Albany,  Indiana, 
July  12,  1866,  the  son  of  Oliver  O.  and 
Maggie  E.  (Ma  thews)  Wilson.  His 
father's  family  consisted  of  three  children, 
our  subject  being  the  second  child  and  only 
son.  His  parents  were  both  natives  of  Indi- 
ana. Oliver  O.  Wilson  was  superintendent 
of  the  Indiana  Reformatory.  He  is  now  de- 
ceased, as  is  also  his  wife,  who  passed  away 
March  30,  1900.  Our  subject  was  five 
years  old  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death. 

The  early  education  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  gained  in  the  public  schools, 
where  he  applied  himself  as  best  he  could 
and  gained  a  fairly  good  education.  He 
went  to  work  in  the  Nail  Mill  of  Centralia, 
working  for  two  years  as  a  nail  cutter,  and 
was  later  employed  by  F.  D.  Rexford,  of 
the  Centralia  House,  and  worked  there  for 
a  period  of  seventeen  years,  having  given 
entire  satisfaction  in  each  of  these  lines,  be- 
ing industrious  and  quick  to  gain  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  business.  He  was  clerk  and 
general  utility  man  in  the  latter's  employ. 
He  then  went  to  Boone,  Iowa,  and  managed 
the  Cole  Hotel  for  one  and  one-half  years, 
selling  out  and  returning  to  Centralia  in 
March,  1903,  where  he  was  appointed  as- 
sistant postmaster  under  E.  L.  Welton.  He 
has  very  creditably  and  satisfactorily  filled 
this  position  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Nellie  Surles  September  n,  1900. 

One  daughter  brightens  the  home  of  Mr. 


and  Mrs.  Wilson,  bearing  the  name  of 
Helen  Lucile,  whose  date  of  birth  occurred 
March  14,  1903. 

Mr.  Wilson  in  his  fraternal  relations  is 
a  member  of  Blue  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  No.  201 ;  also  the  Centralia  Chap- 
ter No.  93;  and  Council  No.  28,  Cyrene 
Commandery  No.  23.  He  also  belongs 
to  the  Oriental  Consistory,  of  Chicago, 
also  a  member  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  of 
Madina  Temple,  Chicago.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  No.  26,  of 
Centralia. 

In  his  political  relations  Mr.  Wilson  is  a 
loyal  Republican.  His  mother  was  a  mem- 
br  of  the  Christian,  but  he  and  his  wife  wor- 
ship in  the  Baptist  church.  Mr.  Wilson  was 
at  one  time  a  member  of  the  Centralia  Vol- 
unteer Fire  Department. 

Our  subject  has  by  pluck,  energy  and 
enterprise,  controlled  by  correct  principles 
and  founded  upon  strict  integrity  and  honor, 
attained  to  a  position  meriting  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  his  fellow  citizens,  which 
they  freely  accord. 


A.  C.  BARNES. 

The  prominence  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  in  connection  with  the  professional 
and  civic  affairs  of  Marion  county  is  such 
that  he  is  regarded  as  one  of  its  representa- 
tive citizens,  having  for  a  number  of  years 
been  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  the 
thriving  city  of  Centralia,  and  ever  showing 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


565 


by  his  fealty  to  high  principles  and  his  ac- 
tivity in  promoting  the  affairs  of  the  county 
that  he  merits  the  confidence  of  all. 

A.  C.  Barnes  was  born  at  Richview,  Illi- 
nois, ten  miles  south  of  Centralia,  Febru- 
ary 13,  1853,  the  son  of  J.  W.  and  Nancy 
(Johnson)  Barnes,  the  former  having  been 
born  in  Gallatin,  Tennessee,  July  2,  1818. 
He  was  left  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  five 
years  and  when  twelve  years  of  age  he  was 
bound  out  to  a  saddle  maker  for  a  period 
of  four  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he 
purchased  a  horse,  saddle  and  bridle  and 
rode  to  Mt.  Vernon,  this  state,  where  he 
called  upon  William  Thorne,  the  first  saddle 
maker  in  Mt.  Vernon,  who  refused  to  give 
him  a  job  because  he  was  too  young,  his 
age  then  being  eighteen  years.  But  nothing 
daunted,  he  purchased  the  material  with 
which  to  make  a  saddle  which  he  accord- 
ingly did  and  presented  it  to  Mr.  Thorne, 
who  hired  the  boy  for  three  years.  This 
was  in  1836. 

Two  years  later  J.  W.  Barnes  was  mar- 
ried to  Nancy  Johnson.  He  soon  thereafter 
moved  to  a  farm  near  old  Shiloh,  later 
moving  to  Washington  county,  where  he 
farmed  and  lived  comfortably  until  1888 
when  he  moved  to  Centralia,  where  he 
passed  to  his  rest  September  17,  1905,  after 
a  successful  business  career  in  Centralia, 
having  purchased  the  L.  C.  Demmick  har- 
ness shop  in  this  city  in  1888,  having  stood 
just  south  of  the  old  National  Bank.  His 
son,  A.  C.,  our  subject,  bought  his  business. 
He  was  living  with  his  son  when  he  died. 
Nancy  Johnson  was  born  in  1813  in  Ken- 


tucky. Her  father  was  an  itinerant  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  preacher,  who  came  to  Illi- 
nois in  1818  and  settled  on  a  farm  at 
Shiloh  church,  where  he  farmed  and 
preached  and  where  both  he  and  his  good 
wife  passed  to  the  silent  land.  Four  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  W. 
Barns,  as  follows:  L.  R.,  who  married 
Laura  Robinson,  daughter  of  Elder  J.  A. 
and  Eliza  Robinson,  and  they  became  the 
parents  of  six  children,  one  of  whom  is  liv- 
ing. L.  R.  Barnes  was  in  the  famous  One 
Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry  during  the  war  between  the  states, 
under  the  late  Gen.  James  S.  Martin,  of 
Salem,  having  gone  out  in  1862  and  was 
discharged  at  the  close  of  the  war,  having 
been  in  the  grand  review  at  Washington 
City.  Louise,  the  second  child  of  the  par- 
ents of  our  subject,  married  a  Mr.  Under- 
wood and  is  now  living  in  Oklahoma,  be- 
ing the  mother  of  four  living  children,  one 
child  deceased.  John  T.,  the  third  child 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  W.  Barnes,  enlisted  in 
the  Sixtieth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry  un- 
der Colonel  Anderson,  at  Mt.  Vernon,  and 
he  re-enlisted  in  1863.  He  came  home  on  a 
furlough.  Rejoining  his  regiment,  he  re- 
mained at  the  front  until  the  close  of  the 
war  when  he  was  mustered  out.  He  mar- 
ried and  in  1885  removed  to  Wichita 
county,  Kansas,  where  he  located  on  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land.  He  has 
a  family  of  four  girls  and  one  boy.  He  now 
lives  at  Leota,  Kansas. 

Our  subject,  A.  C.  Barnes,  came  to  Cen- 
tralia in  1891  with  his  father.     He  had  re- 


566 


BIOGRAPHICAL   AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


ceived  a  good  education  in  the  district 
schools  of  Washington  county,  Illinois,  hav- 
ing left  school  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years 
and  went  to  work  for  himself.  Being  a 
loyal  Republican  and  having  taken  an  inter- 
est in  political  affairs  from  early  manhood, 
his  friends  elected  him  Sheriff  of  Marion 
county  in  1904  and  he  served  with  much 
credit.  When  his  term  had  expired  he  re- 
turned to  business.  In  1902  he  was  elected 
Treasurer  of  the  city  of  Centralia  for  two 
years  and  served  in  a  most  acceptable  man- 
ner in  this  capacity.  Mr.  Barnes  has  an  ex- 
cellent business  in  the  harness  and  repair 
trade,  his  shop  being  well  equipped  and  he 
has  become  widely  known  throughout  the 
county. 

Mr.  Barnes  married  Susan  M.  Gunn, 
daughter  of  J.  C.  and  Caroline  Gunn,  of 
Richview,  the  ceremony  that  made  them  one 
having  been  performed  at  Kinmundy,  this 
county,  July  20,  1880.  He  was  first  mar- 
ried in  1873  to  Sarah  Anderson,  a  native 
of  Ohio,  and  she  died  at  the  birth  of  James, 
their  only  son,  who  was  born  October  18, 
1878.  He  is  now  living  at  Lafayette,  In- 
diana, being  in  the  printing  business  as  a 
linotype  expert.  He  married  Lottie  Had- 
den,  of  Kinmundy,  and  they  have  three  chil- 
dren, two  boys  and  one  girl. 

Our  subject  ably  served  for  a  period  of 
five  years  on  the  Board  of  Education  in 
Kansas,  where  he  lived  for  several  years, 
and  while  on  the  board  just  mentioned  they 
built  two  elegant  school-houses. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Barnes  is  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at 


Centralia,  having  originally  joined  that  or- 
der at  Pittsburg,  Kansas,  in  1886.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
having  joined  Lodge  No.  26,  in  Centralia 
in  1893.  He  became  a  Mason  in  Salem  in 
1896,  and  joined  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America  in  1897.  He  follows  the  example 
of  his  people  by  worshiping  with  the  Metho- 
dist denomination. 

Our  subject  is  a  man  of  unusual  imposing 
physique,  possessing  great  physical  strength 
and  endurance.  He  also  has  a  strong  mind 
and  the  power  of  concentration,  is  congenial 
and  makes  friends  readily  which  he  always 
retains. 


JACOB  D.  BREEZE. 

Dependant  very  largely  upon  his  own  re- 
sources from  early  youth,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  has  attained  to  no  insignificant  suc- 
cess, and  though  he  may  have,  like  many 
another  business  man,  met  with  some  mis- 
fortune and  encountered  many  obstacles  he 
has  pressed  steadily  forward,  ever  willing 
to  work  for  the  end  which  he  has  in  view. 
He  has  become  one  of  the  leading  mer- 
chants of  Centralia,  Illinois,  and  he  has 
built  up  a  business  that  is  known  through- 
cut  the  county. 

Jacob  D.  Breeze  was  born  September  27, 
1868,  in  Washington  county,  Illinois,  the 
son  of  David  and  Eliza  (Baldwin)  Breeze. 
There  were  fourteen  children  in  their 
family,  eight  of  whom  are  living  in  1908, 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES     ILLINOIS. 


567 


our  subject  being  the  eighth  in  order  of 
birth;  of  those  living  seven  are  boys  and 
one  a  girl.  David  Breeze  was  born  in  Jef- 
ferson county,  Illinois,  in  1844,  and  died 
when  fifty-two  years  old,  after  a  busy  and 
useful  life.  The  subject's  mother  is  still 
living  in  Jefferson  county  on  the  old  home 
place  and,  although  advanced  in  years,  en- 
joys fairly  good  health.  She  was  born  in 
Washington  county,  this  state. 

Jacob  D.  Breeze  received  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
community  and  remained  at  home  until  he 
reached  maturity. 

Mr.  Breeze  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Ida  V.  Walker  on  October  22,  1885.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  G.  W.  and  Esther 
(Breeze)  Walker,  being  the  fourth  child  in 
a  family  consisting  of  five  children.  To 
our  subject  and  wife  two  children  have  been 
born,  both  bright  and  interesting,  namely: 
Jewell,  whose  date  of  birth  is  recorded  as 
May  30,  1897;  and  Lottie,  who  was  born 
October  2,  1899.  Both  are  attending  the 
public  schools  in  Centralia. 

After  leaving  school  at  the  age  of  eight- 
een years,  our  subject  went  to  work  on  a 
farm  in  that  neighborhood  in  Jefferson 
county  and  made  a  success  of  this  line  of 
work,  but  believing  that  the  city  of- 
fered greater  inducements  to  him,  he  came 
to  Centralia  and  began  the  livery,  feed  and 
sale  business,  and  for  five  years  made  this  a 
marked  success  in  every  respect  when  he  sold 
out  and  started  in  the  implement  and  harness 
business,  which  he  has  since  conducted,  the 
firm  name  being  Breeze  &  Watts.  They  enjoy 


a  liberla  patronage,  their  trade  extending  to 
all  parts  of  the  county,  for  they  handle  an 
up-to-date  and  carefully  selected  stock  at  all 
times,  and  their  prices  are  always  right. 
Here  all  customers  are  accorded  the  most 
courteous  treatment  by  the  managers  and 
their  efficient  employes.  This  store  has  a  floor 
space  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  by  forty  feet. 
In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Republican  and 
always  takes  a  great  interest  in  political  af- 
fairs, lending  what  assistance  he  can  in 
placing  the  best  men  possible  in  local  offices. 
Mr.  Breeze  follows  the  precepts  of  his  par- 
ents and  is  a  faithful  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  He  is  always  on  the  right  side 
of  all  public  questions. 


FOWLER  BROTHERS. 

One  of  the  most  extensive,  modern  and 
systematically  managed  plumbing  concerns 
in  Southern  Illinois  is  that  conducted  by  the 
firm  of  Fowler  Brothers  at  Centralia,  be- 
ing worthy  successors  of  their  father,  Reu- 
ben G.  Fowler. 

This  firm's  place  of  business  fronts  on 
South  Locust  street  and  South  Second 
street.  They  carry  a  full  and  complete  line 
of  plumbing  supplies,  heating,  electrical  and 
gas  fixtures  and  supplies,  also  fire  clay  and 
fire  brick.  They  have  two  neat  show  and 
display  rooms.  All  the  latest,  complete, 
automatic  machinery,  run  by  electric  dyna- 
mos for  heating,  lighting  and  plumbing,  are 
to  be  found  here.  They  also  carry  a  full 


568 


IMOCK.M'HICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


line  of  nickel-plated  plumbing  supplies.  An 
extensive  business  is  carried  on  and  is  being 
constantly  enlarged  and  extended  to  meet 
the  growing  demands  of  the  trade  of  South- 
ern Illinois  and  adjoining  states. 

Harry  A.  Fowler  married  Mattie  Adams, 
of  Centralia,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
one  little  girl,  who  bears  the  pretty  name, 
Marjorie. 

John  R.  Fowler,  the  younger  member  of 
the  firm,  was  educated  in  the  Centralia  city 
schools,  and  began  when  quite  young  to 
learn  his  father's  trade  of  plumbing.  He  is 
a  practical  and  up-to-date  artist  in  his  work 
as  well  as  a  good  business  man.  He  has  a 
state  certificate,  awarded  to  him  in  1902  for 
his  thoroughness  and  proficiency  in  his 
chosen  occupation.  Harry  and  John  Fowler 
are  both  members  of  the  National  Plumbers 
and  Steam  Fitters  Association,  and  are  also 
graduates  in  this  line  of  the  International 
Correspondance  School,  of  Scranton,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  they  are  keeping  pace  with 
twentieth  century  methods.  They  have  a 
good  business  and  enjoy  the  entire  confi- 
dence of  their  many  friends  and  patrons  in 
Marion  county  and  throughout  this  part  of 
the  state. 


ELMER  E.  COPPLE. 

In  the  development  of  Marion  county  the 
subject  of  this  biography  has  borne  an  im- 
portant part,  for  he  has  long  been  identified 
with  the  farming  and  business  life  of  the  lo- 
cality, and  while  advancing  his  own  interests 


he  has  not  been  neglectful  of  his  duty  to  his 
fellow  citizens,  therefore  he  is  accorded  a 
full  measure  of  esteem  by  all  who  know 
him. 

Elmer  E.  Copple  was  born  January  9, 
1862,  on  the  old  Copple  homestead  in  Cen- 
tralia township,  this  county,  the  son  of  Eli 
Copple,  a  complete  sketch  of  whom  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  However,  it  is 
not  amiss  here  to  state  that  the  father  of  the 
subject  was  born  January  8,  1820,  in  Clark 
county,  Illinois,  the  son  of  David  Copple, 
a  native  of  Germany,  who  married  Lavina 
Huckleberry  first  and  later  Permelia  King. 
They  came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois,  in 
1832  and  settled  in  section  32,  Centralia 
township,  where  they  entered  wild  land  and 
set  about  improving  it  like  the  rest  of  the 
pioneers  of  that  time,  and  they  lived  and 
died  at  this  place.  He  had  only  a  limited 
opportunity  to  attend  school  in  the  old  log 
school-houses.  Although  self-learned  he  be- 
came an  excellent  speller  and  scholar.  He 
was  a  large  farmer,  stock  dealer  and 
breeder.  In  1874  he  went  to  Europe  and 
imported  some  French  Norman  horses.  He 
never  aspired  to  office  although  an  active 
Republican.  He  started  in  life  in  a  small 
way,  but  worked  hard  and  was  very  suc- 
cessful. He  was  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist church. 

He  first  married  Martha  Flannagan,  of 
Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  who  died  in  1850. 
and  his  second  wife  was  Sarah  Dolson.  The 
following  five  children  were  born  to  Eli 
Copple  and  his  first  wife:  Arminda,  who 
married  W.  A.  Dolson,  of  Fullerton.  Ne- 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


569 


braska ;  Loretta,  who  married  A.  J.  Hardley, 
of  Irvington,  Illinois ;  three  children  died 
in  infancy.  Seven  children  were  born  to 
Eli  Copple  and  his  second  wife,  namely: 
Charles,  a  farmer  in  Nebraska;  Mary  mar- 
ried Joseph  Baldridge,  and  she  died  in 
1899;  Julia  married  H.  S.  Baldridge,  who 
lives  in  Seattle,  Washington;  Willis,  a 
farmer  in  Centralia  township,  Marion 
county,  who  married  a  Miss  Patton;  Elmer 
E.,  our  subject;  Robert,  a  farmer  in  Cen- 
tralia township,  who  married  Lillian  Ethel 
Leonard;  Ada  is  the  wife  of  T.  S.  Kell,  who 
now  lives  on  the  old  Copple  homestead  with 
Mrs.  Copple. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  lived  at  home 
and  attended  the  neighboring  schools.  He 
married  September  9,  1883,  to  Ida  A.  Bald- 
ridge, of  Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  who  was 
born  in  Grand  Prairie  township,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Williams)  Bald- 
ridge, the  former  a  native  of  Jefferson 
county,  Illinois,  and  the  latter  of  Virginia. 
She  died  in  1870,  and  Mr.  Baldridge  was 
again  married,  his  second  wife  being  Miss 
M.  E.  Allen,  of  Jefferson  county,  this  state. 
It  was  in  that  county  that  he  spent  his  life 
on  a  farm,  dying  there  in  1904.  His  second 
wife  died  in  February,  1908. 

Four  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  as  follows:  M.  Allen,  who 
married  Nellie  Root  Carpenter,  of  Cen- 
tralia, and  who  are  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren, Lola  and  Vera;  Ralph  Roy,  who  is 
living  at  home,  is  a  graduate  of  the  Cen- 
tralia high  school ;  Dwight  and  Ruth  are  the 
youngest  children. 


In  1883  our  subject  located  on  his  present 
place  in  Centralia  township.  It  was  then  a 
new  place  and  Mr.  Copple  has  made  all  the 
improvements  on  it,  bringing  it  up  to  any 
place  in  the  township.  He  is  regarded  as  a 
good  farmer  and  an  excellent  judge  of 
stock  and  his  farm  is  carefully  managed, 
yielding  excellent  harvests  of  all  kinds  from 
year  to  year.  His  home  place  consists  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  acres,  thirty  acres 
of  which  are  in  peaches,  apples  and  pears. 
This  is  a  most  valuable  orchard,  consisting 
of  a  fine  variety  of  excellent  fruit,  and 
since  Mr.  Copple  is  something  of  an  expert 
horticulturist,  no  small  part  of  his  income  is 
derived  from  this  source.  He  carries  on  a 
general  farming.  His  dwelling  is  a  most 
convenient  and  substantial  one,  and  his 
barns  and  out  buildings  are  of  the  best. 


ELI  COPPLE. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  has  passed 
to  his  rest,  is  well  remembered  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Marion  county,  where  he  so  long  la- 
bored not  only  for  his  own  advancement 
but  also  for  that  of  the  community  at  large, 
therefore,  it  is  with  pleasure  that  we  give 
a  record  of  his  honorable  career  in  this 
book,  believing  that  it  will  be  an  inspira- 
tion to  the  younger  generation  who  per- 
use it. 

Eli  Copple  was  born  January  8,  1820,  in 
Washington  county,  Indiana,  the  son  of  Da- 
vid Copple,  who  was  born  in  Germany  and 


57° 


I'.IOCUAI'IIR'AL    AM)    KKMIMSCKXT    HISTORY    OK 


when  a  young  man  came  to  America  with 
his  parents,  locating  with  them  in  North 
Carolina.  Later  they  came  to  Clark  county, 
Indiana,  where  the  parents  died.  David 
Copple  grew  to  manhood  in  Clark  county, 
Indiana,  where  he  married  Lavina  Huckle- 
berry, of  German-Irish  extract.  David 
Copple  and  wife  located  in  Washington 
county,  Indiana,  in  1818,  and  fourteen  years 
later  they  came  to  Marion  county,  Illinois, 
where  they  both  died  in  Centralia  township. 
He  was  considered  one  of  the  valued  and 
leading  citizens  of  the  community  in  which 
he  lived.  They  were  the  parents  of  twelve 
children,  all  but  one  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity, namely:  James  lived  in  Centralia 
township  and  was  twice  married,  first  to 
Jane  Wells  and  second  to  Emily  Huckle- 
berry; Elizabeth  married  Jacob  Breeze; 
Angeline  married  Henry  Bingaman,  and 
they  are  living  in  Crete,  Nebraska;  Eli,  our 
subject;  Christiana  married  M.  P.  Hester, 
of  Centralia  township,  and  they  are  both  de- 
ceased; Samuel  is  deceased;  John  Harvey 
is  also  deceased;  Edmund  is  a  farmer  living 
in  Grand  Prairie,  Illinois ;  Julia  married 
Marion  Roper,  who  is  now  deceased,  but  she 
is  living  in  Grand  Prairie;  David,  now  de- 
ceased, was  a  farmer  living  in  Centralia 
township;  Pollie  A.  is  living  in  Kansas,  hav- 
ing married  David  Roper,  who  is  deceased. 
Eli  Copple  was  reared  in  Centralia  town- 
ship, Marion  county,  Illinois,  and  was 
among  the  successful  farmers  of  that  vicin- 
ity, having  come  with  his  parents  to  this 
county  when  twelve  years  of  age  and  lo- 
cated on  what  is  known  as  the  Seven-Mile- 


Prairie.  He  was  reared  among  the  wild 
scenes  of  the  frontier  and  developed  thereby 
a  sturdy  manhood.  He  was  first  married  in 
1840  to  Martha  Flannagan,  a  native  of  Jef- 
ferson county,  Illinois,  who  died  in  1850. 
Two  children,  who  grew  to  maturity,  were 
born  to  them.  Arminda  married  William 
Dolson,  who  is  living  in  Fullerton,  Nebras- 
ka; Loretta  married  A.  J.  Hartley,  of  Irv- 
ington,  Illinois.  The  subject  of  this  sketch 
married  a  second  time,  his  last  wife  being 
Sarah  Dolson,  daughter  of  Allen  and  Mary 
Louisa  (White)  Dolson,  the  wedding  occur- 
ring in  February,  1851.  Mr.  Dolson  was 
a  native  of  New  York,  near  Albany,  on  the 
Hudson  river.  His  wife  was  born  in  Geor- 
gia. Allen  Dolson  was  the  son  of  Peter  and 
Rachael  (Quinby)  Dolson,  both  natives  of 
New  York.  Mr.  Dolson  was  a  farmer.  Al- 
len Dolson  came  west  when  a  boy  alone,  go- 
ing to  the  Platt  river  country,  Nebraska, 
having  lived  among  the  Indians  for  a  time. 
He  descended  the  Missouri  river  in  a  canoe 
to  St.  Louis,  later  to  Carlyle,  Illinois,  and 
then  went  to  Grand  Prairie,  Jefferson  coun- 
ty, Illinois,  where  he  devoted  his  life  to 
farming.  He  entered  government  land.  He 
came  to  Marion  county,  where  he  and  his 
wife  both  died.  The  following  children 
were  born  to  them:  Sarah,  the  subject's 
wife;  Robert,  Elizabeth,  Melville,  all  de- 
ceased ;  Mary  is  living  in  Kansas ;  Christina, 
deceased;  William,  living  in  Nebraska; 
Harvey  is  living  in  Kansas.  The  subject 
and  his  second  wife  were  the  parents  of 
seven  children,  namely:  Charles,  a  farmer 
living  in  Fullerton,  Nebraska,  was  first  mar- 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION   COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


571 


ried  to  Lucy  Jackson,  second  to  Sarah  Aver- 
ill;  Mary  married  Joseph  Baldridge,  and 
she  is  now  deceased;  Julia  is  the  wife  of 
Harvey  Baldridge  and  they  are  living  in 
Seattle,  Washington ;  Willis  is  living  in  Cen- 
tralia  township  on  a  farm,  having  married 
Henrietta  Patton ;  Elmer,  living  in  Centralia 
township;  Robert,  living  on  a  farm  in  Cen- 
tralia township,  married  Lillian  Ethel  Leon- 
ard ;  Ada  May  married  T.  S.  Kell  and  they 
are  living  with  the  subject's  mother  on  the 
old  home  place,  the  parents  of  one  son,  Cecil 
Edward. 

After  a  very  active  and  useful  life,  re- 
plete with  success  and  honor,  Eli  Copple 
passed  to  his  reward  August  14,  1905. 

Our  subject  started  in  life  under  none  too 
favorable  circumstances,  but  his  father  gave 
him  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  wild 
land  and  he  worked  hard  and  became  suc- 
cessful. He  was  thrifty  and  a  good  man- 
ager, and  at  one  time  owned  as  much  as 
two  thousand  acres.  He  carried  on  a  gen- 
eral farming  and  stock  raising  business  and 
was  eminently  successful  in  both,  becoming 
known  as  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Ma- 
rion county.  In  1874  he  made  a  trip  to 
France  and  imported  a  large  number  of  Nor- 
man horses  of  a  very  fine  quality.  Besides 
raising  some  fine  horses  he  always  raised 
many  good  cattle,  hogs  and  sheep.  He  was 
an  organizer  and  leading  member  of  the 
Farmers'  Club  of  Marion  county. 

The  subject  cast  his  first  vote  for  Wil- 
liam Henry  Harrison  and  since  that  time 
was  a  loyal  Republican.  He  was  a  faith- 
ful member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


church  and  a  liberal  subscriber  of  the  same. 
He  erected  his  first  substantial  and  commo- 
dious brick  home  in  1872  and  he  and  his 
noble  and  faithful  wife  made  all  the  im- 
provements about  the  place.  No  man  in 
the  county  was  better  or  more  favorably 
known  than  he  and  everyone  remembers 
him  as  a  very  polite  and  kindly  gentleman, 
as  well  as  a  very  able  business  man,  and 
therefore  his  influence  for  good  in  the  coun- 
ty was  very  great. 


COL.  NAPOLEON  B.  MORRISON. 

The  life  of  the  subject  of  this  biography 
has  not  been  altogether  devoid  of  the  spec- 
tacular, but  has  been  entirely  free  from  os- 
tentation, and  he  has  never  forced  himself 
on  public  attention,  yet  his  fellow  citizens 
recognize  in  this  venerable  character  a  man 
of  genuine  worth,  whose  every  duty  has 
been  discharged  with  commendable  fidelity 
and  whose  influence  has  always  been  exer- 
cised for  the  good  of  his  kind.  He  has  trav- 
eled extensively  and  come  in  contact  with 
the  world  in  such  a  way  as  to  quicken  his 
perception,  enlarge  his  mental  vision  and 
give  him  ideas  of  men  and  things  such  as 
he  could  not  have  obtained  by  spending  his 
life  in  one  locality,  and  as  a  result  of  his 
altogether  consistent  career  he  has  won  the 
esteem  of  all  who  know  him. 

Col.  Napoleon  B.  Morrison  was  born  in 
Water  ford,  Vermont,  Februray  12,  1824. 
and  reared  in  New  Hampshire  by  sturdy 


572 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


New  England  parents.  He  is  the  son  of 
Moses  F.  and  Zilpha  (Smith)  Morrison. 
Grandfather  Morrison  was  of  Scotch-Irish 
lineage  from  Londonderry,  Ireland,  who  set- 
tled in  Londonderry,  New  Hampshire.  Our 
subject  is  a  direct  descendant  of  Samuel 
Morrison,  who  was  a  charter  member  of 
Londonderry.  Grandfather  Smith  was  a 
Revolutionary  soldier.  He  was  bom  in 
New  Hampshire,  where  he  spent  his  days 
on  a  farm.  He  had  eight  children,  seven 
boys  and  one  girl ;  all  lived  to  maturity. 

The  subject's  father  was  a  graduate  of 
Dartmouth  College  and  became  a  physician, 
devoting  his  entire  life  to  practice,  having 
remained  in  the  eastern  states.  He  was  an 
extensive  writer  and  was  assistant  geologist 
of  the  state  of  New  Hampshire.  A  number 
of  his  manuscripts  are  yet  in  perfect  condi- 
tion, and  they  are  considered  of  much  value. 
He  lived  to  be  about  seventy  years  old.  He 
was  a  Christian  man  of  advanced  thought 
and  culture,  who  could  not  be  tied  down  to 
any  dogma  or  creed.  He  followed  his  pro- 
fession with  energy,  enthusiasm  and  love, 
love  for  the  science  and  love  for  the  pa- 
tients, therefore  he  not  only  became  well 
grounded  in  his  profession  but  had  hosts  of 
loyal  friends.  He  endeavored  to  discover 
the  cause  of  disease  and  treat  it  from  that 
standpoint. 

Eight  of  his  children  grew  to  maturity. 
Two  died  in  infancy.  They  followed  the 
various  avocations  of  educated  men. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  first  attended 
the  public  schools  in  New  Hampshire,  later 
went  to  the  academy  at  Newburry,  Ver- 


mont, where  he  prepared  for  college.  He 
then  took  a  course  in  civil  engineering  which 
profession  he  followed  for  a  period  of 
twenty  years  with  great  success  in  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  New  York,  Ohio  and 
Illinois.  In  1849  and  1850  he  surveyed  and 
located  the  Marietta  &  Cincinnati  Railroad 
from  Chillicothe  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  which 
has  since  been  absorbed  by  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  Railway,  and  became  a  part  of  that 
great  system.  It  is  now  known  as  the  Bal- 
timore &  Ohio  Southwestern. 

In  1862  he  settled  in  Odin,  Marion 
county,  where  he  has  lived  ever  since. 
Twenty-three  years  ago,  from  1908,  he 
opened  the  coal  mine  here  which  has  been 
running  successfully  all  the  time  since,  and 
it  has  been  under  his  immediate  manage- 
ment ever  since  it  was  started.  It  is  incor- 
porated and  our  subject  has  been  the  presi- 
dent from  the  start.  The  capacity  is  one 
thousand  tons  daily.  Last  year  the  mine 
produced  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
tons.  It  is  operated  with  two  hundred 
miners  and  is  always  a  very  busy  place. 

The  coal  produced  here  is  of  a  very  high 
grade  and  always  finds  a  ready  market. 
Colonel  Morrison  also  has  large  farming  in- 
terests in  this  county,  and  an  excellent  stock 
ranch.  He  breeds  high  grade  cattle,  having 
some  thoroughbreds.  His  cattle  are  usu- 
ally fattened  on  grass  for  the  market,  and 
no  small  portion  of  his  yearly  income  is  de- 
rived from  his  shipments  of  live  stock  which 
always  demand  high  prices  owing  to  their 
fine  quality.  His  farms  are  kept  in  a  high 
state  of  improvement  and  are  up-to-date  in 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


573 


every  respect,  showing  that  a  man  of  un- 
usual soundness  of  judgment  has  their  man- 
agement in  hand. 

Colonel  Morrison  has  frequently  been 
called  upon  to  display  his  innate  ability  in 
public  offices,  having  faithfully  served  for 
twelve  years  as  Police  Judge,  and  he  served 
his  people  in  a  most  praiseworthy  manner  in 
the  legislature  for  two  terms,  during  which 
time  he  won  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  law 
maker,  and  his  advice  and  sound  counsel 
were  always  listened  to  with  the  greatest  re- 
spect by  his  colleagues  in  the  house. 

Colonel  Morrison  likes  to  tell  of  the  early 
days.  When  he  was  born  there  was  neither 
mill  nor  railroad  in  his  section  of  the  state. 
He  was  three  years  old  when  the  first  stone 
was  hauled  to  build  the  Bunker  Hill  monu- 
ment. The  entire  railroad  and  telegraph 
system  has  been  built  up  since  he  can  re- 
member. He  was  in  Chicago  when  the  con- 
tract was  let  for  building  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad.  Mr.  Morrison  will  soon  be  eighty- 
five  years  old,  and  is  as  active  and  hale  as 
ever,  being  as  active  in  his  business  manage- 
ment as  at  any  time  during  his  life.  He 
built  the  first  dwelling  house  in  Odin.  He 
has  seen  land  sell  under  the  government  for 
twenty-five  cents  per  acre  that  is  now  worth 
two  hundred  dollars  per  acre.  He  has  long 
been  actively  associated  with  the  locating 
and  building  of  railroads,  and  is  an  enthu- 
siastic believer  in  the  useful  results  obtained 
by  means  of  railroad  facilities. 

Colonel  Morrison's  married  life  dates 
from  1853,  when  he  was  united  in  the  bonds 
of  wedlock  with  Lavinia  M.  Smart,  daugh- 


ter of  Judge  Hugh  and  Elizabeth  (Hughes) 
Smart,  of  Ohio.  Six  children  have  been 
born  to  Colonel  Morrison  and  wife  as  fol- 
lows: Sadie;  Jean,  who  is  the  wife  of 
Hamilton  Rapp,  of  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 
He  is  an  architect,  plans  and  superintends 
the  territorial  buildings.  Jessie,  the  sub- 
ject's third  child,  is  deceased;  Helen  is  the 
wife  of  Doctor  Fyke,  of  Centralia,  Illinois, 
and  the  mother  of  three  daughters,  Jean, 
Helen  and  Lavinia;  Charles  Hugh  has 
charge  of  the  coal  mine  and  its  interests,  and 
is  general  manager  of  his  father's  business. 
He  was  a  student  of  the  State  University  at 
Champaign,  Illinois,  and  as  a  business  man 
he  ranks  high  in  the  county,  being  well  and 
favorably  known  to  the  business  world; 
Vedie,  the  subject's  sixth  child,  is  deceased. 
When  Colonel  Morrison  came  to  Illinois 
there  were  neither  settlements  nor  settlers  in 
this  part  of  the  commonwealth  on  all  of  the 
broad  prairies.  From  1892  to  1898  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
University  of  Illinois,  and  was  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Agriculture.  After  an 
investigation  he  found  there  was  but  one 
professor  and  four  students  in  the  agricul- 
tural college  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  He  at 
once  set  about  remedying  this  condition, 
and  it  was  due  to  his  agitation  and  efforts 
that  this  department  was  brought  up  to  its 
present  day  state  of  efficiency,  it  being  rec- 
ognized at  present  as  one  of  the  most  effect- 
ive departments  of  the  State  University.  He 
has  on  his  own  farm  an  experimental  sta- 
tion which  is  conducted  under  the  supervis- 
ion of  the  Agricultural  College  at 


574 


BIor.KAPHICAL   AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Champaign,  and  also  of  the  agricultural 
department  at  Washington.  He  has  as  a 
result  of  his  faithful  work,  been  invited  to 
accompany  special  trains  which  have  trav- 
eled over  all  the  trunk  lines  in  Illinois,  giv- 
ing lectures  and  practical  demonstrations  of 
the  excellent  work  which  has  been  accom- 
plished at  the  college.  On  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral road  he  also  visited  the  states  of  Missis- 
sippi and  Louisiana  in  this  capacity. 


SIDNEY  BREEZE. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  life  his- 
tory of  the  man  whose  name  appears  above 
has  been  closed  by  the  hand  of  death,  his 
influence  still  permeates  the  lives  of  those 
he  came  in  contact  with.  His  was  a  life  of 
noble  deeds  and  consistency  to  the  truth  in 
all  its  phases. 

Sidney  Breeze  was  born  in  Rome  town- 
ship, Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  February  15. 
1842,  and  he  passed  to  his  rest  July  2,  1889. 
He  was  the  son  of  Owen  and  Margaret 
(Falkner)  Breeze,  the  former  a  native  of 
Indiana,  and  the  latter  of  Kentucky.  Owen 
Breeze  came  to  Illinois  when  a  young  man, 
with  his  parents,  and  settled  in  Rome  town- 
ship, Jefferson  county,  being  among  the  pio- 
neers of  that  district.  They  engaged  in 
farming,  and  both  died  in  Grand  Prairie 
township.  They  were  the  parents  of  three 
children.  Martha  Jane,  who  married  Henry 
West,  is  living  in  Irvington,  Illinois;  Sid- 
ney, our  subject;  Harriet,  who  married 
Joseph  Boles,  of  Jefferson  county,  this  state. 

Mr.    Breeze,  our    subject,    attended    the 


country  schools,  and  the  subscription  schools 
and  lived  at  home  until  his  marriage,  No- 
vember 26,  1863,  to  Maria  Stonecipher, 
who  was  born  October  14,  1843,  m  Harri- 
son county,  Indiana,  and  a  daughter  of  Ja- 
cob and  Sarah  (Riley)  Stonecipher,  the 
former  having  been  born  in  Harrison  coun- 
ty, and  the  latter  of  North  Carolina.  The 
Stoneciphers  are  of  German  descent,  and  the 
Rileys  of  Irish  ancestry.  Jacob  and  Sarah 
Stonecipher  were  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, namely:  William,  a  retired  farmer, 
living  in  Centralia  township;  Franklin  died 
during  the  Civil  war,  having  been  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  H,  Forty-eighth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry.  His  death  occurred  in 
Tennessee.  Sarah,  the  third  child,  married 
James  Steward,  of  Centralia,  Illinois.  Henry 
and  Etta,  the  fourth  and  fifth  children,  are 
twins.  Henry  is  in  the  West.  Etta  is  de- 
ceased. Marion  was  the  second  child  in 
order  of  birth. 

To  our  subject  and  wife  eight  children 
have  been  born,  namely:  Oscar  L.,  a  farmer 
in  Jefferson  county,  Illinois;  Alva,  a  hostler 
for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  living  in 
Centralia,  Illinois;  Gilla  died  April  5,  1884; 
Julia  Ann  married  James  Holland  and  is  liv- 
ing in  Centralia;  Clara  died  June  n,  1900; 
Lawrence  died  September  14,  1875;  Albert 
is  living  in  Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  on  a 
farm;  Zina,  a  farmer  and  clerk,  is  living  at 
home. 

The  subject's  children  were  educated  in 
the  home  schools.  Zina  not  only  attended 
the  home  schools,  but  he  also  attended 
school  at  Jackson,  Tennessee,  in  the  South- 
western Baptist  University,  where  he  made 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


575 


a  splendid  record  for  scholarship.  He  has 
always  remained  at  home  with  his  parents. 
He  clerked  in  a  most  successful  manner  in  a 
store  at  Walnut  Hill,  and  he  has  been  equal- 
ly successful  as  a  farmer. 

After  his  marriage  Sidney  Breeze  lived 
in  Grand  Prairie  township,  Jefferson 
county.  In  1866  he  moved  to  Rome  town- 
ship, Jefferson  county,  Illinois.  He  bought  a 
farm  consisting  of  five  hundred  acres  in  one 
body,  and  he  was  a  most  successful  agricul- 
turist, being  known  as  a  man  of  good  judg- 
ment and  industrious  habits.  In  195  the 
family  moved  to  Walnut  Hill,  where  they 
have  since  resided.  They  still  own  the  old 
homestead.  The  subject  was  a  loyal  Re- 
publican, but  he  never  aspired  for  office. 
Both  he  and  his  estimable  wife  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  church  for  many  years, 
and  were  always  active  in  church  work.  Mr. 
Breeze  is  remembered  as  a  man  of  gentle 
disposition  which  won  him  hosts  of  friends. 
In  his  fraternal  relations  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
having  belonged  to  this  order  for  a  period 
of  twenty-five  years,  lodge  No.  710,  Walnut 
Hill,  and  he  took  a  great  deal  of  interest  in 
lodge  work.  He  was  a  useful  man,  and  his 
good  deeds  and  honorable  life  will  long  be 
remembered  by  the  people  of  Marion 
countv. 


WILLIAM  A.  HARTLEY. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  wears  the 
proud  title  of  one  of  the  "boys  in  blue",  a 
title  that  anyone  might  justly  be  proud  to 


bear,  for  such  privilege  does  not  come  to 
many  men  in  a  country,  and  we  of  the  after- 
math are  glad  to  respect  those  of  this  class, 
but  this  is  not  the  only  reason  why  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  is  entitled  to  representa- 
tion in  a  work  of  this  nature,  having  been 
a  man  of  industry,  honesty  and  influence 
during  his  long  life  in  Marion  county. 

William  A.  Hartley  was  born  in  Jefferson 
county,  Grand  Prairie  township,  February 
25,  1841,  the  son  of  Hugh  Hartley,  who 
was  born  in  1805,  and  who  married  Nancy 
Huckleberry.  The  former  was  a  native  of 
Virginia  and  the  latter  of  Indiana.  William 
Hartley,  the  subject's  grandfather,  a  shoe- 
maker by  trade,  was  a  native  of  Virginia, 
having  been  born  and  grew  up  in  Monon- 
gahela  county.  In  1816  he  came  to  Clark 
county,  Indiana,  and  later  moving  to 
Charlestown,  Indiana,  where  he  died  in 
1844.  Then  Hugh  Hartley,  the  subject's 
father,  came  to  Jefferson  county  in  1839. 
He  was  married  in  Indiana.  He  purchased 
two  hundred  acres  of  wild  land  in  Grand 
Prairie  township.  He  improved  the  place 
and  lived  there  until  his  death  in  1871.  His 
wife  died  in  1896,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-eight  years. 

In  early  life  he  devoted  his  time  to  shoe- 
making.  He  was  in  Chicago  when  city  lots 
were  selling  for  five  and  ten  dollars  each. 
He  served  during  the  Black  Hawk  war  of 
1832  in  Arkansas,  where  he  remained  until 
the  close  of  hostilities.  He  was  a  great 
reader  and  debater.  He  was  an  active  Dem- 
ocrat, although  he  never  held  office.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and 


576 


lUOCRAl'HICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


was  well  known  and  highly  respected  by  all 
who  knew  him.  Nine  children  were  born 
to  the  parents  of  the  subject  as  follows: 
John  W.,  who  was  in  the  Mexican  war  dur- 
ing the  'second  year  of  the  war  for  one  year. 
He  was  in  Company  H,  Fourteenth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  during  the  second  year 
of  the  Civil  war,  having  been  lieutenant  in 
General  Palmer's  regiment,  having  served 
two  years  when  he  lost  his  voice  and  was 
compelled  to  resign.  He  was  the  first  City 
Marshal  of  Decatur,  Illinois,  and  lived  there 
the  rest  of  his  life.  He  was  also  the  first 
man  to  run  a  bakery  in  that  city.  He  died 
there  in  1901.  The  second  child  was  named 
Mary  Ann  and  is  deceased;  James  R.  is 
living  in  Grand  Prairie  township,  Jefferson 
county,  Illinois.  He  was  formerly  a  teacher 
and  painter  by  trade.  He  was  in  Company 
F,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-fourth  Illinois 
Volunteer  Infantry,  having  served  over  one 
year.  Martha  J.,  who  died  in  November, 
1904,  remained  single  and  lived  at  home. 
Alfred  died  in  infancy;  Hugh,  the  sixth 
child,  learned  the  bricklayer's  trade.  He 
made  a  trip  overland  by  Pike's  Peak  to  Cal- 
ifornia and  was  there  two  years.  After  he 
returned  he  went  to  Louisiana.  He  was  in 
the  Confederate  army,  and  died  three 
months  before  the  close  of  the  war,  having 
been  buried  at  Richmond,  Virginia.  Wil- 
liam A.,  our  subject,  was  the  seventh  child 
in  order  of  birth;  Clara,  who  became  the 
wife  of  Rev.  J.  C.  Baldridge,  a  Methodist 
minister,  is  deceased.  He  lives  in  Chicago. 
Andrew  J.  lives  at  Irvington,'  Illinois,  and 
is  a  stock  dealer  and  engaged  in  farming. 


The  subject  was  educated  in  the  home 
schools.  After  he  left  school,  Mr.  Hartley 
was  one  of  the  brave  sons  of  the  North,  who 
offered  his  services  in  suppressing  the  re- 
bellion, having  enlisted  August  18,  1861,  in 
Company  C,  Eleventh  Illinois  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, at  Centralia  as  a  private.  He  was 
sent  to  Bird's  Point,  Missouri,  remaining 
there  until  February  5,  1862,  where  he  was 
drilled.  He  then  went  to  Fort  Henry,  ten- 
nessee,  remaining  there  four  days,  when  he 
marched  to  Fort  Donelson  and  was  in  the 
battle  there,  the  regiment  he  was  in  losing 
six  hundred  men  out  of  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  in  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners.  He  was  at  Fort  Donelson  until 
the  middle  of  March,  1862,  when  he  went 
to  Shiloh,  and  was  in  that  battle.  He  was 
wounded  April  6,  1862;  he  was  shot 
through  the  right  shoulder  and  was  sent  to 
a  hospital  in  Tennessee.  He  ran  off  from 
there  and  went  back  to  his  regiment  and 
the  captain  ordered  him  back  to  the  hospital. 
He  was  later  sent  home,  where  he  remained 
until  in  August,  1862,  when  he  went  back 
to  his  regiment,  remaining  until  November 
2Oth,  following  when  he  was  discharged  at 
Cairo,  Illinois,  after  which  he  returned 
home.  His  health  was  poor  and  in  the 
spring  of  1863  he  went  to  Memphis,  Ten- 
nessee, where  he  clerked  in  a  wholesale 
house,  where  he  remained  until  the  follow- 
ing October,  when  he  returned  home  and 
began  teaching  school  at  Grand  Prairie 
township,  Jefferson  county,  devoting  the 
following  thirty  years  to  teaching  in  that 
county,  and  the  following  ten  years  to  teach- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


577 


ing  in  Marion  county,  mostly  in  Centralia 
township,  having  taught  fourteen  terms  in 
one  district.  He  became  well  known  as  an 
able  instructor  and  his  services  were  in  great 
demand.  In  1889  he  moved  to  Walnut  Hill, 
Illinois,  where  he  taught  in  the  winter  and 
.worked  in  a  store  during  the  summer 
months,  having  worked  five  years  for  D. 
B.  Kell. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  April 
27,  1865,  to  Rebecca  J.  Boggs,  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  the  daughter  of  Joseph  B. 
and  Mary  (Wyant)  Boggs,  both  natives 
of  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Boggs  came  to 
Marion  county,  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Rac- 
coon township  in  1858.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  are  now  deceased. 

One  son  has  been  born  to  the  subject  and 
wife,  namely:  George,  who  was  born 
March  16,  1866.  He  was  educated  in  the 
home  schools,  and  is  in  the  Sentinel  office 
at  Centralia,  Illinois.  He  married  Flora 
Pierson;  they  have  one  son,  William  A. 

Mr.  Hartley  has  been  Supervisor  for  four- 
teen years  and  in  the  spring  of  1908  he  was 
re-elected  for  two  years.  He  was  clerk  of 
the  town  of  Grand  Prairie,  and  was  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace  at  Walnut  Hill  for  six 
years.  He  has  always  been  an  active  work- 
er in  the  Republican  ranks.  In  his  fraternal 
relations  he  is  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  at  Walnut  Hill, 
having  joined  the  lodge  there  in  1882.  He 
has  held  all  the  offices  and  attended  the 
Grand  Lodge.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
American  Home  Circle,  also  belongs  to 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  No.  600  at 
37 


Walnut  Hill,  of  which  post  he  is  now  adju- 
tant, having  held  all  the  offices  in  this  post. 
The  subject  and  wife  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  having  been 
identified  with  the  same  for  the  past  forty 
years.  Mr.  Hartley  has  been  industrious 
and  success  has  attended  his  efforts,  and  he 
has  become  widely  known. 


FRANCIS  M.  BATES. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of  the 
sterling  citizens  of  Centralia  township,  Ma- 
rion county,  where  he  has  long  maintained 
his  home  near  Walnut  Hill,  being  known 
as  one  of  the  progressive  men  of  the  com- 
munity and  always  interested  in  movements 
looking  toward  the  development  of  the 
same. 

Francis  M.  Bates  was  born  in  Jefferson 
county,  Illinois,  in  Rome  township,  May 
15,  1841,  the  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth 
(Bostwick)  Bates,  the  former  a  native  of 
Maine  and  the  latter  of  Maryland.  The 
father  grew  up  in  Maine  and  was  well  edu- 
cated. He  left  that  state  when  a  young 
man  and  went  to  Ohio,  where  he  engaged 
in  farming,  having  devoted  his  life  to  the 
farm.  Later  he  went  to  St.  Clair  county, 
where  he  bought  land  and  where  he  lived 
for  several  years.  Then  he  went  to  Jeffer- 
son county,  Illinois,  in  the  early  thirties;  he 
got  a  farm  there  in  Rome  township,  and 
settled  on  land  which  he  purchased  for  one 
dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre.  His 


578 


BIOGRAPHICAL   AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


death  occurred  there  in  1860,  and  his  wife 
died  in  1873.  He  held  no  offices,  but  was 
an  old-line  Whig  and  later  a  Republican. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church, 
and  she  of  the  Methodist  church.  They 
were  the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  name- 
ly: Benjamin,  James,  Sarah  A.,  Belle, 
George,  Francis,  Wesley,  Mary  J.  Five 
children  died  in  infancy. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  attended  the 
home  schools,  principally  subscription 
schools.  He  remained  at  home  until  he  was 
twenty  years  old,  when  he  married  on  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1 86 1,  to  Nancy  Martin,  a  native 
of  Bedford  county,  Tennessee,  and  a 
daughter  of  Willis  and  Jane  (Stamper) 
Martin,  both  of  Bedford,  Tennessee.  They 
grew  up  in  that  country,  and  were  married 
there.  They  came  to  Jefferson  county, 
Illinois,  where  Mr.  Martin  secured  wild  land 
and  settled  near  Mt.  Vernon.  He  was  one 
of  the  brave  "boys  in  blue,"  having  enlisted 
in  the  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Illinois  Vol- 
unteer Infantry.  He  fell  sick  at  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  died  and  was  buried  in  the  Na- 
tional cemetery  in  1863.  His  wife  survived 
until  1893.  Nine  children  were  born  to 
them,  six  of  whom  grew  to  maturity, 
namely:  Nancy,  William,  Mary,  James, 
John,  Martha. 

Fourteen  children,  nine  of  whom 
reached  maturity,  were  born  to  the  subject 
and  wife  as  follows:  William,  a  miller,  liv- 
ing in  Mt.  Vernon,  Illinois;  Spencer  is  a 
miller  at  Walnut  Hill,  Illinois;  Luther  is  a 
blacksmith  at  Mt.  Vernon,  Illinois;  Ida  is 
the  wife  of  Zelter  Patton,  who  is  living  in 


Chester,  Illinois;  Mary  married  Joseph 
Root  a  farmer  of  Centralia  township;  Wal- 
ter is  a  farmer  in  Raccoon  township,  this 
county;  Flora  married  Irvin  Smith  and  is 
living  in  Centralia  township:  Mettie  is  the 
wife  of  J.  Smith,  of  Centralia  township ; 
Homer  is  a  miller  living  at  Shattuc,  Il- 
linois. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Bates  located 
near  Mt.  Vernon,  Illinois,  and  took  up 
farming,  which  he  made  a  success  of  until 
he  heard  the  call  for  brave  sons  to  save  the 
Union,  consequently  he  enlisted  in  Company 
E,  Eightieth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  as 
as  private,  on  August  25,  1862,  at  Mt.  Ver- 
non and  was  drilled  at  Centralia.  His  first 
engagement  was  at  Perryville,  Kentucky, 
on  October  8,  1862,  where  he  was  wounded, 
having  been  shot  through  the  left  wrist.  He 
was  sent  to  the  hospital  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  remained  for  three  months 
and  was  discharged  on  account  of  disability, 
much  to  his  regret,  for  he  desired  to  see  fur- 
ther service  and  do  what  he  could  to  help 
suppress  the  rebellion. 

After  his  army  experience  he  came  home 
and  worked  at  farming  for  several  years. 
Then  he  engaged  in  the  milling  business  at 
Dix,  Jefferson  county,  Illinois.  In  1875  he 
came  to  Walnut  Hill,  and  bought  an  inter- 
est in  the  Walnut  Hill  Flour  and  Feed  Mills, 
later  he  bought  the  entire  plant  and  finally 
sold  the  mill  in  1905.  Since  then  he  has 
devoted  his  time  principally  to  farming. 
He  purchased  a  farm  of  eighty  acres  in 
Raccoon  township,  and  also  other  land. 
which  he  sold,  but  he  still  owns  a  small 


RICHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION   COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


579 


place  which  is  well  cultivated.  Mr.  Bates 
has  always  been  a  hard  worker  and  success 
has  attended  his  efforts.  He  formerly  voted 
th  Republican  ticket,  but  in  late  years  has 
voted  the  Prohibition  ticket.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  at 
Walnut  Hill,  also  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist church  at  that  place.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bates  are  fine  people  and  they  enjoy  the 
friendship  of  all  their  neighbors  and  exten- 
sive acquaintance  owing  to  their  good  lives. 


HORACE  BRONSON. 

Among  the  highly  respected  and  influen- 
tial citizens  of  Centralia  township,  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
whose  long  and  active  life  has  been  one  of 
usefulness  and  honor,  a  native  of  the  great 
Empire  state,  which  has  sent  so  many  of  its 
best  sons  into  the  West.  He  has  kept  up  the 
state's  reputation  for  sterling  citizenship  and 
loyalty  to  the  government. 

Horace  Bronson  was  born  in  Oneida 
county,  New  York,  November  14,  1831,  the 
son  of  Allen  and  Triphena  (Hudson) 
Bronson,  both  natives  of  Chautauqua  coun- 
ty, New  York.  Allen  Bronson  devoted  his 
life  to  farming  and  in  1859  he  came  to  Illi- 
nois, and  located  in  Grundy  county.  He 
later  went  to  Dennison,  Iowa,  and  in  1893 
went  to  Odell,  Illinois,  where  he  died  in 
1894,  his  wife  having  died  in  the  state  of 
New  York.  The  subject's  father  married 
a.  second  time,  his  last  wife  being  Kate 


Douglas,  of  New  York  state.  She  died  in 
Grundy  county,  Illinois.  Mr.  Bronson  was 
a  loyal  Republican  and  an  influential  man 
in  his  community.  His  wife  was  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  church.  The  following 
children  were  born  to  Allen  Bronson  by  his 
first  wife,  namely:  Horace,  our  subject;  Jay 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war  in  the  Seventy 
sixth  New  York  Volunteer  Infantry  and 
located  in  Detroit  after  the  war,  where  he 
engaged  in  business;  Walter,  a  farmer  at 
Pontiac,  Illinois,  served  in  the  navy  during 
the  Civil  war;  James  Gordon  served  in  the 
Fourth  Illinois  Cavalry  during  the  Civil  war 
after  which  he  located  on  a  farm  near  Pon- 
tiac, Illinois,  where  he  later  died;  William, 
a  farmer  at  Odell,  Illinois ;  Isaac,  also  a  vet- 
eran of  the  Civil  war,  is  a  farmer  at  Odell, 
Illinois.  The  following  children  were  born 
to  the  second  marriage:  Byron  is  in  the 
United  States  Signal  service,  having  been 
stationed  in  the  West  for  many  years ;  Fred 
is  a  conductor  on  the  Burlington  Railroad, 
located  at  Galesburg,  Illinois;  Charles  is 
also  a  conductor  on  the  Burlington  at  Gales- 
burg. 

The  subject  attended  the  home  schools  in 
his  native  community  and  remained  a  mem- 
ber of  the  family  circle  until  1852,  when 
he  went  to  California  by  water,  where  he 
worked  at  mining  for  four  years,  then  went 
back  to  New  York  state  and  first  married 
in  1856,  Margaret  Wright,  of  Utica,  New 
York.  She  died  May  14,  1871.  His  sec- 
ond wife  was  Ella  Fitzgerald,  a  native  of 
Centralia,  Illinois.  She  died  in  1875.  He 
married  a  third  time  to  Elizabeth  Eberts, 


58o 


I'.IOC.KAI'IIICAL    AM)    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OK 


of  Camden,  Ohio.  The  subject  had  three 
children  by  his  first  wife,  namely:  George, 
who  is  living  in  the  West;  Frank,  an  elec- 
trician in  Chicago;  Ellen  is  deceased.  The 
subject  had  no  children  by  his  second  wife, 
but  four  by  his  third  wife,  namely;  Grant, 
a  carpenter  living  at  Centralia,  Illinois,  who 
married  Mary  Thurston,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  one  daughter,  Mabel;  Albert  J. 
is  living  at  home;  Walter  is  also  living  at 
home;  Horace  is  deceased. 

In  1857  the  subject  came  to  Centralia, 
this  state,  and  took  up  farming,  which  he 
made  a  success  of  until  1869  when  he  moved 
to  Champaign,  Illinois,  where  he  farmed 
and  raised  broom  corn  with  great  success 
for  a  period  of  thirteen  years,  and  in  1882 
he  came  back  to  Centralia  and  located  where 
he  now  lives,  just  south  of  the  city  of  Cen- 
tralia in  section  30,  where  he  owns  thirty- 
six  acres  of  valuable  land,  where  he  carries 
on  fruit  raising  and  farming.  He  also 
raises  some  stock. 

The  subject  began  making  brooms  in 
1858  and  has  carried  on  the  same,  most  of 
the  time  ever  since.  He  and  his  sons  have 
carried  on  this  business  in  connection  with 
other  lines  with  uninterrupted  success.  They 
have  no  trouble  in  disposing  of  all  the 
brooms  they  can  make  in  the  home  market, 
for  they  are  known  to  be  a  superior  grade 
and  are  eagerly  sought  after. 

Mr.  Bronson  has  always  been  a  stanch 
Republican  and  he  takes  much  interest  in 
all  movements  looking  to  the  well  being  of 
his  county.  Mrs.  Bronson  is  a  member  of 
the  Christian  church. 


VERNE  E.  JOY. 

Verne  E.  Joy  was  born  at  Carmi,  Illinois, 
December  12,  1876.  He  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  after  receiving  a 
business  education  spent  over  three  years 
in  Germany,  as  United  States  Consular 
Agent  at  Selingen  and  Sonneberg.  Mr. 
Joy  became  editor  and  publisher  of  the 
Centralia  Evening  and  Weekly  Sentinel  on 
November  i,  1906,  at  the  time  of  his  father's 
retirement,  who  had  spent  a  life-time  in  the 
business  and  had  built  up  a  splendid  prop- 
erty in  The  Sentinels.  Under  the  new  man- 
agement the  papers  assumed  a  new  aspect, 
reflecting  the  former  training  of  Mr.  Joy 
on  Denver,  Pueblo  and  Colorado  Springs 
papers  in  addition  to  his  acquirement  of 
the  printing  trade  under  his  father.  The 
Evening  Sentinel  was  given  a  new  style  of 
make-up,  wire  service  was  added,  illustra- 
tions secured  and  the  paper  has  since  ap- 
peared in  eight  page  form  instead  of  four. 
New  machinery  and  equipment  was  in- 
stalled and  the  paper  has  made  a  remarkable 
stride  forward  in  circulation  and  advertis- 
ing, until  at  present  The  Sentinel  has  the 
largest  sworn  afternoon  circulation  of  any 
daily  in  Southern  Illinois.  This  paper 
moved  to  its  own  new  and  well  appointed 
building  the  last  of  October,  1908,  where 
it  has  ample  and  commodious  quarters  and 
is  now  more  than  meeting  the  fondest  ex- 
pectations of  its  numerous  patrons.  It  now 
occupies  two  floors,  each  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven  feet  long  and  has  practically 
five  thousand  square  feet  of  floor  space. 


F.  P.  MILLER. 


•SIONITi.  /U  A1ISMJAIMA 

m  w> 

AHVU8I1 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MAKIOX    COUXTIKS,    ILLINOIS. 


New  machinery,  new  type  and  other  modern 
appliances  and  accessories  have  been  added 
throughout;  a  new  linotype  machine  pur- 
chased, and  it  is  now  one  of  the  most  com- 
plete and  up-to-date  equipments  for  the  pub- 
lication of  a  newspaper  in  all  Southern  Illi- 
nois. The  mechanical  appearance  of  the 
paper  is  very  attractive  and  in  a  small  way 
equal  to  any  metropolitan  paper  in  the  coun- 
try, and  in  keeping  with  the  paper's  claim 
of  being  "Egypt's  Greatest  Daily."  All 
kinds  of  job  and  other  high  class  printing 
are  done  at  The  Sentinel  office  in  a  large  and 
separate  department. 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE  MILLER. 

No  resident  in  Centralia  township,  Ma- 
rion county,  is  deserving  of  specific  mention 
in  a  book  of  this  nature  more  than  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
he  has  led  a  very  industrious  and  honor- 
able life,  and  is  widely  known  as  one  of  the 
leading  fruit  dealers  in  the  Middle  West. 

Franklin  Pierce  Miller  was  born  in  Cale- 
donia, Pulaski  county,  Illinois,  October  23, 
1852,  the  son  of  Henry  and  Catherine 
(Coover)  Miller,  the  former  a  native  of 
North  Carolina  and  the  latter  of  Maryland. 
Henry  Miller,  who  grew  up  in  North  Caro- 
lina, was  a  farmer  and  he  also  engaged  in 
real  estate  speculation.  He  located  in  Jones- 
boro,  Union  county,  Illinois,  in  the  early  set- 
tlement of  the  county,  and  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  that  locality.  His  father  was  a 


pioneer  merchant  there  and  also  run  a  tan- 
nery. He  was  accustomed  to  take  leather 
to  St.  Louis  and  trade  for  merchandise.  The 
subject's  grandfather  Miller  raised  a  large 
family  and  died  in  Union  county,'  this  state. 
The  father  of  the  subject  had  only  a  limited 
education,  but  he  later  devoted  much  time 
to  home-study  and  became  a  well  read  man. 
He  was  a  Democrat  and  took  much  interest 
in  political  affairs,  a  member  of  the  German 
Reformed  church,  in  which  he  took  a  great 
interest,  while  his  wife  was  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church.  The  subject's  mother 
had  the  first  cook  stove  brought  into  Jones- 
boro  and  also  owned  one  of  the  first  sewing 
machines,  which  she  operated  for  many 
years.  Henry  Miller  passed  away  in  1872, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years,  and  his  wife 
survived  until  1898.  The  following  children 
were  born  to  them:  George,  now  deceased, 
having  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years, 
married  first  a  Miss  Castleman,  and  his  sec- 
ond wife  was  Addie  Phillips.  He  died  near 
Anna,  Illinois.  He  was  a  teacher  in  early 
life,  and  later  a  commission  merchant  in 
Chicago.  Andrew  J.,  the  second  child,  is 
deceased;  he  was  a  merchant  at  Cobden, 
Illinois,  and  married  Allie  Phillips;  Alice, 
the  third  child,  married  Arthur  Moss,  who 
is  deceased;  she  is  living  at  Anna,  Illinois; 
John,  the  fourth  child,  who  was  a  merchant 
at  Anna,  Illinois,  and  who  married  Mollie 
Green,  is  deceased.  Franklin  Pierce,  our 
subject,  was  the  fifth  child  in  order  of  birth. 
Mary  married  James  N.  Dickison,  a  mer- 
chant and  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank  at  Anna,  Illinois.  David  Watson  is 


582 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


a  grain  and  lumber  dealer  at  Winnebago, 
Minnesota;  Caleb  Monroe  lives  at  Anna, 
Illinois;  he  is  a  farmer  and  fruit  grower  in 
Southern  Illinois.  He  owns  about  four  hun- 
dred acres  of  fruit,  all  kinds  of  vegetables, 
devoting  especial  attention  to  asparagus 
growing.  He  owns  the  opera  house  block 
and  other  valuable  real  estate  and  is  in- 
terested in  the  bank  at  Anna. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated 
in  the  home  schools  and  remained  a  mem- 
ber of  the  family  circle  until  he  was  nine- 
teen years  old,  when  he  clerked  in  his  broth- 
er's store  at  Cobden,  Illinois,  where  he  re- 
mained for  one  year  and  then  went  to  Chi- 
cago, where  he  was  engaged  with  his 
brother,  George,  in  the  commission  business 
on  South  Water  street  for  about  eight  years. 
He  closed  up  that  business  and  came  to 
Centralia  in  1889,  and  bought  his  present 
home.  He  first  put  out  twenty  acres  of 
strawberries  the  first  year  and  the  next  year 
ten  acres  more  and  later  planted  many  ap- 
ple and  peach  trees.  He  raises  mostly  small 
fruits,  apples  and  Elberta  peaches.  He  has 
been  a  fruit  grower  and  dealer  at  Centralia 
on  an  extensive  scale  for  the  past  twenty 
years,  the  firm  name  being  F.  P.  Miller  & 
Company,  fruit  dealers  and  brokers.  They 
buy  fruit  from  Texas,  Missouri,  Tennessee, 
Georgia  and  all  of  the  southern  states  and 
their  trade  extends  as  far  north  as  this 
county.  They  are  the  largest  dealers  in 
Illinois  and  are  known  throughout  the  coun- 
try. Their  offices  are  in  the  Merchants' 
State  Bank  building  in  Centralia.  J.  E. 
Hefter,  of  Centralia,  is  a  partner  in  the  firm. 


They  are  known  as  "The  Fruit  Kings." 
Their  business  is  a  credit  to  this  county  and 
is  of  much  importance  in  establishing  in 
other  states  the  prestige  of  the  locality  in 
commercial  and  horticultural  lines. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  built  his  mod- 
ern and  nicely  furnished  home  in  1900  and 
his  substantial  and  attractive  barn  in  1908. 

Mr.  Miller's  happy  domestic  life  began  in 
July  8,  1885,  when  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Laura  Hoag,  a  native  of  Cen- 
tralia, Illinois,  the  daughter  of  Peter  and 
Carolina  Hoag,  natives  of  New  York.  They 
are  both  deceased.  He  was  foreman  of  the 
blacksmith  shop  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road for  forty  years.  Two  bright  children 
have  added  sunshine  to  the  pleasant 
home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miller,  namely: 
Myrtle  L.,  the  wife  of  Robert  Goodale,  of 
Centralia,  Illinois,  where  he  is  a  wholesale 
manufacturer  of  ice  cream.  The  second 
child  of  the  subject  is  named  Dwight  Paul, 
who  is  at  this  writing  attending  Blees  Mili- 
tary Academy  at  Macon,  Missouri.  He  is 
a  graduate  of  the  Centralia  high  school. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  the  subject  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  Queen  City  lodge,  at  Centralia, 
Illinois;  also  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  and  the  Woodmen.  The 
family  attends  the  Baptist  church. 

Mr.  Miller  started  in  life  under  none  too 
favorable  environment,  but  being  ambitious 
and  a  man  of  industry,  rare  common  sense 
and  foresight,  he  has  always  prospered  and 
today  is  ranked  among  the  progressive  and 
substantial  citizens  of  Marion  county,  II- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


583 


linois.  He  learned  much  in  the  way  of  be- 
ing a  general  business  man  from  his  father, 
who  was  one  of  the  well  known  men  of  in- 
dustry in  his  day,  having  conducted  a  saw 
and  grist-mill  which  were  run  by  water- 
power  with  an  old-style  propeller  saw.  It 
was  located  on  Mill  creek,  Union  county. 
He  also  owned  a  large  maple  grove  and 
made  maple  syrup  and  sugar. 


CHARLES  S.  HUDDLESTON. 

Dependent  very  largely  upon  his  own  re- 
sources from  early  youth,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  has  attained  to  no  insignificant 
position,  and  though  he  has  encountered 
many  obstacles,  he  has  pressed  steadily  on 
and  has  won  an  eminent  degree  of  success, 
and  is  today  one  of  the  foremost  business 
men  in  Marion  county,  being  the  owner  of  a 
large  marble  and  granite  works  in  the  thriv- 
ing city  of  Centralia. 

Charles  S.  Huddleston  was  born  near  Mt. 
Auburn,  Kentucky,  February  27,  1867,  the 
son  of  George  P.  and  Melinda  (Pribble) 
Huddleston.  Grandfather  Huddleston  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  and  moved  to  Ken- 
tucky in  an  early  day,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  and  where  he  died. 
He  was  a  Confederate  soldier  and  died 
from  disease  contracted  while  in  the  serv- 
;ce.  His  wife  died  when  about  fifty-two 
years  old.  Their  family  consisted  of  nine 
children.  Grandfather  Pribble  was  a  na- 
tive of  Pennsylvania,  who  moved  to  Illinois 
in  1882  and  died  the  following  year  at  the 


age  of  sixty-five  years.  His  wife  died  at 
the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  They  were 
the  parents  of  four  chilren  and  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  church. 

The  father  of  our  subject  remained  in 
Kentucky  until  he  was  forty  years  old,  when 
he  moved  to  Illinois  in  1881.  He  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Eighteenth  Kentucky  Volunteer 
Infantry  in  the  Union  army.  He  was 
wounded  and  captured  at  the  battle  of  Rich- 
mond, Kentucky,  and  was  discharged  on  ac- 
count of  the  wound,  and  he  carried  his  arm 
in  a  sling  for  two  years  as  a  result  of  the 
same,  the  bone  in  the  shoulder  joint  hav- 
ing been  shattered  with  a  bullet.  His  wound 
still  gives  him  much  pain  and  he  draws  a 
pension.  He  now  makes  his  home  with  our 
subject.  He  holds  to  the  faith  of  the 
Christian  church.  The  mother  of  the  sub- 
ject passed  to  her  rest  when  thirty- four 
years  old,  and  was  buried  in  the  beautiful 
Mt.  Auburn  cemetery.  She  was  also  a 
faithful  member  of  the  Christian  church. 
George  P.  Huddleston  was  a  farmer  and 
carpenter  in  his  active  life,  having  devoted 
twenty  years  to  his  trade  with  marked  suc- 
cess. He  had  a  brother,  Charles  I.,  who 
was  also  a  soldier  in  the  Union  ranks,  hav- 
ing enlisted  from  Kentucky  and  served 
through  the  war,  having  been  with  Sher- 
man on  his  march  to  the  sea.  He  came  out 
of  the  war  on  a  mule  which  he  captured 
while  on  a  foraging  expedition  and  which 
he  rode  in  the  grand  review  at  Washington. 
Another  brother,  John,  also  enlisted  from 
Kentucky  in  the  Union  army,  and  another 
brother,  Peter,  was  also  in  the  Union  serv- 
ice, having  also  been  with  Sherman  and 


HHM.kAPHICAL    AND   REMIXISCEXT    HISTORY    OF 


served  to  the  end  of  the  war,  receiving  an 
honorable  discharge.  Lorenzo,  another 
brother,  was  in  the  Federal  ranks.  He  died 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  war. 

The  parents  of  the  subject  reared  five 
children. 

Charles  S.  Huddleston,  our  subject,  first 
attended  school  in  Kentucky,  which  state 
he  left  when  fifteen  years  old  and  came  to 
Illinois,  in  which  state  he  went  to  the  pub- 
lic schools  for  four  or  five  winters.  He  had 
to  walk  nearly  three  miles  each  way  to 
school.  During  this  time  and  until  he  was 
twenty  years  old  he  worked  on  the  farm, 
after  which  he  served  eleven  years  as  a  let- 
terer  and  carver  on  marble  and  granite. 
After  four  years  he  became  superintendent 
of  the  works,  so  efficient  had  his  services 
been.  He  continued  as  superintendent  for 
a  period  of  seven  years.  Then  the  owner 
died  and  Mr.  Huddleston  was  selected  to 
close  up  the  business,  which  he  did  in  a 
most  satisfactory  manner  and  finally  bought 
the  business  without  the  payment  of  one 
dollar,  all  being  in  time  notes,  which  he 
paid  when  due  and  had  the  business  clear 
of  indebtedness.  This  was  in  1901,  and  he 
has  since  conducted  the  works  successfully. 
It  is  now  the  largest  works  of  its  character 
in  this  locality  and  is  well  patronized,  yield- 
ing the  owner  a  handsome  income. 

Mr.  Huddleston  was  united  in  marriage 
in  1891  to  Jennie  Baldridge,  who  was  born 
in  Irvington,  Illinois,  the  daughter  of  James 
and  Lydia  (Pitchford)  Baldridge,  a  native 
of  Illinois. 

Three  interesting  children  have  been 
born  to  the  subject  and  wife,  namely:  Neva, 


born  in  1892,  is  in  her  second  year  in  high 
school  in  1908;  Ruby  was  born  in  1895,  is 
also  in  school:  Nina,  bom  in  1898,  is  in 
school. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  our  subject  is 
a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the 
Woodmen,  also  a  member  of  the  United 
Commercial  Travelers.  The  subject,  wife 
and  two  oldest  children  are  members  of 
the  Christian  church.  Mr.  Hnddleston  is  a 
charter  member  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  and  still  retains  his  mem- 
bership in  that  society,  which  boasts  of  the 
second  largest  membership  in  the  state.  In 
politics  he  is  a  loyal  Republican  and  is  now 
filling  his  second  term  as  Alderman  from 
the  Third  ward  of  Centralia  in  a  most  able 
and  praiseworthy  manner. 


BEN  W.  STORER. 

Mr.  Storer  is  one  of  those  estimable  char- 
acters whose  integrity  and  strong  personal- 
ity must  force  them  into  an  admirable  place 
among  the  citizens  of  any  community,  who 
command  the  respect  of  their  contemporaries 
and  their  posterity. 

Ben  \Y.  Storer,  the  well  known  grocer, 
was  born  in  Centralia,  Illinois,  July  19,  1868, 
the  son  of  Samuel  and  Susan  B.  (Bates) 
Storer,  and  he  has  taken  part  in  the  devel- 
opment of  his  native  village,  which  he  has 
seen  grow  to  a  thriving  city.  The  parents 
of  our  subject  reared  a  family  of  five  chil- 
dren, three  boys  and  two  girls,  of  whom  Ben 
W.  was  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth. 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  educated 
in  the  Centralia  public  schools.  He  first  be- 
gan his  business  career  in  a  grocery  store, 
working  for  Barton  &  Stevenson,  with  whom 
he  worked  for  two  years,  giving  entire  sat- 
isfaction. He  then  took  a  position  with  the 
R.  D.  Beaver  Grocery  Company,  remaining 
in  their  employ  for  four  years  with  equal 
success,  when  he  engaged  with  Colonel  Pit- 
tenger  in  the  same  business,  continuing  there 
for  four  years,  building  up  an  excellent 
trade,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he 
embarked  in  the  grocery  business  for  him- 
self. Having  mastered  all  the  details  of  this 
special  line,  his  success  from  the  first  was 
assured,  as  time  soon  substantiated. 

Our  subject  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mabel  Kerr,  of  Centralia,  the  daughter  of 
the  late  J.  N.  Kerr,  former  editor  of  the  Cen- 
tralia Sentinel  and  Mayor  of  the  city  for 
several  years,  our  subject's  wife  being  the 
oldest  member  of  the  family.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Storer  two  bright  and  interesting  sons 
have  been  born,  namely:  Wilson  Bates  and 
Ben  Wade,  Jr.,  both  now  in  school. 

Our  subject  is  a  member  of  Helmet  Lodge, 
Knights  of  Pythias  No.  26,  of  Centralia.  In 
politics  he  is  a  loyal  Republican,  and  re- 
ligiously he  was  reared  a  Presbyterian. 

In  1892  our  subject  began  business  at 
114  East  Broadway,  having  here  launched 
successfully  a  grocery  store,  which  steadily 
grew  in  its  volume  of  business,  until  now  his 
store  is  known  throughout  the  community, 
his  trade  extending  all  over  the  city  and  to 
all  parts  of  the  county.  He  has  a  neat,  up-to- 
date  store  and  carries  a  full  line  of  fancy 


groceries,  canned  goods,  fruits  and  vege- 
tables of  all  kinds  in  season.  He  employs 
eight  clerks  and  runs  three  wagons.  His 
trade  is  very  largely  among  the  best  class  of 
people  of  Centralia,  where  he  is  known  to  all 
classes  as  a  man  of  honest  principles. 


W.  B.  GOODALE. 

W.  B.  Goodale  was  born  in  Centralia, 
Marion  county,  August  17,  1855,  the  son  of 
William  and  Mary  (Sherwood)  Goodale, 
who  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  four 
boys  and  one  girl,  of  whom  our  subject  was 
the  fourth  in  order  of  birth.  He  bears  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  white  male 
child  born  in  Centralia.  The  parents  of  our 
subject  were  Eastern  people.  They  both 
passed  away  when  our  subject  was  about 
thirteen  years  of  age.  W.  B.  Goodale  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  Centralia.  When 
in  his  "teens"  he  went  to  work  for  the  Illi- 
nois Central  Railroad  Company,  learning 
the  machinist's  trade,  at  which  he  worked, 
giving  entire  satisfaction,  with  this  company 
for  a  period  of  fourteen  years,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  which  time  he  had  accumulated  suf- 
ficient money  to  buy  a  fruit  farm  near  the 
city,  and  for  the  next  fifteen  years  he  ap- 
plied his  skill  and  industry  to  raising  small 
fruits  of  all  kinds  with  great  success,  when 
he  sold  his  farm  and  began  the  manufacture 
of  ice  cream,  having  purchased  an  interest 
in  a  plant  in  1901.  At  that  time  the  yearly 
output  of  the  plant  was  very  small,  but  un- 


Kin.lK.U'HICAL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


der  the  efficient  management  of  our  subject 
the  capacity  was  gradually  increased  as  trade 
poured  in  from  all  sides  until  now  the  out- 
put is  fifteen  times  greater  than  formerly. 

The  plant  has  been  thoroughly  remodeled 
in  every  way,  having  all  the  latest  equip- 
ment for  the  business,  is  thoroughly  sani- 
tary and  always  kept  very  clean.  The  prod- 
uct of  this  well  known  plant  is  shipped  to 
over  fifty  cities  and  towns  throughout 
Southern  Illinois.  The  cream  is  bought 
from  Elgin  and  Chicago  markets  and  the 
milk  is  obtained  from  the  dairymen  in  and 
about  Centralia. 

The  plant  proper  is  forty  by  seventy-five 
feet.  All  milk  and  cream  is  here  thorough- 
ly pasteurized  by  the  most  complete  process. 
It  is  the  only  firm  in  the  city  that  carries 
the  state  inspector's  certificate,  being  up  to 
the  standard  required  by  the  state.  This 
firm  also  manufacture  all  their  own  ice  and 
cold  storage,  and  recently  purchased  the  fac- 
tory and  equipment  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  Ice 
Cream  Company. 

W.  B.  Goodale  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mary  E.  Wild  on  October  27,  1881.  She 
is  the  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Ann  Wild, 
one  of  the  old  English  families  of  Centraliar 
The  wife  of  the  subject  is  the  oldest  of 
three  girls  in  the  Wild  family.  One  son  has 
blessed  the  home  of  our  subject  and  wife, 
named  Robert  W.,  who  is  a  full  partner  with 
his  father  in  business  and  a  young  man  of 
great  ability  and  promise  of  a  future  re- 
plete with  happiness  and  success.  Robert 
W.  Goodale  married  Myrtle  Miller  on  Jan- 
uary 9,  1907.  She  is  the  only  daughter  of 


Frank  and  Laura  (Hoag)  Miller,  the  father 
of  Mrs.  Goodale  being  a  prominent  fruit 
grower  and  commission  merchant  of  Cen- 
tralia. Robert  W.  Goodale  is  regarded  by 
all  who  know  him  as  a  thoroughly  modern 
business  man  and  one  of  the  rising  young 
men  of  Centralia.  His  education,  natural 
ability  and  commendable  qualities  have  well 
fitted  him  for  an  active  and  thorough  busi- 
ness career. 

In  politics  both  our  subject  and  his  son 
vote  for  the  character  of  the  man  rather 
than  the  party,  although  they  are  sometimes 
counted  upon  as  being  Democrats,  especial- 
ly in  national  issues.  Religiously  they  are 
Baptists.  Both  father  and  son  are  thorough, 
practical  men  in  every  respect.  W.  B.  Good- 
ale  in  former  years  was  a  member  of  the 
United  Workmen.  Robert  is  a  member  of 
the  Modern  Woodmen  lodge  at  Centralia. 


ROBERT  ROHL. 

Conspicuous  among  the  representative 
citizens  and  progressive  business  men 
of  Marion  county,  Illinois,  is  the  gen- 
tleman whose  name  appears  at  the  head 
of  this  article,  who  has  by  his  great  in- 
dustry, wise  economy  and  sound  judgment 
developed  a  good  business. 

Robert  Rohl  was  born  in  Marquette, 
Michigan,  January  14,  1856,  the  son  of 
Carl  and  Caroline  (Weiland)  Rohl,  both  na- 
tives of  Germany,  the  father  having  come 
from  Prussia  and  the  mother  from  Wur- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


temburg.  They  both  came  to  America  when 
young  and  were  married  in  Marquette, 
Michigan.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine 
children,  of  whom  our  subject  is  the  oldest 
child  of  the  four  now  living.  His  younger 
brother,  August,  lives  in  Centralia. 

Robert  Rohl's  early  life  was  spent  in  Mar- 
quette, Michigan,  where  he  acquired  his  ed- 
ucation. While  yet  a  boy  he  began  clerking 
in  a  hardware  store,  where  he  gave  entire 
satisfaction  to  his  employer  for  three  years. 
He  afterward  worked  at  odd  jobs,  such  as 
carrying  hod,  stone  and  brick  mason  work, 
mixed  mortar  and  did  general,  all-around 
work  on  brick,  stone  and  frame  building 
construction.  After  two  years  of  this  kind 
of  hustling  he  went  to  Minnesota,  where  he 
worked  on  a  farm  for  five  years  in  the  sum- 
mer and  during  the  winter  months  cut  cord- 
wood  and  sold  pumps.  Then  he  returned 
to  Marquette,  Michigan,  and  went  to  work 
in  the  powder  mills,  making  black  powder, 
having  worked  there  for  one  year,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  he  and  his  younger  broth- 
er, August,  conducted  a  beer  bottling  plant 
in  that  city,  which  they  successfully  conduct- 
ed for  six  months,  when  our  subject  bought 
August's  interests  in  the  business  and  con- 
tinued it  for  four  years  from  1881  to  1886. 
While  in  this  business  he  added  soda  water, 
bottling  and  supply  trade  to  his  already  large 
business.  He  then  sold  his  business  in  Mar- 
quette and  came  to  Centralia  and  began  in 
the  same  business,  where  he  bought  out  Mr. 
Hayes  in  1886,  and  has  since  continued  with 
marked  success,  his  busness  being  located  at 
117  North  Oak  street.  He  paid  fifteen  hun- 


dred dollars  for  the  plant  and  has  so  in- 
creased the  trade  and  the  value  of  the  plant 
until  it  is  now  worth  several  times  that 
amount.  His  goods  are  shipped  to  the  whole 
surrounding  country,  throughout  Southern 
Illinois,  and  new  territory  is  constantly  be- 
ing added,  for  the  superior  quality  of  his 
goods  is  recognized  by  all,  and  new  custom- 
ers are  constantly  coming  to  him.  Mr.  Rohl 
now  carries  about  thirty  towns  on  his  ship- 
ping list  and  does  a  general  carbonated  soda 
water,  ginger  ale  and  all  sorts  of  temperance 
drink  business,  also  wholesale  and  retail,  for 
beers,  bar  supplies  and  soda  water  fountains. 

Our  subject  was  married  to  Anna  Sta- 
bler in  May,  1881,  and  four  children  have 
been  born  to  this  union,  namely:  Thersa, 
Anna,  Caroline  and  Robert,  Jr.  Anna  mar- 
ried George  F.  Hails,  of  Centralia,  a  switch- 
man on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  Republican, 
and  religiously  he  was  reared  a  Protestant. 
He  has  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  local 
political  affairs  and  his  political  friends  hon- 
ored him  by  electing  him  Mayor  of  Centra- 
lia, his  term  extending  from  1901  to  1903. 
He  was  Alderman  of  the  Fourth  Ward  for 
two  terms.  During  his  incumbency  in  these 
positions  the  city  was  carefully  looked  after 
and  many  public  interests  promulgated,  so 
that  his  record  was  one  of  which  anyone 
might  well  be  proud. 

Mr.  Rohl  in  his  fraternal  relations  is  a 
member  of  Helmet  lodge,  Knights  of  Py- 
thias, also  the  Red  Men  and  Pocahontas.  He 
belongs  to  the  Turners,  also  the  United  Com- 
mercial Travelers.  He  is  a  member  of  the 


588 


r.IOCKAPHICAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Travelers'  Protective  Association,  and  was 
secretary  and  treasurer  for  four  years  of 
the  United  Commercial  Travelers.  He  was 
chosen  president  of  the  Illinois  State  Bot- 
tlers' Protective  Association  for  two  years. 
He  was  a  state  delegate  to  the  convention  of 
the  National  Bottlers'  Protective  Associa- 
tion, held  in  Denver  in  1907. 

The  subject's  father  is  still  living  at  Mar- 
quette,  Michigan,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two 
years.  His  step-mother  is  also  living  at  the 
same  age.  Our  subject's  mother  died  when 
forty  years  old.  Grandfather  Rohl  died  in 
Germany  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-six 
years,  and  his  maternal  grandfather  died  at 
the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 


•     EDWIN  L.  WATTS. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Centralia, 
where  he  is  known  by  all  as  a  business  man 
of  unusual  ability,  a  man  of  progressive 
ideas  and  at  all  times  ready  to  do  his  part 
in  furthering  any  interest  for  the  public 
good. 

Edwin  L.  Watts  was  born  in  Clinton 
county,  five  miles  west  of  Centralia,  on  a 
farm,  November  n,  1873,  the  son  of  Wil- 
liam M.  and  Martha  (Short)  Watts,  both 
natives  of  Illinois,  in  whose  family  there 
were  five  children,  two  boys  and  three  girls, 
Edwin  L.,  our  subject,  being  the  youngest 
in  order  of  birth. 

Our  subject  received  his  early  education 


in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  com- 
munity, having  applied  himself  in  a  careful 
manner  and  gained  a  good  education  which 
has  later  been  added  to  by  home  reading, 
and  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  world. 
He  devoted  his  life  to  farming  up  to  1904, 
having  been  prosperous  at  this  line  of  work, 
laying  up  from  year  to  year  a  competence 
and  making  a  comfortable  living.  But  be- 
lieving that  larger  interests  were  to  be 
found  in  Centralia,  he  came  to  this  city  and 
entered  the  livery  business  in  which  he  was 
very  successful  for  a  period  of  two  years, 
at  the  end  of  which  he  went  into  the  im- 
plement business,  having  been  associated 
with  J.  D.  Breeze  since  1906,  the  firm  being 
Breeze  &  Watts,  their  well  known  place  of 
business  being  321  South  Locust  street,  Cen- 
tralia. They  handle  a  full  line  of  imple- 
ments, vehicles,  harness,  buggies,  wagons, 
drills,  seeders,  corn  shellers  and  they  deal  in 
general  stock  on  a  large  scale.  Their  store 
is  always  filled  with  customers  and  is  one 
of  the  busiest  places  of  its  kind  in  Centralia. 
Before  coming  to  Centralia,  our  subject 
served  as  Assessor  of  Raccoon  township  in 
a  very  creditable  and  acceptable  manner  for 
one  year,  during  which  time  the  interests  of 
the  township  were  as  carefully  looked  after 
as  if  they  had  been  his  individual  business. 

Mr.  Watts  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mary  Patton,  November  20,  1895.  She  is 
the  daughter  of  T.  A.  and  Lena  (Smith) 
Patton,  a  well  known  and  influential  family 
of  this  county. 

Mr.  Watts'  comfortable  and  cheerful 
home  has  been  brightened  by  the  presence 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


of  the  following  children :  William  R.,  Len- 
na  F.,  Ruby  R.,  all  bright  children  and  mak- 
ing good  grades  in  the  local  schools. 

Mr.  Watts  is  a  genial  and  most  com- 
panionable gentleman  and  has  many  warm 
and  admiring  friends  among  the  res- 
idents of  his  adopted  city  as  well  as  in  the 
township  where  he  lived  so  long,  and  the 
high  regard  in  which  he  is  held  not  only  in 
business  but  socially  indicates  the  possession 
of  attributes  and  characteristics  that  fully 
entitle  him  to  the  respect  and  consideration 
of  his  fellow  men. 


TRUMAN  B.  ANDREWS. 

Characterized  by  breadth  of  wisdom  and 
strong  individuality,  the  achievements  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  but  represent  the 
utilization  of  innate  talent  in  directing  ener- 
gies along  lines  in  which  mature  judgment 
and  a  resourcefulness  that  hesitates  at  no 
opposing  circumstances,  pave  the  way  and 
ultimately  lead  to  achievement. 

Truman  B.  Andrews  was  born  in  Jeffer- 
son county,  Illinois,  September  25,  1852, 
the  son  of  Seymour  and  Martha  (Hender- 
son) Andrews,  who  were  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the 
third  in  order  of  birth.  When  about  four 
years  of  age  he  went  to  Warren  county,  Il- 
linois, with  his  parents,  where  he  remained 
until  ten  years  of  age,  then  moved  to  Cen- 
tralia,  where  he  has  since  remained,  having 
been  identified  with  the  growth  of  the  com- 
munity and  taking  a  prominent  part  in  its 
development  for  a  period  of  over  forty-six 


years  at  this  writing,  1908.  He  received  his 
schooling  in  the  Centralia  common  and  high 
schools.  Following  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
father,  he  decided  to  become  a  merchant, 
and  when  he  left  school  he  began  clerking 
for  his  father  and  later  became  bookkeeper, 
with  whom  he  remained  assisting  in  build- 
ing up  a  fine  trade  in  the  dry  goods  and 
clothing  business  until  his  father  retired 
about  1890.  Truman  then  went  with  the 
firm  of  G.  L.  Pittenger,  who  conducted  a 
grocery  store,  remaining  with  the  same  for 
four  years  with  his  usual  success.  He  then 
went  to  work  for  the  Pittenger  &  Daves 
Mining  and  Manufacturing  Company,  as 
their  assistant  secretary  in  the  office  work 
of  this  extensive  enterprise,  with  which  he 
was  identified  for  six  years,  giving  high 
class  service  in  every  respect.  Mr.  Andrews 
then  worked  in  the  Centralia  Mining  and 
Manufacturing  Company,  which  is  operated 
by  the  same  people  as  their  secretary,  re- 
maining as  such  for  seven  years,  or  until 
they  retired  from  active  business.  He  con- 
tinued to  work  or  the  firm  that  succeeded 
them  remaining  until  he  bought  an  interest 
in  the  firm  of  Gillett  &  Company,  clothiers 
and  gents'  furnishers.  They  manage  a  big 
and  well  stocked  store  and  Mr.  Andrews  Is 
to  be  found  here  daily  ready  to  wait  upon 
his  scores  of  customers  who  know  that 
they  will  here  receive  the  most  courteous 
consideration  and  always  receive  the  full 
value  of  their  money.  The  stock  is  kept 
well  up-to-date  and  is  carefully  selected  at 
all  seasons.  This  store  is  one  of  the  most 
tastefully  arranged  and  neatly  kept  of  any 
in  Southern  Illinois  and  customers  are  al- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    AND    KKMIXISCliXT    HISTORY    OF 


ways  pleased  to  visit  it  where  they  are  made 
to  feel  at  ease. 

The  domestic  life  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  dates  from  December  17,  1874,  when 
he  was  married  to  Amanda  J.  McClelland, 
daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  McClelland, 
of  Marion  county,  a  well  known  and  in- 
fluential family.  To  this  union  three  in- 
teresting children  have  been  born,  namely: 
Hallie,  Lois  and  Cinnie.  Hallie  married 
Bessie  Robinett,  of  Columbia,  this  state,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Raymond, 
born  in  1904.  Hallie  Andrews  is  firing  an 
engine  on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad. 
Lois  is  married  to  L.  R.  Porter,  a  blacksmith 
on  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad,  of  Cen- 
tralia,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren, one  boy,  Emmett,  born  in  1905,  and 
one  girl,  Lorena,  who  is  one  year  old  in 
1908.  Cinnie,  the  subject's  third  child,  mar- 
ried George  Green,  of  Centralia,  where  he 
is  engaged  in  the  barber  business. 

In  politics  our  subject  is  a  supporter  of 
Republican  issues.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Christian  church,  having  been  a  deacon  for 
a  period  of  fifteen  years,  and  is  also  a  trus- 
tee of  the  same.  In  his  fraternal  relations 
lie  is  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen, 
No.  397;  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  No.  26; 
also  a  charter  member  of  the  Knights  and 
Ladies  of  Honor,  having  served  in  many  of 
the  chairs  of  the  last  two  lodges.  Mr.  An- 
drews was  Township  Public  School  Treas- 
urer or  twenty  years,  being  still  in  this  po- 
sition. He  is  greatly  interested  in  educa- 
tional matters  and  has  always  done  what  he 
could  to  further  the  interests  of  the  local 
schools.  He  also  faithfully  served  as  Town 


Clerk  of  Centralia  for  a  period  of  six  years. 
He  has  also  been  a  member  of  the  Centralia 
City  Fire  Department  for  over  twenty-five 
years,  having  frequently  hazarded  his  life 
day  and  night  in  order  to  save  property. 


HON.  D.  W.  HOLSTLAW. 

Few  names  in  Marion  county  are  as  wide- 
ly known  and  as  highly  honored  as  the  one 
which  appears  at  the  head  of  this  review. 
For  many  years  as  a  farmer,  banker  and 
prominent  business  man,  D.  W.  Holstlaw 
has  ranked  and  also  occupies  a  conspicuous 
place  in  business  and  state.  On  both  sides 
of  his  family  Mr.  Holstlaw  springs  from 
sturdy  antecedents  and  he  has  every  reason 
to  be  proud  of  his  forbears.  His  father, 
Daniel  S.  Holstlaw,  was  a  stock  dealer  and 
farmer,  being  a  native  of  Kentucky  and 
widely  known  and  highly  esteemed  citizen. 
He  became  a  resident  of  this  county  about 
1830,  settling  in  Stevenson  township,  where 
in  due  time  he  accumulated  a  large  and  val- 
uable estate  and  achieved  much  more  than 
local  reputation  as  breeder  and  dealer  in 
live  stock,  besides  attaining  an  honorable 
standing  as  a  public  spirited  citizen  and  en- 
terprising man  of  affairs.  Daniel  S.  Hoist- 
law  did  much  to  promote  the  material  prog- 
ress of  the  section  of  country  in  which  he 
lived,  and  was  equally  interested  in  the  so- 
cial and  moral  advancement  of  the  commu- 
nity, doing  all  within  his  power  to  benefit 
his  neighbors  and  fellow  citizens,  and  leav- 
ing to  them  the  memory  of  a  useful  life  and 
an  honorable  name  when  called  from  the 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION   COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


591 


scenes  of  his  labors  and  triumphs  on  the 
fifth  day  of  December,  1905.  The  maiden 
name  of  Mrs.  Daniel  Holstlaw  was  Ruth 
Wade  Middleton.  She  was  born  in  Ten- 
nessee and  is  still  living  on  the  old  family 
homestead  in  Stevenson  township,  where, 
surrounded  by  relatives  and  friends,  she  is 
passing  the  evening  of  a  well  spent  life  with 
nothing  in  the  future  to  fear  or  in  the  past 
to  regret.  The  family  of  this  estimable  cou- 
ple consisted  of  eleven  children,  all  of  whom 
are  living.  A  more  extended  mention  of 
this  family  will  be  found  upon  another  page 
of  this  volume. 

Daniel  W.  Holstlaw  was  born  February 
5,  1849,  at  the  family  home  in  Stevenson 
township,  and  there  spent  the  years  of  his 
childhood  and  youth,  learning  at  an  early 
age  the  lessons  of  industry,  economy  and 
self-reliance,  which  had  much  to  do  in  form- 
ing a  well  rounded  character  and  fitting  him 
for  the  subsequent  duties  of  life.  When 
old  enough  to  be  of  service  he  helped  with 
the  labors  of  the  field  and  in  due  time  be- 
came a  valuable  assistant  to  his  father  in 
the  latter's  live  stock  interests  and  other 
business,  proving  faithful  to  his  various 
duties  and  worthy  of  the  trust  reposed  in 
his  integrity  and 'honor.  Meanwhile  as  op- 
portunities permitted  he  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  of  the  neighborhood,  but  by 
reason  of  his  services  being  required  at  home 
his  education  was  somewhat  limited.  In 
after  years,  however,  he  made  up  very  large- 
ly for  this  deficiency  by  a  wide  range  of 
reading  and  careful  observation,  but  more 
especially  by  his  relations  with  his  fellow 


men  in  various  business  capacities,  thus  be- 
coming the  possessor  of  a  fund  of  valuable 
practical  knowledge,  which  could  not  have 
been  obtained  from  schools  or  colleges. 

Mr.  Holstlaw  spent  his  minority  under 
the  parental  roof,  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
farm  and  otherwise  looking  after  his  par- 
ents, but  in  the  year  1870  he  severed  his 
home  ties  to  accept  a  clerkship  in  a  mer- 
cantile house  in  the  town  of  luka.  After 
serving  in  the  capacity  of  clerk  until  becom- 
ing an  efficient  salesman  and  acquiring  a 
knowledge  of  the  business  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  James  W.  Humphries,  and  dur- 
ing the  two  years  ensuing  the  firm  conduct- 
ed a  thriving  trade  and  forged  rapidly  to  the 
front,  among  the  leading  merchants  of  the 
town.  At  the  expiration  of  the  period  noted 
Mr.  Holstlaw  purchased  his  partner's  inter- 
est and  adding  very  materially  to  the  stock, 
soon  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  patron- 
age, and  it  was  not  long  until  he  became  one 
of  the  most  successful  business  men  of  the 
county,  a  reputation  he  sustained  during  the 
thirty  odd  years  which  he  devoted  to  mer- 
cantile life.  Meantime  he  saw  a  favorable 
opening  at  luka  for  the  banking  business, 
and  in  compliance  with  the  suggestions  of 
many  of  his  fellow  townsmen  and  others 
as  well  as  consulting  his  own  inclinations, 
he  finally  established  a  bank  in  his  store, 
which  soon  formed  a  valuable  adjunct  to  the 
business  interests  of  the  town  and  surround- 
ing country.  After  conducting  the  two  lines 
of  business  jointly  until  1907,  he  disposed 
of  his  mercantile  interests,  and  since  that 
time  has  devoted  his  entire  attention  to  bank- 


592 


I'.hXiKAPHICAL    AND    KK.M  I  \  ISCKNT    HISTORY    OF 


ing,  establishing  in  luka  the  Holstlaw  Bank, 
which  is  now  one  of  the  most  successful  and 
popular  institutions  of  the  kind,  not  only 
in  Marion  county,  but  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  state.  The  growth  of  the  bank  in 
public  favor  has  more  than  met  the  high  ex- 
pectations of  Mr.  Holstlaw  and  others  in- 
terested in  its  success,  the  patronage,  which 
takes  a  wide  range,  being  liberal,  but  all  that 
could  reasonably  be  desired,  and  the  solidity 
of  the  institution  beyond  the  shadow  of 
a  doubt. 

As  the  executive  head  and  practical  man- 
ager of  the  bank,  Mr.  Holstlaw  exemplifies 
the  sound  judgment,  wise  discretion  and  rare 
foresight  which  have  ever  characterized  his 
business  dealing,  while  his  familiarity  with 
financial  matters  enables  him  to  conduct  the 
institution  in  the  broad  though  wisely  con- 
servative spirit  which  bespeaks  its  continu- 
ous growth  and  solidity.  The  bank  building 
is  an  elegant  modern  structure,  erected  espe- 
cially adapted  for  the  purpose  and  amply 
equipped  with  all  the  appliances  necessary 
to  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  business, 
the  safe,  furniture  and  other  fixtures  being 
of  the  latest  and  most  approved  patterns  and 
calculated  to  satisfy  the  taste  of  the  most 
critical  and  exacting.  Mr.  Holstlaw  is  also 
a  stockholder  and  director  of  the  Salem  Na- 
tional Bank  and  also  the  bank  at  St.  Peter. 

In  addition  to  his  long  and  eminently  suc- 
cessful career  in  business,  Mr.  Holstlaw  has 
for  many  years  been  one  of  the  leading  poli- 
ticians of  Marion  county,  his  activity  in  po- 
litical circles,  however,  being  by  no  means 
confined  to  local  affairs,  but  state  wide  in 


its  influence.  He  is  firm  and  unchanging  in 
his  allegiance  to  Democratic  principles  and 
mid  all  vicissitudes  in  which  the  party  has 
been  subject  during  the  last  two  decades,  he 
has  never  wavered  in  his  loyalty,  nor  when 
necessary  hesitated  to  make  sacrifices  for 
its  success.  Judicious  in  counsel  and  an 
untiring  worker,  he  has  been  a  standard 
bearer  in  a  number  of  campaigns  and  it  was 
not  until  recently  that  he  consented  to  serve 
his  party  in  a  public  capacity,  although  fre- 
quently importuned  and  solicited  by  his 
many  friends  to  accept  the  offices  for  which 
by  native  training  he  is  eminently  fitted.  In 
the  year  1908  he  was  elected  to  the  upper 
house  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  although 
but  fairly  entering  upon  his  official  duties  he 
has  already  made  his  influence  felt  among 
his  brother  Senators,  and  bids  fair  to  ren- 
der his  constituency  and  the  state  valuable 
service  and  earn  an  honorable  record  among 
the  distinguished  legislators  of  the  common- 
wealth. 

On  January  3,  1875,  Mr.  Holstlaw  and 
Clara  R.  Stevenson  were  united  in  the  holy 
bonds  of  wedlock,  a  union  blessed  with  two 
children,  the  older  a  son,  Herschel  D.,  and 
the  younger  a  daughter,  who  answers  to 
the  name  of  Florence  E. 

Herschel  D.  Holstlaw,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred on  December  20,  1875,  was  educated 
in  the  home  schools  and  Bryant  &  Stratton's 
Commercial  College,  and  since  beginning 
life  for  himself  has  been  associated  with  his 
father,  being  at  this  time  cashier  of  the 
Holstlaw  Bank  and  a  man  of  fine  business 
ability.  He  was  married  October  3,  1900,. 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


593 


to  Louise  Tully,  of  Xenia,  Illinois,  whose 
parents,  Joseph  E.  and  Fannie  (Paine) 
Tully,  still  live  in  that  town,  the  father  being 
a  banker  and  merchant,  and  one  of  the  old- 
est of  three  children.  Mrs.  Holstlaw 
is  the  oldest  of  three  children  born 
to  these  parents,  her  two  brothers,  Joseph 
M.  and  William  Paine  Tully,  being  residents 
of  Xenia,  and  associated  with  their  father  in 
merchandising  and  banking.  Florence  E., 
the  subject's  second  child,  married  Albert 
E.  Kelly,  of  North  Vernon,  Indiana,  but 
now  a  resident  of  luka,  Illinois,  where  he  is 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade  at  the  old 
Holstlaw  stand. 

Mr.  Holstlaw's  activity  in  business  to- 
gether with  his  superior  methods  and  hon- 
orable dealing  has  resulted  greatly  to  his 
financial  advantage  and  he  is  now  one  of 
the  wealthy  and  reliable  men  of  Marion 
county,  being  in  independent  circumstances, 
with  more  than  a  sufficiency  of  this  world's 
goods  to  render  his  future  free  from  care 
and  anxiety.  Additional  to  his  mercantile, 
banking  and  other  interests  at  luka,  he  owns 
several  valuable  farms  in  various  parts  of 
the  county  and  is  also  quite  extensively  in- 
terested in  live  stock,  being  one  of  the  larg- 
est breeders  and  raisers  of  fine  cattle  in  this 
part  of  the  state,  these  and  his  other  hold- 
ings indicating  the  energy  and  capacity  of  a 
mind  peculiarly  endowed  for  large  and  im- 
portant enterprises. 

Clara  R.  Stevenson,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Hon.  D.  W.  Holstlaw,  as  stated  in  a  pre- 
ceding paragraph,  is  a  native  of  Stevenson 


township  and  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Samuel 
E.  Stevenson,  in  whose  honor  the  township 
was  named.  Mr.  Stevenson  was  born  in 
Ohio  August  9,  1819,  and  his  wife,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Elizabeth  Kagy,  was  also 
a  native  of  Ohio.  The  Stevensons  were 
among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Fairfield  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  and  it  was  there  that  Samuel  E. 
spent  his  youth,  beginning  to  earn  his  own 
living  at  the  early  age  of  six  years.  Later 
he  received  eight  dollars  per  month  for  his 
services  as  a  farm  laborer,  and  by  industry 
and  strict  economy  succeeded  in  saving  in 
four  years  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars, 
his  expenses  for  clothing  during  that  time 
amounting  to  only  forty  dollars.  Going  on 
horseback  to  Illinois,  he  invested  his  savings 
in  cattle,  which  he  drove  to  Ohio  and  sold  at 
a  liberal  profit,  the  venture  proving  so  suc- 
cessful that  he  decided  to  continue  the  busi- 
ness. During  the  several  years  following  he 
made  a  number  of  trips  to  and  from  Illi- 
nois ,  buying  cattle  and  disposing  of  them 
at  handsome  figures,  and  in  this  way  laid 
the  foundation  of  what  subsequently  became 
an  ample  fortune.  After  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Kagy,  which  took  place  in  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1848,  he  located  in  what 
is  now  Stevenson  township,  where  he  en- 
tered a  large  tract  of  land  and  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock  raising,  devoting  especial 
attention  to  the  breeding  of  cattle,  in  which 
lie  met  with  the  most  gratifying  success. 
Later  he  became  interested  in  public  affairs 
and  in  due  time  rose  to  a  position  of  consid- 
erable influence  among  his  fellow  citizens. 


594 


nim.KAl'HICAL    AXU    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


who  in  recognition  of  valuable  political  serv- 
ices elected  him  in  1866  to  the  lower  house 
of  the  Legislature. 

Mr.  Stevenson  was  one  of  the  leading 
Democrats  of  his  day  in  Marion  county  and 
achieved  a  wide  reputation  throughout  the 
state  as  an  able  and  adroit  politician.  He 
filled  worthily  a  number  of  positions  of  honor 
and  trust,  won  the  esteem  of  the  people  ir- 
respective of  party  alignment  and  became 
one  of  the  most  popular  men  of  his  time  in 
Southern  Illinois.  In  connection  with  farm- 
ing and  stock  raising  he  held  large  interests 
in  the  Sandoval  coal  mines  and  was  also  a 
heavy  stockholder  in  the  Salem  National 
Bank  and  appeared  to  succeed  in  all  of  the 
enterprises  to  which  he  devoted  his  atten- 
tion. He  not  only  gave  his  children  the 
best  educational  advantages  the  country  af- 
forded, but  also  provided  liberally  for  their 
material  welfare  by  giving  each  a  good  start 
when  they  left  home  to  begin  life  for  them- 
selves. He  was  long  a  sincere  member  of 
the  Baptist  church,  as  was  also  his  wife,  and 
spared  no  pains  in  instructing  his  children 
in  the  truths  of  religion  and  the  necessity 
of  moral  conduct  as  the  only  basis  of  a  true 
and  successful  life.  Mrs.  Stevenson  died  in 
1876  and  her  husband  in  the  year  1899,  the 
loss  of  both  being  greatly  deplored  and  pro- 
foundly mourned  by  their  many  friends  in 
Marion  and  other  counties  of  Southern  Il- 
linois. 

The  children  of  Samuel  E.  and  Elizabeth 
Stevenson,  nine  in  number,  were  as  follows : 
Clara  B.,  wife  of  Hon.  D.  W.  Holstlaw; 
Marion  T..  a  farmer  and  stock  dealer  of 
Marion  county:  Joanna,  widow  of  the  late 


Aaron  Warner,  of  Stevenson  township, 
where  she  now  resides:  Edgar,  for  some 
years  one  of  the  leading  teachers  of  Marion 
county  and  a  young  man  of  noble  aims  and 
high  ideals,  who  departed  this  life  Novem- 
ber, 1878,  in  the  prime  of  his  physical  and 
mental  powers.  He  began  school  work  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  soon  attained  an  hon- 
orable standing  as  an  educator,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  considered  one  of  the 
finest  and  most  accomplished  instructors  in 
this  part  of  the  state.  Homer  R.,  the  fifth 
in  order  of  birth,  married  Clara  Humphries 
and  devotes  his  attention  to  farming,  in 
which  his  success  has  been  very  gratifying. 
Van  C,  who  married  Ella  Brunton,  lives  on 
the  old  family  homestead  and  is  also  a  suc- 
cessful tiller  of  the  soil;  Frank  M.,  the  sev- 
enth of  the  family,  was  graduated  from  Illi- 
nois College  in  1886,  and  the  year  following 
was  killed  by  lightning.  He,  too,  was  a 
young  man  of  intelligence  and  culture  and 
his  untimely  death  terminated  what  prom- 
ised to  be  a  useful  and  honorable  career. 
Anna,  who  married  Frank  Boynton,  of  Sa- 
lem, is  deceased,  and  Maggie,  the  youngest 
of  the  family,  is  the  wife  of  W.  E.  Irvin, 
and  lives  in  Salem. 


THOMAS  M.  LANE. 

The  honorable  gentleman  whose  name  ap- 
pears above  is  entitled  to  wear  the  badge 
indicating  that  he  is  one  of  the  brave  "boys 
in  blue,"  and  while  some  casual  thinker 
might  not  attach  much  importance  to  this 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


595 


fact,  those  who  rightly  consider  the  matter 
know  that  no  greater  badge  of  honor  could 
be  conferred  upon  a  man. 

Thomas  M.  Lane  was  born  in  Madison 
county,  Ohio,  August  19,  1844,  the  son  of 
Hooper  and  Margaret  (Martin)  Lane,  who 
were  the  parents  of  four  children,  our  sub- 
ject being  the  oldest  in  order  of  birth.  Hoop- 
er Lane  was  born  in  Ohio,  as  was  also  his 
wife. 

The  early  education  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  gained  in  Washington  county, 
Iowa,  where  he  was  reared  on  a  farm  and 
labored  hard  as  a  boy  and  young  man  until 
1 86 1,  when  on  June  isth  of  that  year,  being 
unable  to  resist  the  call  of  his  government 
for  help  in  its  hour  of  need,  he  enlisted  in 
the  Tenth  Iowa  Infantry,  under  Colonel 
Parsell,  of  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  was  mustered 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States  Sep- 
tember 28,  1 86 1.  He  was  in  Company  D, 
under  Captain  Berry,  of  Boone  county, 
Iowa.  He  remained  with  this  company  un- 
til 1863,  taking  part  in  all  its  engagements, 
when  he  re-enlisted  at  Huntsville,  Alabama, 
and  was  transferred  to  Company  E  of  the 
same  regiment  as  a  veteran.  April  i,  1864, 
by  Captain  York,  under  Captain  Shepherd 
and  Colonel  Strong.  Our  subject  made  a 
most  gallant  soldier,  having  fought  in  twen- 
ty-eight battles  and  skirmishes.  He  was  dis- 
charged August  15,  1865,  at  Little  Rock, 
Arkansas,  by  Adjt.  Gen.  N.  B.  Baker. 

After  the  war  Mr.  Lane  returned  to  Wash- 
ington county.  Iowa,  where  he  remained  for 
two  years  and  devoted  his  time  to  farming. 
He  then  turned  his  attention  to  railroading 


in  1867,  in  the  fall  of  that  year  beginning 
work  on  the  Ohio  &  Mississippi  Railroad 
at  East  St.  Louis.  From  there  he  went  to 
North  Missouri,  where  he  was  employed  on 
the  Wabash  Railroad  for  two  years.  He 
then  went  to  the  Rock  Island  Railroad,  run- 
ning as  a  brakeman  from  Davenport  to  Des 
Moines.  He  was  also  switchman  and  final- 
ly conductor  for  the  Hannibal  Railroad, 
from  St.  Joseph  to  Hannibal,  Missouri.  He 
then  went  to  the  Missouri  Pacific  Railroad, 
running  from  St.  Louis  to  Chamoise,  Mis- 
souri. Mr.  Lane  then  was  employed  by  the 
C.  B.  &  U.  P.,  a  branch  of  the  Missouri  Pa- 
cific Railroad ;  later  he  went  to  the  Illinois 
Cental  Railroad  as  yard  crew  conductor, 
which  position  he  held  for  eight  years  in  the 
East  St.  Louis  yards.  While  thus  employed 
our  subject  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his 
right  hand  on  October  14,  1897.  When  he 
recovered  from  this  injury  he  was  placed 
on  the  detective  force  of  this  road,  in  which 
capacity  he  remained  until  1900,  when  he 
resigned  and  came  to  Clinton  county,  where 
he  bought  a  fruit  farm,  which  business  he 
followed  for  two  years,  when  he  sold  out 
and  came  to  Centralia,  where,  on  February 
19,  1902,  he  formed  a  partnership  and 
launched  in  the  real  estate  business,  later 
purchasing  his  partner's  interest  and  be- 
came sole  manager  of  the  "Home  Real  Es- 
tate Company,"  of  Centralia,  and  he  now 
enjoys  a  good,  thriving  business. 

Mr.  Lane  became  widely  known  during 
his  railroading  days,  giving  the  various 
companies  for  which  he  worked  entire  satis- 
faction, being  regarded  by  them  as  one  of 


596 


r.lOCUAHIICAI.    AM)    RK.M1MSCKNT    HISTORY    OF 


the  most  trusted  and  efficient  employes,  al- 
ways at  his  post  and  conscientious  in  his 
work,  so  that  he  was  always  highly  recom- 
mended for  his  services.  He  enjoys  the  full 
confidence  of  his  numerous  friends.  His 
long  and  wide  experience  in  army  and  rail- 
road life  has  made  him  a  reader  of  men  and 
a  most  appreciative  neighbor.  He  votes  the 
Republican  ticket,  having  first  voted  for 
Abraham  Lincoln  at  Savannah,  Georgia.  He 
was  reared  by  pious  Methodist  parents.  Our 
subject  is  unassuming  and  open  hearted  and 
honest  to  the  core. 


BURDEN  PULLEN. 

As  a  member  of  one  of  the  pioneer  fami- 
lies of  this  country,  Mr.  Pullen  calls  for 
recognition  in  a  compilation  of  the  province 
assigned  to  the  one  at  hand,  and  it  is  a  pleas- 
ure to  enter  this  review  of  his  upright  and 
successful  career,  for  he  has  ever  been  faith- 
ful in  the  performance  of  whatever  duty  he 
found  to  be  his,  without  thought  of  reward 
or  praise  from  his  fellow  men. 

Burden  Pullen  was  born  in  Mercer  coun- 
ty, New  Jersey,  June  8,  1833,  the  son  of 
James  B.  and  Sarah  (McCabe)  Pullen. 
Grandfather  Pullen,  who  was  of  English 
descent,  lived  in  New  Jersey  and  died  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety-eight  years.  He  de- 
voted his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits  and 
reared  to  maturity  a  family  of  nine  children. 
His  noble  life  companion  was  a  faithful 
member  of  the  church.  Grandfather  Mc- 


Cabe, who  was  of  Scotch-Irish  blood,  lived 
on  a  farm,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  lived 
to  advanced  ages,  rearing  a  large  famliy. 
The  father  of  the  subject  was  reared  in  New 
Jersey,  and  being  poor,  his  parents  could  not 
give  him  the  school  advantages  that  he  de- 
sired. However,  he  made  the  best  use  pos- 
sible of  what  he  had,  and  after  leaving  school 
learned  the  cooper's  trade,  although  he  never 
worked  at  it  to  any  extent.  He  left  New  Jer- 
sey in  1839  and  settled  in  Middletown,  Ohio, 
going  into  the  fruit  and  nursery  business 
and  developing  into  a  well  known  and  prom- 
inent horticulturist,  the  study  of  which  he 
had  begun  before  leaving  New  Jersey,  and 
devoted  his  life  to  that  business  with  pro- 
nounced success.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five  years,  having  been  survived  by  a 
widow  until  she  reached  eighty-six.  They 
were  members  of  the  Baptist  church  and 
their  family  consisted  of  nine  children. 

The  early  education  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  obtained  in  the  district  schools 
of  Ohio,  where  he  diligently  applied  him- 
self. Desiring  to  receive  a  higher  educa- 
tion, he  later  entered  Franklin  College  in- 
Indiana,  but  on  account  of  sickness  was 
obliged  to  leave  before  finishing  the  course 
he  had  hoped  to  take.  He  worked  on  his 
father's  fruit  farm  and  was  with  him  as  an- 
associate  in  the  business  until  1856,  when  he 
came  to  Centralia,  Illinois,  then  being  twen- 
ty-three years  old.  He  opened  a  nursery, 
becoming  a  horticulturist  of  more  than  lo- 
cal note.  He  bought  the  place  where  he  now 
resides  in  1857.  The  place  consisted  of 
seventy  acres  and  all  of  it  was  used  as  a  nur- 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION   COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


597 


sery  and  fruit  farm.  Much  of  his  land  is 
now  laid  out  in  city  lots  and  has  been  sold. 
He  closed  the  nursery  branch  and  gradually 
worked  all  into  the  horticulture  line,  which 
he  made  a  great  success. 

Mr.  Pullen's  happy  married  life  dates 
from  December  i o,  1857,  when  he  was  unit- 
ed in  the  bonds  of  wedlock  with  Lucille  O. 
Gex,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  Her  ancestry 
was  of  French  descent.  Her  grandparents 
on  the  mother's  side  were  named  Price.  They 
were  from  England  and  her  grandfather 
was  a  Baptist  minister.  Her  father  was  an 
educated  man,  a  linguist.  He  was  a  planter 
in  Kentucky  and  a  slave  holder. 

Nine  children  have  been  born  to  the  sub- 
ject and  wife,  named  in  order  of  birth  as 
follows:  Lucian  C.  is  married  and  the  fa- 
ther of  four  children :  Rena  is  the  wife  of  E. 
S.  Condit  and  the  mother  of  two  children; 
Maud,  who  was  the  wife  of  Dr.  George  Ab- 
bott, is  deceased;  Blanche  is  also  deceased; 
May  is  the  wife  of  Charles  P.  Marshall  and 
the  mother  of  two  children;  Fred  is  mar- 
ried and  has  one  child;  Rome  B.  is  the  sev- 
enth child  and  Bird  G.  the  eighth,  the  latter 
married  and  has  two  children;  Lillie  is  the 
youngest  and  the  wife  of  Raymond  A.  Beck 
and  the  mother  of  one  child. 

The  subject's  first  wife  died  in  1891,  and 
he  was  again  married  September  13,  in  1893, 
to  Mrs.  Anna  E.  Russell,  of  Clinton  county, 
Illinois. 

Our  subject  is  one  of  the  original  organ- 
izers of  the  local  First  Baptist  church,  of 
Centralia,  and  is  the  only  living  member  of 
the  original  organization.  In  politics  he  was 


originally  a  Whig,  then  a  Republican,  but 
in  late  years  a  Democrat.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  hav- 
ing been  vice-president  of  the  same  for  twen- 
ty years.  He  was  one  of  the  Commission- 
ers appointed  by  the  Governor  to  take  charge 
of  the  Illinois  exhibit  at  the  World's  Fair  in 
1893  at  Chicago,  and  was  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Horticulture  and  Floriculture. 
He  spent  two  years  in  this  work,  having 
charge  of  and  preparing  the  grounds  and 
buildings  for  this  display.  He  was  for  some 
time  Trustee  of  the  University  of  Illinois, 
by  appointment  of  Governor  Oglesby,  hav- 
ing been  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Grounds.  He  was  also  Auditor  of  the  State 
Board  of  Agriculture,  having  had  charge  of 
the  purchasing  department  and  a  number  of 
other  departments.  He  has  had  charge  of 
some  one  of  these  departments  for  the  past 
twenty  years. 

Mr.  Pullen,  besides  having  been  a  very 
busy  man  in  this  line,  has  also  had  other 
business  of  much  importance.  He  assisted 
in  the  organization  of  the  Merchants'  State 
Bank  of  Centralia  and  was  its  first  presi- 
dent, having  faithfully  performed  the  duties 
of  this  exacting  position  for  a  period  of  six 
years,  and  withdrew  on  account  of  physical 
disability.  E.  S.  Condit,  a  grandson  of  the 
subject,  is  now  assistant  cashier  of  this  bank. 
Mr.  Pullen  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Centralia  Ice  and  Cold  Storage  Company, 
and  has  been  its  president  ever  since  it  was 
first  organized.  His  son,  Fred,  is  secretary 
and  business  manager  of  the  same  and  has 
ably  filled  this  position  since  1898. 


598 


l!l(i<;  KAI'HICAL   AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Mr.  Pullen  has  long  taken  an  active  in* 
terest  in  public  affairs  and  he  has  served 
creditably  as  School  Trustee  and  Director, 
also  Township  Supervisor.  He  was  active  in 
the  District  Fair  Association  and  was  the 
first  president  of  the  same,  having  been 
chosen  by  acclamation,  and  it  was  largely 
due  to  his  efficient  efforts  that  the  success  of 
the  fair  was  due.  Whatever  of  success  has 
been  attained  by  our  subject  is  due  entirely 
to  his  own  industry,  energy  and  ability.  From 
small  beginnings  he  gradually,  by  the  most 
honorable  methods,  attained  a  prominence  in 
his  county  which  entitles  him  to  be  regard- 
ed as  one  of  its  leading  citizens,  his  reputa- 
tion being  that  of  a  man  of  business  in- 
tegrity, and  his  modem  home  is  often  the 
gathering  place  for  numerous  friends  of 
himself  and  family. 


F.  H.  BAUER. 

All  honor  should  be  due  the  men  who  turn 
the  ideal  into  the  practical,  inaugurate  such 
conditions  and  crystalize  into  the  probable 
and  actual  what  appear  to  be  wild  flights  of 
fancy  and  imagination.  It  is  of  such  a  man 
that  the  biographer  here  essays  to  write. 

F.  H.  Bauer,  the  well  known  proprietor 
of  the  Centralia  Steam  Laundry,  one  of  the 
busiest  places  in  the  city,  was  born  in  Ma- 
rion county,  Illinois,  September  n,  1866, 
the  son  of  Fred  and  Amelia  (Ruple)  Bauer, 
in  whose  family  there  were  two  sons,  our 
subject  being  the  older. 


Mr.  Bauer  was  educated  in  the  Centralia 
public  schools  and  the  high  school.  Being 
ambitious  to  receive  a  business  education  he 
attended  the  night  schools  in  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, where  he  made  a  splendid  record.  He 
began  his  life  work  when  eighteen  years  old 
by  entering  the  employ  of  the  Illinois  Cen- 
tral Railroad.  He  worked  for  some  time  as 
fireman  and  was  later  promoted  to  locomo- 
tive engineer,  and  for  a  period  of  twelve 
years  gave  entire  satisfaction  in  whatever  ca- 
pacity he  served,  and  being  regarded  by  the 
company  as  one  of  the  most  trusted  and 
valuable  employes. 

After  his  railroad  experience  he  turned 
his  attention  to  mining  in  the  Joplin  (Mis- 
souri) zinc  and  lead  mine  district,  where  he 
remained  one  year,  after  which  he  returned 
to  Centralia,  Illinois,  and  took  the  occupa- 
tion of  tonsorial  artist,  which  he  pursued 
with  marked  success  for  a  period  of  four 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  pur- 
chased the  laundry  plant  originally  known 
as  Ormsby  &  Ormsby  laundry,  having  been 
started  in  1880.  H.  C.  Watts  bought  the 
Ormsby  plant  and  run  it  for  several  years, 
when  his  interests  were  purchased  by  the 
enterprising  and  hustling  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Mr.  Bauer  at  once  proceeded  to  re- 
model the  plant  throughout,  replacing  the 
old  worn-out  machinery  with  latest  models 
and  most  up-to-date  equipment  in  every  re- 
spect. He  also  rebuilt  the  engine  in  every 
part.  Outside  of  the  large  cities  this  is  one 
of  the  oldest  laundries  in  the  state  and  none 
turns  out  better  work,  for  the  plant  is 
equipped  with  the  best  machinery  obtainable 


RICHLAND,    CLAY    AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


599 


and  only  expert  employes  are  to  be  found 
here.  Useless  to  say  that  with  such  an  en- 
terprising man  at  the  head  of  this  old  es- 
tablished institution  that  it  at  once  assumed 
new  life  and  his  success  was  instantaneous, 
his  patronage  having  steadily  increased  from 
the  first.  When  he  first  assumed  charge  the 
total  income  of  the  plant  was  only  sixty-five 
dollars  per  week.  Mr.  Bauer  has  increased 
this  to  two  hundred  dollars  per  week.  In 
1901  this  plant  employed  only  three  girls; 
now  thirteen  are  constantly  employed.  The 
main  room  of  this  plant  is  one  hundred  and 
forty  feet  long  by  twenty-four  feet  wide  and 
the  capacity  is  now  over-crowded.  Work 
is  done  in  this  laundry  for  all  surrounding 
towns  as  far  east  as  Wayne  City  and  as  far 
north  as  Kinmundy,  west  to  Evansville,  Il- 
linois, and  south  to  Herrin.  They  do  hotel, 
barber  shop  and  family  washings  for  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  patrons  per 
week. 

The  domestic  life  of  Mr.  Bauer  dates 
from  October  30,  1891,  when  he  was  united 
in  the  bonds  of  wedlock  with  Louise  Jones, 
the  daughter  of  a  well  known  family,  and  to 
this  union  one  child  has  been  born,  Wen- 
dell A.,  whose  date  of  birth  occurred  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1901. 

Our  subject  was  reared  a  German  Luth- 
eran. He  is  an  ardent  Democrat  in  his  po- 
litical beliefs.  He  holds  membership  in  the 
following  orders  in  Centralia :  Masons,  Blue 
Lodge  No.  201 ;  Chapter  No.  93 ;  Council 
No.  28;  Knights  Templar  No.  26;  Knights 
of  Pythias  No.  26;  Pythian  Sisters,  Lotus 
Temple  No.  8;  Odd  Fellows  No.  179;  En- 


campment No.  75.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen 
and  Engineers  No.  37.  Mr.  Bauer  takes  a 
great  interest  in  lodge  work. 


LEVI BRANCH. 

There  can  be  no  greater  honor  than  to 
serve  one's  country  honestly  and  conscien- 
tiously in  any  capacity,  but  when  the  na- 
tion's integrity  is  at  stake  and  it  becomes 
necessary  for  the  citizen  soldiery  to  leave 
plow  and  workshop  and  go  into  the  conflict, 
risking  limb  and  life,  it  is  a  much  greater 
sacrifice  and  the  honor  attached  thereto  is 
higher  than  almost  any  other  known  to  man. 
Of  this  worthy  class  belongs  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  a  veteran  of  the  war  between  the 
states,  who  has  long  led  an  active  and  useful 
life  in  Marion  county. 

Levi  Branch  was  born  in  Meigs  county, 
Ohio,  January  3,  1843,  the  son  of  Samuel  S. 
and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Branch,  the  former  a 
native  of  Vermont,  of  hardy  New  England 
stock,  having  been  born  there  December  27, 
1801.  He  was  a  farmer  and  also  a  Baptist 
preacher.  Grandfather  Stephen  Branch 
moved  to  Ohio  when  Samuel  was  an  infant 
of  twelve  months.  There  were  three  boys 
and  one  girl  in  their  family.  He  died  Jan- 
uary 29,  1862.  Elizabeth  Smith,  mother  of 
the  subject,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  Au- 
gust 4,  1806.  Samuel  S.  Branch  and  wife 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  four  boys 
and  three  girls,  of  whom  Levi,  our  subject, 


6oo 


BIOGRAPHICAL   AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


is  the  sixth  child  in  order  of  birth.  He  was 
the  son  of  Samuel  S.  Branch's  third  wife. 
There  was  one  son  by  his  first  wife  and  one 
daughter  by  his  second  wife.  A  half  broth- 
er of  the  subject  was  also  in  the  Union  army 
and  five  of  the  Branch  brothers  were  in  the 
Civil  war,  all  of  whom  returned  home  after 
their  enlistments  had  expired.  Levi  Branch 
enlisted  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  and  he  left 
Wayne  county  April  27,  1863,  being  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  M,  Fifth  Illinois  Cavalry, 
under  Colonel  McConnell  and  Capt.  R.  N. 
Jessup.  His  first  active  service  was  in  a 
skirmish  in  Missouri  and  he  was  captured 
ne"ar  Collinsville,  Tennessee,  where  he  and 
three  of  his  comrades  were  held  for  twenty- 
four  hours  and  were  then  sent  to  Memphis 
on  fictitious  parole  given  by  the  colonel  in 
the  saddle.  He  was  discharged  at  Spring- 
field October  27,  1865,  after  having  made 
an  excellent  record  as  a  soldier,  returning 
to  Wayne  county  and  took  up  farming  after 
the  war. 

Mr.  Branch  was  married  to  Clarinda  Phil- 
lips January  3,  1864,  and  to  this  union  six 
children  have  been  born,  all  deceased.  The 
oldest  daughter,  Ida  E.,  who  was  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Centralia  high  school,  died  when 
twenty-four  years  of  age.  The  other  chil- 
dren died  in  infancy. 

Clarinda  Phillips,  the  daughter  of  John 
and  Harriett  Phillips,  of  Wayne  county,  Il- 
linois, is  the  third  child  in  a  family  of  five 
children,  all  girls.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Branch 
moved  from  Wayne  county  to  Austin,  Min- 
esota,  in  1876,  where  they  remained  one 
year,  then  came  to  Rice  county,  Kansas, 
where  they  remained  for  fifteen  years,  and 


in  1892  moved  to  Centralia,  where  Mr. 
Branch  followed  the  carpenter's  trade,  hav- 
ing done  considerable  contracting  also  in 
this  city.  He  has  always  been  known  as  a 
very  able  workman,  his  services  being  satis- 
factory to  all  concerned,  for  he  is  conscien- 
tious and  painstaking. 

In  politics  Mr.  Branch  is  a  Republican, 
but  he  is  a  great  admirer  of  William  J. 
Bryan,  for  whom  he  voted  three  times.  In 
religion  he  adheres  to  the  Baptist  faith,  in 
which  he  was  reared,  but  he  joined  the 
Christian  church,  and  is  a  faithful  attendant 
of  the  same.  He  is  known  to  be  a  man  of 
uprightness  and  honest  in  all  his  dealings 
with  his  fellow  men,  and  he  has  won  many 
friends  since  coming  to  Centralia,  where  he 
has  been  very  successful  in  his  line  of  busi- 
ness. 


JOHN  A.  SNODGRASS. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  initiates  this 
sketch  has  shown  by  a  long  life  of  industry 
and  honesty  that  he  is  entitled  to  a  place  in 
the  history  of  Marion  county.  John  A.  Snod- 
grass  was  born  August  28,  1836,  in  Scott 
county,  Indiana,  the  son  of  Samuel  Snod- 
grass,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  who  was  born 
in  1800  and  who  married  Mira  Hardy,  of 
New  Hampshire.  He  lived  in  Kentucky  un- 
til 1818,  when  he  went  to  Jefferson  county, 
Indiana,  with  his  father,  Hugh,  where  he 
lived  until  his  death  in  1850.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church,  also  a  temperance  worker  and  a 
member  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance.  His 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION   COUNTIES,   ILLINOIS. 


601 


wife  died  in  1851.  Seven  children  were 
bom  to  them,  namely:  Norma,  deceased; 
Marion,  who  died  in  Pilot  Knob,  Missouri, 
in  1863,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army; 
Tirzah  is  single  and  always  lived  with  the 
subject;  Mary  married  Solomon  Cutshall, 
a  farmer  at  Patoka,  Illinois;  John,  subject 
of  this  sketch;  Alonzo,  a  plasterer  in  Okla- 
homa, was  in  Company  H,  Twenty-second 
Illinois  Infantry,  for  two  years,  later  re-en- 
listing; Lambert,  who  is  deceased,  lived  with 
the  subject  in  Centralia. 

John  A.  Snodgrass  received  a  limited  ed- 
ucation in  the  subscription  schools  of  the 
early  days.  He  lived  at  home,  assisting  with 
the  work  about  the  place,  until  the  Presi- 
dent's call  for  loyal  citizens  to  aid  in  sup- 
pressing the  rebellion  induced  him  to  enter 
the  conflict,  having  enlisted  in  September, 
1862,  in  Company  H,  Twenty-second  In- 
diana Volunteer  Infantry  at  Lexington,  In- 
diana. He  was  sent  to  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee, and  was  in  the  engagements  at  Per- 
ryville,  Lancaster,  Nolansville  and  Murfrees- 
boro,  having  fought  seven  days  at  Stone 
River.  He  was  taken  sick  after  that  battle 
and  was  in  the  field  hospital,  later  sent  to 
Nashville,  still  later  to  Louisville,  suffering 
with  rheumatism  and  fever,  becoming  so  sick 
that  he  was  given  up  by  the  physicians  to 
die.  He  was  discharged  from  the  army  for 
disability,  October  20,  1863,  after  which  he 
returned  home,  where  he  remained  until  the 
spring  of  1866,  when  he  came  to  Illinois  and 
located  one  mile  west  of  Central  City  on  a 
farm.  He  then  came  to  Centralia  township, 
where  he  remained  three  years,  moving  one 
and  one-half  miles  south  of  Centralia,  where 


he  has  remained  far  the  past  twenty-six 
years.  He  bought  a  home  and  three  lots  in 
Centralia,  and  in  1900  purchased  his  pres- 
ent splendid  home  at  1301  South  Locust 
street.  He  has  farmed,  made  brick  and 
teamed,  making  a  success  at  each.  He  re- 
tired in  1906. 

Mr.  Sodgrass  was  married  in  1868  to 
Mary  Crawford,  of  Centralia,  the  daughter 
of  Zachariah  Crawford,  of  Kentucky,  who 
in  1840  came  to  Illinois,  locating  two  miles 
west  of  Centralia.  He  was  a  blacksmith  and 
also  owned  a  good  farm.  The  subject's  wife 
passed  away  in  1870.  Mr.  Snodgrass  has  one 
daughter,  Lulu,  who  is  the  wife  of  Charles 
Phillips,  of  Centralia.  He  is  now  engaged 
in  the  round  house  of  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad.  Our  subject  has  reared  two  of 
his  brother's  children,  John  and  Lizzie  Snod- 
grass. 

Mr.  Snodgrass  is  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  the  post  at  Centralia, 
and  his  sister  is  a  member  of  the  Christian 
church.  Our  subject  is  a  fine  old  man  whom 
everybody  likes  and  everybody  respects  and 
honors  for  his  life  of  industry  and  loyalty 
to  high  principles. 


THOMAS  F.  MEAGHER. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  one  of  the 
well  known  men  of  Centralia,  and  his  resi- 
dence in  Marion  county  has  shown  him  to 
be  a  man  of  business  ability  and  honesty  of 
purpose  so  that  he  has  won  the  confidence 
of  those  with  whom  he  has  come  in  contact. 


602 


1MOCRAPHICAL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


Thomas  F.  Meagher  was  born  December 
23,  1848,  in  Toronto,  Canada,  the  son  of 
James  W.  and  Anna  (Ryan)  Meagher,  the 
former  a  native  of  the  county  of  Tipperary, 
Ireland,  as  was  also  his  wife,  where  they 
grew  up  and  married.  He  was  a  carpenter 
by  trade  and  he  came  to  Toronto,  Canada, 
in  1842,  and  in  1865  he  moved  with  his  fam- 
ily to  Chicago,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade 
until  his  death  in  1869,  his  widow  having 
survived  until  1892.  They  were  members 
of  the  Catholic  church  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  the  following  children;  Joseph 
P.,  who  was  in  the  United  States  navy  dur- 
ing the  rebellion  and  later  a  policeman  and 
butcher  in  Chicago;  Thomas  F.,  our  sub- 
ject ;  Harry  is  a  painter  and  foreman  in  the 
Denver  &  Rio  Grand  Railroad  shops  in  Colo- 
rado City,  Colorado.  He  was  quartermaster 
in  the  army  for  five  years  under  General 
Miles.  Maria  is  the  widow  of  Samuel  Pal- 
ing and  lives  in  Chicago;  Margaret  is  the 
widow  of  Jerome  P.  Merrill,  of  Chicago. 

Our  subject  went  to  the  common  schools 
and  later  educated  himself.  He  and  '  his 
brother  Joseph  went  in  the  fall  of  1864  to 
Chicago  and  followed  the  lakes  for  five  years 
steamboating,  and  he  was  for  three  years  in 
the  wholesale  house  of  J.  W.  Doane  &  Co., 
of  Chicago.  After  this  he  went  into  the 
land  office  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
in  Chicago.  During  the  great  fire  of  Octo- 
ber 8  and  9,  1871,  he  saved  all  the  land 
records  and  books  of  this  company.  After 
the  fire  the  office  was  moved  to  Centralia 
and  the  subject  came  here  to  look  after  the 
business.  He  continued  in  the  land  office 


and  also  traveled  all  over  the  country  for 
this  road  as  traveling  land  agent,  selling 
land  and  collecting  and  looking  after  their 
interests  in  general.  In  1882  he  was  ap- 
pointed Deputy  Revenue  Collector  of  the 
Thirteenth  United  States  District  of  Illi- 
nois for  one  term.  After  this  he  returned 
to  the  employ  of  the  Illinois  Central,  with 
which  he  remained  until  1884.  He  was  re- 
garded by  this  company  as  one  of  the  most 
trusted  and  indispensable  employes. 

Mr.  Meagher  was  united  in  marriage  No- 
vember 3,  1872,  with  Mary  A.  Lawler,  who 
was  born  in  Chicago,  the  daughter  of  Mich- 
ael and  Johanna  (Phelan)  Meagher,  both 
natives  of  Tipperary  county,  Ireland.  They 
came  singly  when  young  people  to  America 
and  settled  in  Chicago  when  the  country 
thereabout  was  a  wilderness.  He  was  a 
gardener  by  trade  and  also  teamed  exten- 
sively. He  helped  lay  out  the  famous  Lin- 
coln park  of  that  city,  putting  out  trees, 
etc.  He  died  in  1893  and  his  wife  died  in 
1898.  Their  children  were:  Mary  A.,  the 
subject's  wife;  John,  who  is  with  J.  W. 
Reedy  Elevator  Company  in  Chicago;  Ed- 
ward is  a  street  car  conductor  in  Rochester, 
New  York ;  William  is  shipping  clerk  for  a 
candy  manufacturing  firm  in  Chicago ;  Mar- 
garet is  single  and  living  in  Chicago;  The- 
resa is  single  and  operating  a  hair  dressing 
establishment  at  92  State  street,  Chicago; 
Sarah  is  the  wife  of  J.  W.  Reedy,  of  Chi- 
cago. 

Ten  children  have  been  born  to  the  subject 
and  wife,  as  follows :  Frank  J.  is  single  and 
living  at  home,  clerking  in  the  offices  of  the 


HIGHLAND,   CLAY   AND   MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


6o3 


Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  Railroad  in 
Centralia ;  Margaret  is  saleslady  at  Marshall 
Field's  &  Co.,  Chicago. ;  Mary  is  saleslady 
at  Hartman's  Dry  Goods  Company,  Centra- 
lia; Thomas  T.  is  a  machinist  on  the  Big 
Four  Railroad  at  Mattoon,  Illinois;  James 
W.  is  a  cigarmaker  in  Naples,  New  York; 
Henry  Edward  is  foreman  of  The  Democrat 
office  in  Centralia;  Charles  A.,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  was  clerk 
for  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  at  Chicago, 
also  in  Centralia,  having  died  February  25, 
1905 ;  Frederick  D.  is  a  machinist  in  Dan- 
ville, Illinois,  for  the  Illinois  Central  Rail- 
road Company;  Anastacia  is  bookkeeper  at 
Marshall  Field's  &  Co.,  Chicago;  Richard 
T.  is  a  boilermaker  in  the  Illinois  Central 
shops  at  Centralia. 

In  1884  the  subject  was  elected  Circuit 
Clerk  and  County  Recorder  of  Marion  coun- 
ty, serving  with  much  credit  for  a  period  of 
four  years.  He  has  always  been  active  in 
politics  and  is  a  loyal  Democrat.  He  is  not 
a  member  of  any  church.  He  has  made  a 
success  of  his  life  work,  for  he  has  been  a 
very  industrious  man  and  possesses  rare 
business  acumen. 


JOHN  WOODS. 

The  venerable  and  highly  honored  citizen 
of  Centralia  whose  name  appears  above  has 
through  a  long  life  of  industry  and  fidelity 
to  duty  shown  that  he  is  worthy  of  a  place 
in  the  history  of  Marion  county  along  with 


his  fellow  citizens  of  worth.  John  Woods,  a 
retired  farmer,  was  born  in  Tennessee,  De- 
cember 29,  1827,  the  son  of  Willis  and  Mary 
(Willis)  Woods,  both  natives  of  North  Car- 
olina, who  went  to  Tennessee  in  an  early 
day,  and  in  1828  came  to  Marion  county, 
Illinois,  settling  south  of  Odin,  taking  up  a 
claim,  later  locating  near  Kinmundy,  Illi- 
nois, just  northwest  of  Centralia.  He  died 
in  1859  and  his  wife  is  also  deceased.  He 
was  twice  married,  his  last  wife  being  Nellie 
Berge,  of  Connecticut.  '  She  is  deceased.  The 
father  of  the  subject  was  always  a  farmer, 
a  man  well  known  and  highly  respected,  a 
Democrat,  but  never  aspired  for  office.  He 
and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Christian 
church.  Six  children  were  born  to  them  as 
follows:  Louisa,  deceased;  John,  our  sub- 
ject; William,  deceased;  Mary,  deceased; 
Green,  deceased ;  the  youngest  child  died  in 
infancy. 

Mr.  Woods  had  little  chance  to  attend 
school,  having  lived  at  home  until  he  was 
twenty  years  of  age  and  assisted  with  the 
work  about  the  place,  attending  subscrip- 
tion school  a  few  months  in  the  winter.  He 
was  married  March  u,  1847,  to  Catherine 
McClelland,  who  was  born  in  April,  1831,  in 
Centralia  township,  the  daughter  of  Isaac 
and  Sarah  (Welsh)  McClelland,  the  former 
a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  latter  of 
Tennessee.  He  came  to  Illinois  in  1820,  set- 
tling near  Walnut  Hill,  Marion  county,  later 
coming  to  Romine  Prairie  and  then  to  Cen- 
tralia township,  north  of  Centralia  in  San- 
doval  township.  He  secured  seven  hundred 
acres  of  land.  He  engaged  extensively  in 


6o4 


P.IOGK.U'HJCAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


farming  and  stock  raising  and  became  a 
prominent  man  in  his  locality.  He  held  many 
local  offices  and  spent  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  in  the  city  of  Centralia.  He  died  in 
1881,  his  wife  having  preceded  him  to  the  si- 
lent land  in  1848,  and  he  married  a  second 
time,  his  last  wife  being  Mary  J.  Collum,  of 
Maryland,  who  is  deceased.  Six  children 
were  born  to  Mr.  McClelland,  all  by  his 
first  wife,  namely:  Alexander,  who  is  now 
deceased,  lived  in  Sandoval  township;  John 
went  to  Oregon  in  1883  and  died  in  1906; 
Rachael  married  Thomas  N.  Deadman,  and 
she  is  now  deceased;  Catherine  is  the  wife 
of  the  subject;  Elizabeth,  who  is  deceased, 
married  W.  K.  Bundy,  of  Raccoon  town- 
ship; Rebecca  J.,  who  married  Richard  Col- 
lins, lives  in  East  St.  Louis. 

Nine  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  Woods,  four  of  whom  are  now  living, 
namely:  Isaac  N.,  who  remained  single,  is 
deceased;  Willis  died  young;  Mary  F.,  who 
is  deceased,  married  Asa  Mattocks;  Luella 
married  William  Ingrahm,  of  Centralia; 
Sarah  Ellen,  who  remained  single,  is  de- 
ceased; Cella  Ruth  married  Erastus  Root 
May  6,  1883,  and  eight  children  have  been 
born,  namely ;  Lawrence,  Nellie,  John,  Kate, 
Jessie,  Clyde,  Marie  and  Charles,  all  living. 
John  died  when  young ;  Susan  married  John 
Heyduck,  of  Centralia,  an  engineer  on  the 
Illinois  Central  Railroad,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  five  children,  Lawrence,  John, 
William  R.,  George  H.  and  Ruby  May, 
George,  who  was  the  fifth  child  in  order  of 
birth,  is  a  farmer  on  the  old  home  place  in 
Centralia  township,  who  married  Martha 


Sanders,  and  they  have  four  children,  Buell, 
Myrtle,  Helen  and  Mabel. 

After  his  marriage  our  subject  and  wife 
located  in  section  15,  Centralia  township, 
where  he  secured  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land,  which  was  entirely  unim- 
proved, but  he  was  a  hard  worker  and  soon 
had  a  comfortable  home  and  carried  on  gen- 
eral farming  and  stock  raising  in  a  most  suc- 
cessful manner.  He  was  popular  in  his 
township  and  was  School  Director  for  four- 
teen years  and  held  a  number  of  minor  of- 
fices. He  was  always  a  stanch  Democrat 
and  he  and  his  good  wife  are  members  of  the 
Christian  church.  Mr.  Woods  retired  from 
active  business  life  in  December,  1898,  and 
has  since  lived  in  Centralia.  He  and  his  wife 
are  well  preserved  for  their  years  and  they 
can  tell  many  interesting  things  that  hap- 
pened in  the  early  days  in  Marion  county. 


WILLIAM  D.  NEWMAN. 

This  venerable  citizen  of  Centralia  ranks 
with  Marion  county's  conspicuous  figures, 
having  been  one  of  the  sterling  pioneers 
from  Eastern  Tennessee,  from  whence  so 
many  men  came  to  this  state  and  did  so 
much  in  its  upbuilding,  William  D.  New- 
man having  been  born  in  Blount  county, 
that  state.  August  13,  1833,  twelve  miles 
south  of  Knoxville,  the  son  of  Louis  J.  and 
Rachael  (Logan)  Newman,  both  natives  of 
Blount  county,  Tennessee,  the  former  the 
son  of  David  and  Elizabeth  (Phillips)  New- 


HIGHLAND,    CLAY   AND    MARION    COUNTIES,    ILLINOIS. 


6o5 


man,  also  of  the  above  named  county,  who 
came  to  Illinois  in  1833  and  settled  five 
miles  west  of  Richview  in  Washington  coun- 
ty, where  he  secured  three  hundred  acres  of 
land,  which  he  later  added  to,  dealing  ex- 
tensively in  stock  growing  and  general 
farming,  and  he  became  a  prominent  man  in 
that  locality.  Daniel  died  in  1840  and  his 
wife  followed  him  to  the  silent  land  in  1852. 
He  was  a  cooper  by  trade.  Twelve  children 
were  born  to  them,  the  only  one  now  living 
being  Campbell  Newman,  in  Chanute,  Kan- 
sas. The  subject's  maternal  grandfather 
was  William  Logan,  of  Tennessee,  who  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Edmonston,  of  Tennessee.  They 
both  died  in  that  state.  He  was  a  farmer 
and  he  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  four 
children,  all  deceased.  The  subject's  father, 
Lewis  J.  Newman,  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  and  in  1854  came  to  Illinois,  set- 
tling in  Richview,  Washington  county.  He 
was  a  carpenter  and  cabinetmaker  by  trade. 
In  1861  he  located  in  Patoka,  Illinois,  and 
lived  there  many  years,  and  in  1873  went 
to  Collins,  Texas,  and  he  died  there  in  1876. 
His  wife  died  September  5,  1863.  They 
were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  South.  He  was  Justice  of  the 
Peace  at  Patoka  and  active  in  politics,  being 
a  Democrat.  Twelve  children  were  born  to 
them  as  follows:  Alexander,  who  formerly 
lived  in  this  county,  went  to  Texas  in  1874 
and  died  there.  He  was  a  preacher  for  many 
years  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
South.  He  was  in  the  Thirty-first  Wiscon- 
sin Volunteer  Infantry.  The  second  child 
was  William  D.,  our  subject;  Elizabeth,  who 


is  deceased,  married  Charles  Smith,  living 
at  Patoka,  Illinois;  Sarah,  who  remained 
single,  is  deceased;  Eveline,  who  also  re- 
mained single,  is  deceased ;  Lorenzo  D.  lives 
in  Patoka.  He  is  a  carpenter  and  he  mar- 
ried Fannie  Rice.  He  was  in  Company  F, 
One  Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illinois  Volun- 
teer Infantry;  Martin  is  deceased;  Mathew 
C.  is  deceased;  Henry  is  also  deceased; 
George  W.  and  Andrew  J.,  twins,  are  both 
deceased ;  James  lives  in  Dallas,  Texas. 

William  D.  Newman,  the  subject,  had  only 
a  limited  schooling  in  the  home  schools.  He 
lived  at  home  until  he  reached  the  age .  of 
twenty-four  years,  and  he  came  to  Illinois 
in  1855,  locating  at  Richview.  He  learned 
the  carpenter's  and  cabinetmaker's  trade  with 
his  father.  He  married  February  u,  1858, 
Mary  E.  Gray,  who  was  born  October  3, 
1840,  in  Tonti  township,  Marion  county,  the 
daughter  of  J.  H.  and  Nancy  M.  Eddington, 
the  former  having  been  born  in  Maury  coun- 
ty, Tennessee,  in  1817,  and  died  in  Patoka, 
Illinois,  September  2,  1878.  His  wife  was 
born  in  Clinton  county,  Illinois,  October 
27,  1819,  and  she  died  in  1905.  J.  H.  Gray, 
a  farmer,  was  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Agnes 
(Denton)  Gray,  the  former  a  native  of  Ten- 
nessee and  the  latter  a  French  woman.  They 
married  in  Tennessee  and  came  to  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  in  1820,  settling  near  Kin- 
mundy.  They  died  near  the  above  named 
place.  To  them  were  born  the  following 
children:  Rev.  James  D.,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church;  John  H.,  Samuel,  Abner, 
William,  Martha  Jane,  Joseph.  The  chil- 
dren of  John  H.  Gray  and  wife  are  as  fol- 


6o6 


moGR.U'HICAL    AND   REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


lows:  James  D.  was  in  Company  F,  One 
Hundred  and  Eleventh  Illinois  Volunteer  In- 
fantry; Captain  A.  S.  lives  in  Patoka,  Illi- 
nois (see  his  sketch)  ;  Mary  E.  is  the  wife  of 
the  subject;  Thomas  Benton  was  clerk  for 
Col.  James  S.  Martin  during  the  Civil  war; 
Jane  is  deceased ;  Amanda,  deceased ;  Henry, 
deceased;  Samuel  died  in  infancy;  Albert  is 
deceased;  Alfred  is  deceased;  Sarah,  de- 
ceased; Hattie  lives  in  Memphis,  Tennes- 
see; Emma,  deceased. 

Eleven  children  have  been  born  to  William 
D.  Newman  and  wife,  as  follows :  Lina,  de- 
ceased; John  A.,  who  is  in  the  office  of  the 
first  vice-president  of  the  Burlington  Route, 
Telegraph  Operators'  Association  headquar- 
ters in  Chicago,  who  married  Maria  Wertz ; 
Jennie,  deceased;  Alice,  deceased;  Ella,  de 
ceased;  Nellie,  deceased;  Fred,  who  died  in 
Kansas  City  in  1904,  was  a  telegraph  op- 
erator, and  he  married  Evelyn  Brooks,  who 
is  the  mother  of  three  children,  Claude, 
Floyd  and  Esther;  Lillie,  who  is  deceased, 
married  Clyde  Soots.  She  was  an  accom- 
plished musician,  both  in  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music.  Mattie,  the  ninth  child  in 
order  of  birth,  is  deceased;  W.  D.  is  a  car- 
penter by  trade.  However,  he  now  runs  a 
meat  market  in  Centralia,  and  he  married 
Ethel  Ralston,  who  is  the  mother  of  one 
son,  Arthur,  and  a  daughter,  deceased ;  Jesse 
B.  married  Mary  Hollinger  and  they  have 
two  children,  Harvey  and  Bessie.  He  is  a 
carpenter  and  contractor  in  Centralia. 

After  his  marriage  our  subject  and  wife 
lived  in  Richview,  Illinois,  for  three  years 
and  then  went  to  Patoka.  Marion  county. 


where  Mr.  Newman  engaged  in  the  under- 
taking business  for  over  thirty  years,  hav- 
ing been  very  successful  in  this  line  of  work. 
In  February,  1901,  he  came  to  Centralia  and 
has  since  that  time  been  a  successful  con- 
tractor and  builder.  He  is  a  Democrat  and 
has  long  taken  an  active  part  in  politics.  He 
joined  the  Masonic  Order  in  1870  at  Pa- 
toka, the  Blue  Lodge  No.  613.  Mrs.  New- 
man is  a  member  of  the  Eastern  Star.  Mr. 
Newman  is  also  a  Good  Templar.  He  and 
his  wife  are  members  of  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  church,  and  they  have  always 
been  active  in  church  and  Sunday  school 
work.  Mr.  Newman  has  a  fine  voice  and  is 
a  great  singer.  He  is  a  leader  in  the  local 
church  and  is  very  prominent  in  church 
work.  His  past  record  is  that  of  a  man  of 
genuine  worth  and  honesty,  and  because  of 
his  many  good  qualities  he  is  highly  respect- 
ed wherever  he  is  known. 


CHARLES  V.  BURT. 

The  record  of  the  gentleman  whose  name 
introduces  this  sketch  is  that  of  a  man  who 
by  his  own  unaided  efforts  has  worked  his 
way  from  a  modest  beginning  to  a  position 
of  influence  and  comparative  prosperity  in 
his  community  while  yet  young  in  life. 
Throughout  his  career  he  has  maintained 
the  most  creditable  standards  of  personal 
and  business  integrity,  and  without  putting 
forth  any  efforts  to  the  end  of  attaining 
popularity  he  has  achieved  it  in  a  local  way 


BIOGRAPHICAL   AND    KK.M  I  N  1SCT.XT    HISTORY    OF 


6o7 


by  the  manner  in  which  he  transacts  the 
everyday  affairs  of  a  busy  man.  His  life  has 
always  been  one  of  unceasing  industry  and 
perseverance  and  the  systematic  and  hon- 
orable methods  which  he  has  followed  have 
won  him  the  unbounded  confidence  of  his 
fellow  men. 

Charles  V.  Burt  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  Illinois,  twelve  miles  east  of  Cen- 
tralia,  October  25,  1876,  the  son  of  Addison 
and  Margaret  A.  (Morrison)  Burt.  The 
father  of  our  subject  was  born  in  Indiana, 
January  3,  1852,  and  after  attending  the 
home  schools  until  he  was  about  fifteen 
years  old,  went  to  Wisconsin  with  his  par- 
ents, and  about  a  year  later  came  to  Illi- 
nois and  located  on  a  farm  in  Marion  coun- 
ty, where  he  resided  until  1885,  when  he 
moved  to  Macon  county,  this  state,  his  death 
occurring  there  in  1886.  A  Republican  in 
politics  and  a  man  of  excellent  repute,  he 
was  highly  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 
Luther  Burt,  grandfather  of  the  subject, 
came  from  Pennsylvania  in  an  early  day, 
having  been  born  in  Washington  county, 
that  state,  where  he  grew  to  manhood,  and 
when  the  Civil  war  broke  out  enlisted  in 
Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-sev- 
enty Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  serving 
through  the  war  as  a  private.  He  moved 
to  Wisconsin  in  1866,  then  to  Illinois  in 
1867,  locating  in  Marion  county,  removing 
to  Macon  county,  this  state,  in  1881.  where 
he  now  lives.  On  August  2,  1852,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Violet  Swain,  who 
was  born  in  Preble  county,  Ohio,  and  she  is 
still  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Luther  Burt  are 


the  parents  of  ten  children,  five  boys  and  an 
equal  number  of  girls. 

Mrs.  Harriett  Morrison,  maternal  grand- 
mother of  the  subject,  who  was  born  near 
Walnut  Hill,  Jefferson  county,  Illinois,  and 
who  is  a  sister  of  Squire  Andrews,  of  Cen- 
tralia,  is  still  living  in  Marion  county  and 
is  enjoying  good  health  for  one  of  her  ad- 
vanced age.  After  the  marriage  of  the  sub- 
ject's maternal  grandparents  they  moved  to 
Little  Prairie,  where  Mr.  Morrison  died. 
They  were  known  for  many  years  through- 
out the  community  where  they  resided  for 
the  excellent  quality  of  sorghum  molasses 
they  made,  and  were  largely  patronized  by 
the  farmers  for  miles  around.  No  towns 
were  in  the  county  at  that  time  and  all 
goods  used  in  the  county  were  hauled  from 
St.  Louis,  to  which  city  local  products  were 
placed  on  the  market,  usually  in  exchange 
for  goods,  provisions,  etc.  Most  of  the 
teaming  was  done  with  oxen.  The  subject's 
mother  was  born  twelve  miles  east  of  Cen- 
tralia,  June  23,  1857,  and  lived  at  the  old 
home  until  she  married  in  1876,  then  she 
moved  to  a  farm  on  Romine  Prairie,  seven 
miles  south  of  Salem  in  Raccoon  township. 
She  now  lives  with  our  subject  most  of  the 
time.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Addison  Burt  were 
the  parents  of  four  children,  three  boys  and 
one  girl,  namely:  Charles  V.,  our  subject; 
Frank  Le  Clare,  deceased ;  Esther  D.  is 
married ;  Roy  C.  is  also  married. 

Our  subject  was  about  nine  years  old  at 
the  time  of  his  father's  death.  He  remained 
at  home  during  his  boyhood  days,  attend- 
ing school  in  four  different  places,  working 


6o8 


BIOCRA1MUCAL    AND    REMINISCENT    HISTORY    OF 


in  the  meantime  on  the  farm  during  the 
summer  months,  which  work  he  continued 
until  his  mother  moved  to  Kell,  Illinois, 
where  she  conducted  a  hotel.  Here  Charles 
V.  managed  a  livery  barn  with  much  suc- 
cess for  a  period  of  four  years,  after  which 
he  moved  to  Centralia  and  worked  in  the 
envelope  factory  for  one  year,  then  secured 
employment  at  the  South  Mines  for  eight- 
een months ;  but,  not  satisfied  with  his  work, 
he  decided  to  become  a  merchant  and  accord- 
ingly went  to  work  in  a  grocery  store  as 
clerk,  which  position  he  filled  with  entire 
satisfaction  to  his  employer.  Finding  it  to 
his  advantage  to  give  up  the  grocery  busi- 
ness on  account  of  a  better  opportunity 
opening  up  in  another  direction,  Mr.  Burt 
accordingly  formed  the  firm  of  Burge  & 
Burt,  dealing  in  real  estate,  farms  and  city 
property,  their  business  having  been  large 
from  the  first  and  has  steadily  increased, 
having  been  so  conducted  as  to  gain  the  con- 
fidence of  the  many  patrons  of  the  firm 
throughout  this  locality.  An  extensive 
business  is  also  carried  on  in  fire  insurance, 


city  and  farm,  also  accident  and  health  in- 
surance. 

The  happy  domestic  life  of  Charles  V. 
Burt  began  May  31,  1900,  when  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Estella  Stonecipher, 
daughter  of  Hiram  and  Dorcas  Stonecipher, 
of  near  Kell,  Illinois.  Mr.  Stonecipher  is  one 
of  the  substantial  agriculturists  of  that 
community,  and  the  subject's  wife  is  the 
third  in  order  of  birth  in  a  family  of  five 
children. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burt  are  the  parents  of 
three  children,  Wandah  V.,  born  April  3, 
1902 ;  Thaddeus  L.,  who  was  born  October 
17,  1903,  and  one  died  in  infancy,  all  hav- 
ing been  born  in  the  city  of  Centralia, 
where  the  subject  has  a  comfortable  and 
nicely  furnished  home,  where  their  many 
friends  often  gather. 

Our  subject  is  a  member  of  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  and  is  in  the  team 
work  of  the  lodge,  No.  397,  of  Centralia. 
In  his  political  relations  he  supports  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he 
and  his  estimable  wife  are  both  members  of 
the  Christian  church. 


